Board minutes approving a change of registered office

Use these template board minutes to approve your company's change of registered office. These minutes should only be used if your company has the model articles of association. These minutes also record the formalities which you will need to follow, including filing the change at Companies House. You need to make sure you follow the right legal process for changing your registered office, as otherwise it will not be effective.
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Sole director resolution approving a change of registered office

This is a sole director resolution, for use by a company with only one director to change its registered office address. The resolution will be passed as soon as it is signed by the relevant director. Any change to your company’s registered office should always be approved by your company first. For a company with only one director, this approval can take the form of this resolution. This sole director resolution, and accompanying guidance, is drafted for a company with model articles of association. If your company has modified articles of association, or a shareholders’ agreement, you may be required to follow a different process in order to change your registered office address. You should therefore check the terms of any modified articles or shareholders’ agreement before using this template. If your company has more than one director, you should not use this sole director resolution to approve a change to your registered office. Instead, you should use the template board minutes or written board resolution .
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Changing a company's registered office
How to change a company's registered office
Q1:What is a company's registered office?

Every must provide a address to . Your 's address will be publicly available on the Companies House register along with the rest of your 's registered information.

Your 's is its public address for use by third parties and for sending official and legal correspondence. It is also the principal place at which your 's and records are kept.

For further general guidance on your 's obligation to have a , and how you should choose it, see Q&A 3 and Choosing a company's registered office.


Q2:Can I change the address of my company's registered office?

You can change the address of your 's at any time by giving notice to and by complying with the procedure set out at Q&A 7 and following. The change will not take effect until you give such a notice.


Q3:What do I need to consider when choosing a new registered office for my company?

You are broadly free to choose any address for your new ; there is no legal requirement for it to be the place from which you trade or operate. However, it must meet certain minimum requirements:

  1. it must be a physical address and not a PO Box;

  2. it must be an 'appropriate address', which means that in the ordinary course of events:

    1. a document addressed to the , and delivered there by hand or by post, would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the ; and

    2. the delivery of documents there is capable of being recorded by the obtaining of an acknowledgement of delivery; and

  3. it must be located in the country in which your is .

There are a number of other practical considerations you may bear in mind when choosing a new , including:

  1. ensuring you have authority from your landlord if the address is a rented property;

  2. understanding that the new address will be publicly available, particularly if you intend to use a residential address; and

  3. understanding that, unless you have set up an alternative inspection location, you must keep your 's and records available for inspection at your .

For further guidance on how you should go about deciding what address to use as your 's , see What address to choose for a registered office.


Q4:Can Companies House reject a notice to change my company's registered office?

Yes, it can if your notice does not comply with the legal requirements. For example, will reject a notice to change your 's if:

  1. it is not located in England or Wales (assuming your was in either country); or

  2. it is not a full postal address, which will verify using the Post Office address .


When to change a company's registered office
Q5:When might I want to change the address of my company's registered office?

You may wish to change your 's address for a variety of reasons. For example, if you move premises, you will want to move the so that you continue to receive communications from . Alternatively, if you use one of your 's professional advisers' offices for your (eg your ’s accountants), you will need to change the address of your ’s if they move premises or you cease to engage them.

You might also consider it sensible to change your if you find that correspondence is going astray. This can happen, for example, where you premises with other occupants and they may pick up correspondence addressed to your but do not pass it on.


Q6:Can I be forced to change my company's registered office?

You should be aware that has the power to require you to change the address of your if satisfied you are not authorised to use that address. For example, if you use someone else's address without first obtaining their consent to do so.

Anyone can apply to to change your 's , explaining why and providing supporting documents or information. can, following receipt of an application, order you to do so if satisfied you are not authorised to use that address.


Steps required to change a company's registered office
Q7:In summary, how can I change the address of my company's registered office?

Unless your has adopted a different procedure in its of association or agreement (you should check this), the have the power to make the change by simply passing a . Be aware that important documents can still legally be sent to your old address for 14 days after you have completed the change; see Q&A 13 and Q&A 14 for further information.

