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Table of Contents
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- What is Companies House’s default address?
- What makes up a proper address?
- What are the impacts of a default address?
- How to change from the Companies House default address to an appropriate address?
- What is an RP07?
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Businesses operating within the United Kingdom are obliged to be incorporated with a proper address. New policies were put into force by Companies House effective 4th March 2024, to ensure that all incorporated entities possess a physical address and a registered email address. The use of P.O. Boxes shall no longer be allowed.
Should Companies House discover that a company is using an unsuitable address, then it will be replaced with a default address. The default address guarantees a record of the company’s existence. The company, however, is bound to change the address within the stipulated time of 28 days. Otherwise, the company is at risk of being struck off the register.
What are the dangers of using a default address? This guide outlines the consequences of using a default address as the registered address of your company and the steps to take to change from default to registered address within the stipulated time.
What is Companies House’s default address?
Companies House’s default address is allocated to companies without a registered office address. A default address will be used to show that the company still exists and also to receive communications.
The United Kingdom Companies House is the government organisation that incorporates and dissolves limited companies and registers information about companies, including annual accounts and director information.
What makes up a proper address?
Physical address: The address should be a real address in the same jurisdiction that your company is registered, i.e., England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.
Accessibility:
The address must be where documents are served, and all mail directed to the company is likely to come to the attention of a director, an officer, or his representative.
Acknowledgment of delivery:
The address should be able to receive and acknowledge official mail and legal notifications.
Not a PO Box:
The use of post office boxes as the registered office address is no longer permitted.
Please be advised that the address is also part of the Companies House register and will therefore be in the public domain. So think of confidentiality in the case of a residential address.
What are the impacts of a default address?
No credibility:
Using a default address can affect the reputation of your firm because default addresses do not have credibility and professionalism. This may be a worrying factor to clients, partners, suppliers, and investors.
Non-compliance:
Critical legal notifications, official letters, and legal documents are issued only to the registered office address; therefore, your corporation might miss out on some of them. By using the default address, such notifications will be missed, which may lead to a breach of any legal requirements.
Risk of penalties:
You will incur penalties due to failure to notify Companies House of a change of the registered office address. Where action is not taken to change the default address within 28 days, Companies House shall take enforcement action.
Operational disruptions:
It is unreasonable to continue business operations using the default address, and this may interfere with business activities.
Differences in outreach:
Though mail delivery to the default address is relayed to the company, there are bound to be some delays, making stakeholder communication less timely.
How to change from the Companies House default address to an appropriate address?
To switch a default address to a correct address to represent your company’s registered office address in the UK, the following stages will be followed:
Get the AD01 form:
The form can be downloaded from the Companies House website
Get supporting evidence:
collect documents to support this claim of proprietary ownership of using the such address a leasehold or freehold agreement, or a written acknowledgement permitting the use of the address
Submit the Form:
fill in the AD01 form with details of the new address and with the supporting documents attached
File the form:
File the completed form and documents with Companies House through the web-based sending websites called WebFiling or by mailing them
Confirmation:
After this has been processed, Companies House will update your registered office address
Every registered company must notify Companies House within 14 days after any change in the registered office address. Any failure to do this may result in penalties and problems with compliance.
In case you have concerns regarding unauthorised involvement of your address, you need to complete the RP07 form to request that your address be eliminated.
What is an RP07?
This is an application form used to change the registered office address of a company. The RP07 procedure consists of filing a request with Companies House to change the registered office address of a contested company. The process includes the following steps:
Contesting registered office address:
The form RP07 is applicable when there is disagreement on the registered office address of the company, which typically happens where the company uses an address without permission.
Warnings and notifications:
Before submitting RP07, Companies House issues warnings to the email address linked to the company’s account or sends notifications via postal mail. Should no action be taken by the designated deadline, the RP07 will be filed.
Notification to company director:
Companies House informs the company’s director(s) about the RP07 procedure. The director(s) must be aware of the circumstances and the subsequent actions required.
Address change or resolution:
If the dispute is settled, the company may continue to use the existing address. On the other hand, if the matter fails to be resolved, the change of the registered office address by the company in question may become imminent.
Directors of the company may also use a service address apart from their home address for confidentiality purposes. This enables them to receive official papers without necessarily exposing their residence to public records.
In conclusion, this article has indicated the necessity for the upkeep of the appropriate registered office address for companies in the United Kingdom. Companies must adhere to these legal requirements to mitigate risks associated with a default address, which can affect their legal status and reputation.
If you want to register your company with an appropriate address, Icon Offices offers virtual offices with a prestigious business address. These offices also come with additional services that will benefit your business operations.
For more information, contact us at [email protected].
