Registered office

The registered office is the official address to which all communications and notices may be addressed. The company must at all times have a registered office and this must be a physical location and not a PO Box address. The country of the location of the registered office (i.e. England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) dictates the jurisdiction in which the company is registered. By special resolution a company whose office is in Wales may require the registrar to change the location to be situated in Wales.

In order to be effective any notice served is effective if sent to the registered office or alternatively left at the company's registered office. Consequently, it is imperative to ensure that there are appropriate procedures to deal with the receipt of documents and incoming mail at the registered office.

A company may change its registered office address by giving notice in the prescribed form to the registrar. The change takes effect when registered by the registrar. Notwithstanding that, notices may still be served until the end of 14 days beginning with the date on which it is registered at the previously registered office address.