When you set up a UK limited company, certain details are made public on the Companies House register. Some of this information is generic and expected, such as the company name and company number.

However, other information might be more concerning, like the residential addresses of your company officers. Here’s what you need to know.

About the Companies House register

One of the key terms associated with the limited company structure, besides ‘limited liability’, is ‘transparency’.

The limited company model is highly regarded, conveying an impression of professionalism and security. As a result, business owners who start a company must have specific information published on the company register.

In essence, this is the price entrepreneurs must pay to benefit from the limited company structure.

Companies House is the UK’s official registrar of companies, and you cannot form a company without their approval. However, you do not need to form your company directly with them; you can use a company agent like us instead. Once a company is formed, the following information is placed on the publicly accessible (online) Companies House register:

• Company name
• Company number
• Registered office address
• Company status (this will be ‘Active’ if the company has only just been formed)
• Company type (for example, ‘Private limited company’)
• Date of incorporation
• The date that the company’s annual accounts and confirmation statement are due
• The date the company’s last annual accounts and confirmation statement were accurate up to (this field will be empty if the company has only just been formed)
• The company’s nature of business (defined by SIC Codes)
• Director, person with significant control, and secretary information (includes month and year of birth, date appointed, nationality, occupation, country of residence, and service address, also known as the correspondence address)
• Shareholder and share information, including the shareholder address

A company must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement annually (even if it’s not trading). These documents will also appear in their entirety on the public register.

When a home address will be published on the Companies House register

Therefore, if you use a residential address for any of the following, it will appear on the public register:

• Registered office
• Service address for directors, secretaries, and people with significant control
• Shareholder address

Here’s how simple it is for someone to find an address on the register

Using the Companies House search tool, addresses can be located as follows:

• Registered office address – immediately available on the search results page and on the dedicated company page.
• Director’s service address – appears under ‘Officers’ in the ‘People’ tab on the dedicated company page.
• Person with significant control’s service address – appears under ‘Persons with significant control’ in the ‘People’ tab on the dedicated company page.
• Shareholder’s address – found in the ‘Incorporation’ documents under ‘Filing history’ on the dedicated company page.

When a home address won’t be published on the Companies House register

A residential address is required when appointing a director, secretary (an optional officer appointment), and person with significant control.

However, while you must provide the actual home address for the person in question, this information is only shared with government and credit reference agencies.

As long as you don’t use a residential address as the registered office, service address, or shareholder address, it will not appear on the Companies House public register.

Can I remove my home address from the Companies House register?

You can ask Companies House to suppress your home address (or part of it) from the register where it appears as a service address on publicly available company filings.

Currently, it is not possible to remove a residential address from filings shown on the register where the address was used as a registered office. However, following the introduction of the Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act 2023, this will change within the next two years.

When this option becomes available, individuals can request Companies House to suppress a residential address (or part of it) from other historical documents on the register, including where the address was used as a registered office.

The risks of a residential address appearing on the public register

There are several reasons why you should not have your private address on the public register:

• It makes you vulnerable to unwanted and unexpected visitors.
• It increases your risk of company fraud and ID fraud.
• Using a residential address as your company’s registered office address (the official address for the company) can suggest that your company is small and, in some cases – depending on your industry – somewhat amateur.

Protect your address with an address service

Any address that you have permission to use can be utilized for the addresses mentioned above, provided the registered office is in the UK and any government mail sent to the address is seen by the company officers.

We offer address services that allow you to use our Covent Garden address as the registered office, service address, shareholder address, and mailing address, thereby shielding your home address from the public.

Additionally, by using our address services, you can enhance the corporate image of your company. Your customers, partners, and other contacts will see that your business is based in a world-renowned location.

For more information, see the links below:

• [Our registered office service]
• [Our service address service] (also suitable for the shareholder address)
• [Our business address service]

If you’ve not yet formed your company, some of these services are also included as part of our Privacy, Professional, Prestige, All-Inclusive, Non-Residents, and eSeller limited company formation packages.

There you have it. You should now know when an address is made public on the Companies House register. If you still have any questions, leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help.