{{Short description|Main address of a firm}} {{Globalize|date=July 2010}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} A '''registered office''' is the official address of an incorporated company, association or any other legal entity. Generally it will form part of the public record and is required in most countries where the registered organization or legal entity is incorporated.<ref>Andersen, Arthur. ''The European Film Production Guide: Finance, Tax, Legislation''. Routledge, 1996. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_14gq_KsRwMC&dq=%22Registered+office%22+definition&pg=PA21 21]. Retrieved from Google Books on 3 July 2010. {{ISBN|0-415-13665-2}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-13665-5}}.</ref> A registered physical office address is required for incorporated organizations to receive official correspondence and formal notices from government departments, investors, banks, shareholders, and the public, in most countries in the world.<ref name="A&T">{{cite book|last1=Adirondack|first1=Sandy|last2=Taylor|first2=James Sinclair|title=Voluntary sector legal handbook|date=2008|publisher=Directory of Social Change|location=London|isbn=9781903991879|edition=3rd}}</ref>{{rp|209}}
==In the United Kingdom== In the United Kingdom, the Companies Act 2006 requires all companies to have a registered office.<ref>Companies Act 2006, [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/86 section 86]</ref> Documents may be served on companies by delivery to the registered office address as recorded at Companies House.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Dictionary of Law|date=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-184080-7|editor-last=Law|editor-first=Jonathan|edition=Ninth|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|pages=571|chapter=Registered office|oclc=1043882876}}</ref> A registered office address is required for incorporated organizations to receive official correspondence and formal notices from government departments, investors, banks, shareholders, and the public.<ref name="A&T" />{{rp|209}} The registered office address does not have to be where the organization conducts its actual business or trade, and it is not unusual for law firms, accountants or incorporation agents to provide the registered office address service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Set up a private limited company |url=https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/company-address |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> A company's registered name must be visible to the public at its registered office,<ref>The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/17), [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/17/regulation/21/made regulation 21(1)(a)]</ref> although there is an exception for people running a business from their home.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Running a limited company: your responsibilities |url=https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/signs-stationery-and-promotional-material |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> Companies must include their registered office address on all communications, such as letters, and on their websites.<ref>The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/17), [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/17/regulation/24/made regulation 24]</ref>
A company's statutory records previously had to be kept at the registered office and available for public inspection; since 1 October 2009, it has been possible for companies to designate a single alternative inspection location (SAIL) as a place to keep their records which must be available for public inspection.<ref name="A&T" />{{rp|210}} Since June 2016, private companies can elect to keep certain records on the central register which is held and published by Companies House, instead of maintaining their own registers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/26/contents|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=31 January 2021|website=legislation.gov.uk|at=Part 8 s.94 and Schedule 5}}</ref>
A company must indicate in which of the United Kingdom's three jurisdictions its registered office is to be located: England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. Companies incorporated in Wales may elect for their registered office address to be recorded as in Wales rather than in England and Wales.<ref name="companies house">{{cite web|title=Company Formation GBF1|url=http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gbf1.shtml|access-date=10 October 2008|publisher=Companies House|year=2003|work=Companies House website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012111500/http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gbf1.shtml|archive-date=12 October 2008}}</ref> Under regulations implemented in the UK on 1 October 2009, company directors may now also use a registered office address instead of their private home address for contact on the Companies House register.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Companies (Disclosure of Address) Regulations 2008 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2008/9780111470220 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20230826074339/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2008/9780111470220 |archive-date=2023-08-26 |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref>
==Other countries== {{Expand section|date=April 2026}}{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2023}} In many other countries, the address with which a company is registered must be where its headquarters or seat is located, and this will often determine the subnational registry at which the company must be registered.
=== Ireland === In Ireland, section 50 of the Companies Act 2014 requires every company to maintain a registered office in the state. The address must be a physical location to enable people to visit the company's registered office for document and register inspection purposes, and also to enable document delivery by hand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Registered Office |url=https://cro.ie/registration/company/incidental-obligations/registered-office/ |access-date=2026-05-04 |website=Companies Registration Office |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Companies}} *[http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ Companies House] holds the registration details of UK companies *[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incorporation-and-names#ch1 Incorporating a company] UK Companies House guidance including explanation of registered office *[http://www.business.govt.nz/companies/learn-about/companies/company-addresses Company addresses] NZ Companies Office guidance on registered office address
{{DEFAULTSORT:Registered Office}} Category:Business Category:Address (geography) Category:United Kingdom company law