Registered office

Yes, every UK company must have a Registered Office within England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland — you cannot incorporate without one. This address is used for correspondence from Companies House and official bodies and is not necessarily your actual place of business.

If you are not a UK resident you will need an address through a service provider such as Eteform in London. The address must be a real address where official mail can be received — not merely a PO Box in most cases. Eteform's Privacy package and above include a registered London office.

Without a valid address, the incorporation application will not be accepted.

Yes, the registered office appears publicly on the Companies House register and anyone can search for it free of charge via the gov.uk website. This is why the registered office service is so popular — to protect your home address in Egypt, Saudi Arabia or elsewhere from appearing on the public register.

The Director Service Address is separate and protects the director's residential address too. If you use your home address in your country (not possible — it must be in the UK) or your personal UK address, it will be visible to everyone.

Eteform's privacy packages are designed specifically to keep your personal data off the public register as far as the law allows.

The Registered Office is the company's official legal address at Companies House — it must be in the UK and receives government mail. The Trading Address is where you actually operate from and can be in Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo or anywhere in the world.

They can be the same address (if you have a UK office) or completely different. Your clients usually see the trading address on invoices and your website, while the official register shows the registered office.

For e-commerce run from abroad, a registered London office gives credibility while you operate from your own country.

Generally Companies House does not accept a PO Box alone as a registered office — it must be a real address to which official correspondence can be delivered. Some address providers offer a 'street address + internal mailbox', which is acceptable because the visible address is a real UK street.

Using a PO Box only may lead to your application being rejected or the company being struck off later. At Eteform we provide real street addresses in London (City Road, Covent Garden and others) with a mail-forwarding service. If you see very cheap offers for a 'UK address', make sure they are not just a PO Box.

The cost of a registered office in the UK usually ranges between £50 and £150 per year depending on the provider and the attached services (mail forwarding, scanning, notifications). At Eteform, the Privacy package at £120/year includes formation + a registered London office + a Director Service Address.

You can also add the address as a separate service if you choose a cheaper package. Renewing the address annually is mandatory — if the service lapses and the address is not updated, the company may be fined or struck off.

Always compare whether the price includes mail forwarding, because some providers charge extra per item of mail.