Registered Office Service FAQs – Companies Made Simple - Help Centre

Registered Office FAQs

What is a Registered Office?

A registered office is the registered address of a limited company. It must be a physical location in the United Kingdom at which official documents and notices can be sent to.

The registered office address does not need to be the actual company’s place of business and is often the address of the persons providing company services, such as us - Company Formation MadeSimple. The address will appear publicly on the Companies House public register.

What is the Registered Office Service you offer?

We provide a London-based Registered Office service for limited companies at 20 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU.

Using this service your company will be registered at our address and we will scan and email your company’s Government mail* subject to fair usage. The service is renewable annually and a reminder will be sent to you via email.

*With this service we can process mail from the organisations listed in this article.

The service is renewable annually, and a reminder will be sent to you via email nearer the renewal due date.

What are the renewal costs?

The Registered Office service renewal costs for the year, can be found here (login required). However, the Privacy Package Renewal includes the renewal of not only the Registered Office service but the Service Address - so you get better value for money than buying the Registered office service on its own.

I have an International company and I want to use your registered office

It is not possible to use our registered office address service for your International company as you need a UK company number. You can set up a new UK company order to use our UK registered office address.

Can I still use your EC1 address as my registered office?

Unfortunately, no, as we are no longer based at the EC1 address.

Can this service be used for company officers' (directors and secretaries) or shareholders' addresses?

No, officer addresses are not covered under the Registered Office service. If you are a company director, secretary or shareholder and wish to keep your residential address private, please see our Service Address service.

Can I use your address as my SAIL address?

A SAIL (Single Alternative Inspection Location) is an alternative location to the registered office, where company records can be kept and made available for public inspection. Therefore, this means you cannot use our N1 address as your SAIL address as our offices are not made for public inspection.

To add a SAIL address to your Limited Company complete the AD02 form and file it at Companies House.

Which packages include the registered office service?

Our registered office service is included in our Privacy, Comprehensive, Ultimate, International, and Limited by Guarantee Plus company formation packages.You can view these packages from the Company Formation menu.

Mail forwarding FAQs

How does the forwarding of mail work?

We will send you an email when Government mail arrives at our offices. Our post team will then process your mail within 24 hours (excluding weekends and bank holidays) and scan the letter to your email address linked to your account. Government mail includes mail from UK governing bodies such as Companies House, HMRC, Government Gateway and the Intellectual Property Office. Full list of acceptable documents found here.

How long does it take to receive my mail?

Our post team will process your mail within 24 hours (excluding weekends and bank holidays) of receiving it at our London office.
Despite whether you are from the UK or overseas we will scan the item of mail to you and it will be received instantly (subject to you having the service active and there is no technological errors from either end)

I still have not received my mail. Where is it?

Due to our move to a more digital mailroom experience, you should receive the letters straight after it has been processed rather than having to wait for it to be received in the post. Cannot find it in your emails? Then do not panic, you will be able to access it from your online account!

How long will you hold my mail?

We will hold your mail for 7 days, during this time you can contact us and request the original document to be posted to your address. If you contact us during this time and ask to collect it from our offices, we can hold the item of mail for up to 30 days for you to come and collect.

Can you scan my mail to me?

Yes, this is the only option available when an item of Government mail arrives initially.

Can you forward my official mail overseas?

Yes, we can forward your mail to anywhere in the world. If you ever need to change the postal address, go to My Details (login required) in your account. Our system will update within 24 hours. This needs to be requested within 7 days of receiving your scanned version.

Is non-official/Government mail included in the registered office service?

No, if you would like this receive this type of mail (business/personal/bank letters), you will either need to supply the sender with an alternative address or use a virtual office address.

Can you forward to PO Box addresses?

Yes, we can forward to a PO Box address.

Is the forwarding of my mail free?

Yes, we will scan (and if requested, forward) your Government mail free of charge to our UK and Overseas residents.