How to Fix the Companies House Default Address in 2027 and 2028: Registered Office Moved

Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) came into force, Companies House has had the power to move a company's registered office to a default address when the existing address isn't appropriate. If your company record now shows a Companies House default address, you'll probably notice quickly: banks, payment providers and marketplaces treat it as a warning sign, and the company is expected to set a new address within a short deadline.

This guide explains what the Companies House default address is, why a company gets moved there, the deadline, how to set a new appropriate address, and what happens if you don't. If you aren't sure what your record shows, search your company first.

What "appropriate address" means

Under the ECCTA rules that took effect on 4 March 2024, every company's registered office must be an appropriate address. In plain terms, that means:

• documents sent there should be expected to come to the attention of someone acting on behalf of the company; and
• delivery of documents there should be capable of being recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery.

As a result, a PO box can no longer be used as a registered office, and an address where post is routinely returned or ignored isn't appropriate. The same rules introduced the registered email address, which Companies House uses to contact the company and which isn't shown on the public register. Our guide on how to meet the UK registered office address rules covers them in detail.

Why Companies House moves a company to the default address

Companies House can change the registered office to its default address when it is satisfied the current address isn't appropriate. Typical triggers include:

Companies House usually investigates first, including writing to the company and the address, before making the change.

What happens after the move

Once the registered office is changed to the default address:

1. The public register shows the default address as the registered office.
2. The company has a short window, generally 28 days, to apply to change to an appropriate address, with evidence that the company is connected to the new address.
3. If the company doesn't provide an appropriate address in time, Companies House can start action that may lead to the company being struck off the register.

Post sent to the default address is handled by Companies House, but it isn't a working address for your business. You shouldn't rely on it to receive letters from HMRC, customers or courts.

Why it matters beyond Companies House

A default address on the register has knock-on effects:

• Banks may restrict accounts or delay applications. See how to open a business bank account.
• Payment providers and marketplaces often pause payouts pending verification. Our guide on getting funds released by PayPal, Stripe, Wise or Amazon explains what to send them.
• Customers and suppliers checking the register see an obvious red flag.
• Legal documents may be served at the registered office; if it isn't yours, you may miss them.
• Strike off becomes a real risk if the deadline passes. See how to stop a compulsory strike off.

How to fix the Companies House default address: step by step

Step 1: Choose an appropriate address

The new registered office must be an address where post reaches someone acting for the company and deliveries can be acknowledged. Options include:

• the company's own trading premises;
• a director's home address, if suitable (it will appear on the public register); or
• a registered office service from an agent who will receive and forward post. Biz E-Formations Inc. provides registered office address services for UK companies, including for directors who live abroad.

Don't use a PO box, and don't use an address you don't have permission to use.

Step 2: Gather evidence of connection

Because the company was moved to the default address, Companies House needs evidence that the company is connected to the new address. Depending on the address, that might be:

• a lease or tenancy agreement in the company's name;
• a contract with a registered office service provider;
• utility bills or business rates in the company's name; or
• written permission from the owner of the address.

Step 3: Make the application

Changing the registered office from the default address uses a specific application with the supporting evidence, not just the usual registered office change. Check Companies House's current guidance for the form and how to submit it. If you use an agent, they can prepare and file it for you. Our registered office change service can help.

Step 4: Update the registered email address

Make sure the company's registered email address is one that's monitored. It's how Companies House contacts the company, and an unmonitored inbox is a common reason companies miss warnings.

Step 5: Confirm the register has changed

Search the company and check the new registered office appears. Save the confirmation, because banks and payment providers will want to see the updated record.

Step 6: Tell everyone who noticed

Send your bank, payment providers and key customers a short note with a link to the updated record.

If someone used your address without permission

The default address power also protects people whose addresses have been used for companies they have nothing to do with. If a company you don't know is registered at your address:

1. Report it to Companies House using its process for reporting an unauthorised use of an address.
2. Provide evidence that you own or occupy the address and have no connection to the company.
3. Companies House can investigate and, if appropriate, move the company to its default address.

How to prevent it

Company Monitor emails you as soon as the registered office changes on the register, including a move to the default address, so you can act within the deadline.

Practical scenarios

The cancelled virtual office

An online retailer's virtual office contract lapsed when a card payment failed. Post was returned, and Companies House moved the company to its default address. The director signed a new registered office service agreement, used it as evidence of connection, applied to change the address within the deadline, and sent the updated record to the company's payment provider.

The accountant who moved

A small consultancy used its accountant's address. The accountant relocated without telling clients, and post started coming back. After the move to the default address, the director used their own home address, with a utility bill as evidence, and updated the registered email address to one they check daily.

The company that wasn't theirs

A homeowner discovered three unfamiliar companies registered at their address. They reported it to Companies House with proof of ownership. Companies House investigated and moved the companies to its default address.

The rules behind it

The registered office and default address rules come from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which amended the Companies Act 2006. The Act is on legislation.gov.uk, and Companies House publishes guidance on GOV.UK. The same reforms introduced identity verification for directors and people with significant control. See how to complete Companies House identity verification.

Checklist

Common mistakes

1. Waiting. The deadline is short, and the next step can be strike-off action.
2. Using a PO box. It isn't an appropriate address.
3. Filing the ordinary address change without evidence. Moving off the default address needs evidence of connection.
4. Forgetting the registered email address. It's why many companies missed the warnings in the first place.
5. Not telling the bank. Restrictions can stay in place until you send the updated record.

Registered office, service address and trading address

People often mix up the addresses a UK company uses. They have different purposes:

The default address power applies to the registered office. If you don't want your home address on the public register, use a registered office service for the company and a service address for directors.

