Can I Use My Home Address for a Limited Company?

Yes, you can use your home address for a UK limited company if it meets the registered office rules. However, using it as the registered office or a director’s service address makes it public. If you want to keep your home address off the public register, arrange a suitable alternative before submitting your registration.

This guide explains the choices for a founder who works from home, including what to ask an address provider and what to do if you have already registered. Information checked on 5 November 2026.

What makes a home address suitable as a registered office?

The registered office is where official correspondence reaches your company. It must be a physical UK address in the correct jurisdiction for the company. It must also be appropriate: post must reach someone acting for the business, and delivery must be capable of acknowledgement. A PO Box alone does not qualify. See the official registered office requirements.

Before choosing your home, ask yourself: who will deal with a letter while I am away? Would I be comfortable with a prospective client finding this address? What happens if I move in six months? These practical questions are worth answering before you fill in the form.

Registered office, service address and residential address: the difference

Address type	Purpose	Public?
Registered office	Official correspondence for the company	Yes
Director’s service address	Correspondence for the director	Yes
Usual residential address	The director’s actual home address	Generally kept off the public register
Registered email address	Companies House emails to the company	No

Companies House still needs a director’s real home address even when a separate service address is used. The residential address is available to specified authorities and credit reference agencies in certain circumstances. A founder who is also a person with significant control should consider their public service address in that role too. Companies House explains which personal details are public.

Should you use your home address or an address service?

Using your home may be practical if you can reliably receive company post and accept the public listing. An accountant’s address or a registered office service may suit you better if privacy, moving house or handling mail remotely is a concern. Get permission and confirm suitability before using another person’s address.

Compare providers by asking specific questions rather than choosing on the headline price alone:

• Does the package cover the registered office, director’s service address and PSC service address, or only one of these?
• Which letters will you scan, forward or store, and how quickly?
• Are postage, scanning, renewal and cancellation charges included in the quote?
• What happens to letters received after cancellation?
• Can I use the address on my website and invoices, and does that cost extra?

Keep the answers with your company setup records. Treat an address subscription as a recurring cost in your startup budget.

Does registering at home give you permission to trade there?

You may need separate permission from a landlord, mortgage provider, council or planning authority to operate from home. Home insurance may not cover business equipment, stock or visiting customers. Business rates can also be relevant depending on the property’s use. Check the government guide to running a business from home before making changes or inviting customers round.

For example, a designer answering emails at a kitchen table and a retailer receiving frequent deliveries should each check their own arrangements. Make a note of the activity you intend to carry out, then ask the relevant provider or authority about that activity. Keep any written permission with your business records.

Can you change your registered office after incorporation?

Yes. Notify Companies House using its address-change process. The change takes effect when Companies House registers it, and the new address must remain within the company’s incorporation jurisdiction. Companies House notifies HMRC of the registered office change. Follow the official change-of-address instructions.

Keep a separate moving checklist for your bank, insurer, accountant, suppliers, website and invoices. Ask each organisation whether it needs a correspondence address, a trading address or your registered office. Do not assume changing one record updates all the others.

What if your home address is already public?

Changing the current address does not automatically remove it from historical documents. Companies House has an application process for removing certain personal details, including eligible home addresses. A current registered office must be changed before you can apply to remove it. Third-party copies of public records are a separate issue. Start with the Companies House guidance on removing a home address.

If you or someone you live with faces a serious risk of violence or intimidation because of the company’s activities, there is a separate process for applying to protect personal information. Check the eligibility and evidence requirements before applying.

Your address checklist before registering a company

1. Choose the incorporation jurisdiction and a suitable registered office.
2. Decide which address you are comfortable making public.
3. Confirm permission to use any third-party address.
4. Check what an address service covers and how mail reaches you.
5. Enter your real residential details in the residential-address fields.
6. Review the director and PSC service-address fields separately.
7. Set up a monitored company email inbox.
8. Save the address agreement and renewal date with your company records.

Once the address is settled, work through the remaining limited company registration steps and choose the appropriate business activities with our UK SIC code finder.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to rent an office to register a limited company?

No. A suitable home address or an authorised address service can fulfil the registered office requirement. Choose based on privacy, reliable mail handling and cost.

Can I use a virtual office?

Check the actual service rather than the label. Ask whether it explicitly supports Companies House registered office use and meets the physical-address, jurisdiction and mail-handling requirements.

Will a separate registered office hide all my personal details?

No. Directors and PSCs still have public information on the register. Check each public address field, including service addresses, rather than assuming one address choice covers every role.

Is a registered office service included with free company registration?

Do not assume it is included. Free Business Registration covers the £100 incorporation fee in return for opening an eligible partner business bank account; the referral fee funds the formation. Bank eligibility and Companies House approval apply. Optional services and ongoing filing obligations are separate. Read how our funded registration offer works and confirm any address-service costs before applying.

Ready to prepare your application?

Choose your public addresses before starting the form so you do not make a rushed privacy decision. When you have your company name, address and director details ready, start your company registration. If you are unsure what the offer includes, contact our team first.