Registered office


A registered office is the official address of an incorporated company, association or any other legal entity. Generally it will form part of the public record and is required in most countries where the registered organization or legal entity is incorporated. A registered physical office address is required for incorporated organizations to receive official correspondence and formal notices from government departments, investors, banks, shareholders and the general public.

In the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom and many other common law countries, the registered office address does not have to be where the organization conducts its actual business or trade, and it is not unusual for law firms, accountants or incorporation agents to provide the official registered office address service. In the United Kingdom all statutory correspondence for an incorporated organization is posted or hand delivered to the registered office address as recorded on the Companies House register. A registered physical office address is required for incorporated organizations to receive official correspondence and formal notices from government departments, investors, banks, shareholders and the general public.
Under regulations implemented in the UK on 1 October 2009, company directors may now also use a registered office address instead of their private home address for contact on the Companies House register.
The company's full registered name must be visible to the public on the premises. The Company's records previously had to be kept at the registered office and available for public inspection. Since 1 October 2009 it has been possible for companies to designate a single alternative inspection location as a place to keep their records which must be available for public inspection.

Other countries

In many other countries the address with which a company is registered must be where its headquarters or seat is located, and this will often determine the subnational registry at which the company must be registered.