What makes good evidence of connection

When moving off the default address, the strength of your evidence matters. The best evidence is dated, in the company's name, and connects the company to the exact address:

• Strong: a current lease or registered office service contract in the company's name; business rates or a utility bill in the company's name at that address.
• Acceptable: a signed letter from the owner or occupier giving the company permission to use the address, with their contact details.
• Weak: documents in a director's personal name only, undated documents, or documents for a different address format.

If the address is a director's home, combine a document showing the director lives there with a signed statement that the company may use it.

Choosing a registered office service

If you use a provider, check that it:

• is supervised for anti-money laundering purposes, as UK registered office providers must be;
• gives you a written contract in the company's name, which you can use as evidence;
• scans and forwards post quickly, including official letters from Companies House, HMRC and courts;
• tells you before the service ends, so the address is never left inappropriate; and
• can acknowledge delivery of documents, as the appropriate address rules require.

Biz E-Formations Inc. provides UK registered office services that meet these points, including for directors who live outside the UK.

An example timeline

Acting in the first week after the move kept the company well within the deadline.

How the default address affects your filings

While the company is at the default address, it still has to meet every other obligation. Accounts and confirmation statements remain due on their normal dates, and late filing penalties still apply. Don't wait for the address to be fixed before filing: a company with an inappropriate address and overdue filings is far more likely to face strike-off action. File what is due, and fix the address in parallel.

If your confirmation statement is due while you're fixing the address, check the registered office shown on it is the new appropriate address once the change has been accepted.

Questions to ask yourself today

• Do I know exactly what address the register shows right now? Check it.
• If a letter arrived at our registered office today, who would open it, and when?
• Is our registered email address one somebody reads every day?
• When does our registered office or virtual office contract renew?
• Would our bank and payment providers see the same address we see?

If any answer is "I'm not sure", fix it before Companies House or your bank notices.

Directors living abroad

Directors outside the UK are most at risk of a default address move, because nobody in the UK is opening the post. If that's you:

1. Use a UK registered office service with same-day scanning, so letters reach you wherever you are.
2. Give Companies House a registered email address you check daily.
3. Keep your service address for directors up to date too.
4. Put your filing deadlines and your registered office renewal date in one calendar.
5. Turn on monitoring so a change on the register reaches your inbox straight away.

Biz E-Formations Inc. supports non-UK directors with UK registered office addresses, company formation and help opening a UK business bank account.

What Companies House can do if the address isn't fixed

If the company doesn't move to an appropriate address after being placed at the default address, Companies House can treat it as not carrying on business and start strike-off action. Once a company is dissolved, its bank balance and other property pass to the Crown, and bringing it back means restoration, which costs far more than changing an address. The deadline is short for a reason; treat it as urgent.

What a registered office actually has to do

The registered office isn't just a line on the register. It's where certain documents must be capable of being received, and where some company records can be kept or inspected. In practice it should be able to:

• receive legal documents, including claims and notices served on the company;
• receive official letters from Companies House, HMRC and other authorities;
• acknowledge delivery of documents, as the appropriate address rules require; and
• if the company chooses, be where its statutory registers are kept for inspection, unless they are kept at the public register at Companies House or at another notified location.

When you pick a new address after a default address move, check it can do all of these. An address that only forwards some post, or that won't sign for deliveries, can leave the company in the same position again.

Frequently missed details

• Scotland and Northern Ireland: a company's registered office must stay in the jurisdiction it was registered in. A company registered in England and Wales can't move its registered office to Scotland, and vice versa, although Welsh companies have specific options.
• Changing the address doesn't change your trading address. Update your website, invoices and contracts separately if they show the registered office.
• Letterheads and websites must show the registered office address. Update them once the change is accepted.
• Related companies: if several of your companies used the same address, check each of them; they may all have been moved.

Talking to Companies House

If you're unsure what Companies House needs, contact it before the deadline rather than after. Have the company number, the date the address was changed, the new address you want to use and your evidence ready. Explain clearly what happened, for example "our virtual office contract ended in March", and what you've done to fix it. Keep a record of who you spoke to and when. Clear, early communication, together with prompt filing of everything that's due, is the best way to keep a default address move from turning into strike-off action.

Default address versus a strike-off notice

A move to the default address and a First Gazette notice for compulsory strike off are different steps, but one can lead to the other. The default address move fixes the immediate problem of an inappropriate address; it doesn't mean the company is being struck off yet. If the company then fails to provide an appropriate address, or also has overdue filings, Companies House may move on to strike-off action, which is published in The Gazette and shown on the register as "Active – proposal to strike off". If you see both, deal with the address and the overdue filings together, straight away. Our guide on how to stop a compulsory strike off explains the second step.

Key takeaways

• Companies House can move a registered office to its default address when the address is not appropriate.
• You generally have 28 days to apply to move to an appropriate address, with evidence of your connection to it.
• A PO box is not an appropriate address.
• Banks and payment providers treat a default address as a red flag, so fix it quickly.
• Update your registered email address too, so future warnings reach you.

Related guides

• How to meet the UK registered office address rules
• How to stop a compulsory strike off after a first Gazette notice
• How to restore a dissolved UK company
• How to complete Companies House identity verification

Need an appropriate address quickly?

If you don't have a suitable UK address, Biz E-Formations Inc. provides UK registered office services with post scanning and forwarding, and can help prepare the evidence Companies House needs. For new businesses, it also handles UK company formation and help opening a business bank account.

The bottom line

A Companies House default address means the company's registered office was found not to be appropriate. It isn't permanent, but the deadline is short. Choose a real address where post reaches the company, gather evidence of your connection to it, apply to move off the default address, update your registered email address, and tell your bank and payment providers once the register shows the change.