Directors, their address, and Companies House

If you form a limited company there are many responsibilities as a director.  One of these is about accounting and one is about transparency of your address.  All company directors need to report certain addresses to Companies House, and these will appear on the public record.

Old documents are still searchable, so details of your home may still appear, even if you don’t want it to.

Types of address

So what are these different addresses, and how are they used?

Registered office: this always appears and it is where the company can be served legal papers.  If you change the Registered Office, the old address is still valid for legal service for 14 days after it appears on the public record.  This is not 14 days after the form is signed, but 14 days after its delivery and publication.

Directors home address: this does NOT appear on the public record.  However it is accessible to credit agencies, Police and a few other authorised bodies.

Directors service address: this is the mailing address used by Companies House to communicate with the director.  It appears on the public record.  Often the Registered Office is also used as the service address, but you can use any address you have access to.  If you use your home address then it will obviously appear on the public record at Companies House.

As a director, it is your responsibility to keep these addresses up to date and correct.

If you have a Person with Significant Control (“PSC”) who is not a director, then the same rules applies; and you have the same responsibilities.

Companies House advice

Now: if you are sitting comfortably, here’s a short infomercial from Companies House to explain further.