Registered office vs service address vs business address

A UK company can hold three different addresses, and they're easy to confuse. Your registered office is the company's official address, a service address is a director's official contact address, and a business address is where you actually trade. This guide explains how they differ, which ones are public, and when you'd use each.

What is a registered office address?

It's your company's official address on the public Companies House register, where Companies House and HMRC send statutory post. Every UK company must have one, it's public, and it must be an appropriate address in the same UK jurisdiction your company is registered in (gov.uk).

Think of it as the company's legal letterbox. Reminders to file your accounts, your confirmation statement, tax notices — they all arrive here. The address belongs to the company, not to you personally, and it stays the same even as directors come and go.

Two rules tend to cause confusion. The first is the jurisdiction lock. A company registered in England and Wales must keep its registered office in England and Wales, and the same applies to Scotland and Northern Ireland. An overseas address won't do. The second is the "appropriate address" rule. Since 4 March 2024, the registered office must be somewhere a letter would actually reach a real person, and where delivery can be acknowledged. A PO box on its own no longer counts (gov.uk).

For a fuller walk-through, see what a registered office address is.

What is a service address?

A service address is the official contact address for an individual connected to the company — a director, secretary, or person with significant control (PSC). It's public too. The key benefit: it lets you keep your residential address private. Companies House protects directors' home addresses and shows only the service address (gov.uk).

The distinction that matters is ownership: the registered office belongs to the company, while the service address belongs to a person. Each director and PSC has their own, and it's where official mail addressed to them as an individual is sent.

In fact, Companies House holds two addresses for a director — a service address, which is public, and a residential address, which is protected and kept off the open register. Use your home for both and your home address becomes searchable by anyone. Use a service address and only that appears.

What is a business (trading) address?

A business or trading address is simply where you run the business day to day and receive post from customers, suppliers, and banks. It isn't a statutory Companies House concept, so it doesn't have to be public, and it can differ from your registered office. Many founders put a professional business address on their website and invoices instead of their home.

Because company law doesn't define it, there are no jurisdiction rules and no public-register requirement. It's the practical address — the one on your contact page, your invoices, and your couriers' labels.

Whether it's public is your choice. Publish it on your website and it's public because you put it there, not because the law requires it.

Registered office vs service address vs business address

Which addresses are public?

Two of the three. Your registered office and your service address both appear on the public Companies House register, so anyone can look them up. Your residential address is protected and isn't shown. A separate business address is public only if you choose to publish it (gov.uk).

This is the question most first-time founders actually care about. They don't mind the company being on the register — that's normal and expected. What they don't want is their home address sitting there for customers, suppliers, or strangers to find. A service address solves exactly that.

When would you want each address?

You'd want a separate registered office and service address mainly to keep your home off the public record. You'd want a separate business address when the place you trade from differs from where you want official post to land. The right mix depends on how and where you actually work (gov.uk).

Two common situations make it concrete.

A director who works from home

If you run a consultancy from a spare room, you can use your home as both the registered office and service address — but it then appears on the public register, and you can't easily remove it later. Most founders in this position use a service address instead, so the company is properly registered while their home stays private. If you've already filed your home address, you can change your registered office address later, though the historic filing may remain visible.

An online seller needing a trading address

If you sell online and ship from a small unit, you may not want that unit printed on every invoice and listing. You could keep one professional address as your registered office and service address, and use it as your public business address too. Meanwhile, goods still move through the unit behind the scenes. The address customers see and the address you physically operate from don't have to match.

Wondering whether the tax office accepts a virtual address? See whether HMRC accepts a virtual office address.

Can one address do all three?

Yes — and for most founders that's the practical setup. A single registered office service can act as your registered office, your service address, and your business/trading address at once. That keeps your home address off the public record entirely and gives you one professional address to use everywhere.

It's the simplest arrangement: one address, on the register, on your invoices, and on your website. With MVOS, that's a single Belgravia address — 20 Grosvenor Place — doing all three jobs. Our registered office service provides exactly that, and our wider virtual office and business address covers the day-to-day trading side as well.

Remember it's separate from the one-off Companies House charge. The £100 online incorporation fee (since 1 February 2026) is the government's fee to register the company itself (gov.uk). An address service is a separate, ongoing cost.

The short version

Three addresses, three jobs. The registered office is the company's official address, and it's public. The service address is a person's official contact, and it's public, while their home address stays protected. The business address is where you actually trade, and it's public only if you publish it. One address can cover all three, which is why so many founders use a single service rather than scattering their details across the register.

New to all this? Start with what a registered office address is, weigh up whether you can use your home as your registered office, or get everything sorted when you form your company.