You will need to do the following in order to change the address of your 's :

  1. check that your chosen address meets requirements and that it is a practical choice bearing in mind what a is used for. See What address to choose for a registered office for further information about this;

  2. pass a to approve the change of . There are a number of ways in which to pass a , as explained in Q&A 8;

  3. file the necessary form at to register the change of address and make it legally effective: see Q&A 9 for information about how to do this; and

  4. ensure that you take the necessary practical steps following the change, within 14 days of notifying about it: see Q&A 12 for information about the steps you need to take.

If your has imposed restrictions on its ability to change its registered address in its or , you will need to follow that procedure. Alternatively you could amend the or to remove those requirements (and then follow the process set out in this guidance). See Changing a company's articles of association and Shareholders' agreements for more information about amending these documents. Note, there are no such restrictions if your uses the default .


Q8:How can I pass a board resolution to approve a change of registered office?

Most commonly, this will be passed at a , and you must ensure that minutes of this meeting are kept. For template of such a meeting, see Board minutes approving a change of registered office.

Alternatively, the can be passed as a , but such a will only be passed once signed by all . For a template , see Written board resolution approving a change of registered office.

If your has only one , the can be passed by the signing a to approve the change of . For a template , see Sole director resolution approving a change of registered office.

For general guidance on passing board , including guidance on convening a , see How to make a board decision.


Q9:What filings with Companies House do I need to make when changing the address of my company's registered office?

Once you have resolved to change your 's address, you must file the AD01 form at . This can be done online via the WebFiling service (if your is registered for online filing) or by post in hard-copy paper form.


Q10:What is the time limit for filing notice of a change of address for my company’s registered office?

There is no time limit for making the filing, but as explained in Q&A 13 your change of address will not take legal effect until has registered the change.

You should be aware that important documents can still legally be sent to your old address for a period of 14 days after you have notified the change to . There are in addition several practical matters you will need to attend to after changing your in order to avoid your legal obligations. See Q&A 12 and following for further information.


Q11:What happens if I do not file notice of a change of registered office with Companies House?

If your is your business address, you move premises but you fail to file the necessary notice to change your , from a legal perspective your previous address will remain as your . Until you make the necessary filing, this is likely to have a number of adverse consequences for you and your including the following:

  1. any official or legal correspondence from third parties will be validly sent to your previous address;

  2. if you no longer have your available for inspection at your previous address, you are likely to be your obligation to keep these at your (unless you have already set up a );

  3. if you display your new office address on your stationery and website, you will be your disclosure obligations;

  4. if your name is no longer displayed at your previous address, you will be your obligation to display this at your .

the obligations set out above can potentially result in a fine for your and for any responsible for such a . For further guidance see What to do at a registered office, Where to keep company records and Company stationery .

If your address on the is out of date or has not been changed following a move, you should make the necessary filing as soon as possible. For further guidance on how to do this see Q&A 7.


Practical matters after changing a company's registered office
Q12:What steps do I need to take after changing the address of my company's registered office?

There are certain practical steps you must take once you have registered a change of office, in order to comply with your legal obligations. These are explained below.

You must take all of these steps within 14 days of notifying of a change to your address, beginning on the day after you make the notification. See Q&A 7 and following for further information about how to make the notification.

  1. Move your records and documents to your new registered address

    You are obliged to keep certain records and available for inspection at your address, including your and your as well as others, unless you have set up a . See Where to keep company records for further information about your obligations. You must ensure that all of these documents are transferred to the new .

  2. Update your stationery and website

    You are obliged to put your address on your business letters, order forms and websites. See Company stationery for further information about your obligations. You must ensure that these are updated to reflect the new address.

  3. Display your 's name at your new

    You are obliged to display your 's name at its . See What to do at a registered office for further information about how this must be done. You must ensure that the name is displayed at the new address.

As a practical matter, you might want to consider writing to all customers and suppliers once you have changed your address so as to reduce the chances of important correspondence being sent to the wrong address. Mail forwarding services are not infallible and the sooner your customers and suppliers start sending correspondence to your new address, the better. For further guidance see Q&A 14.

You should also check your previous for post after your move as, during the period of 14 days from when you give notice to , third parties can still treat this as your to send legal correspondence.


Q13:When will the change of address of my company's registered office take effect?

The change of address of your 's will only take legal effect once all of the steps set out in Q&A 7 have been carried out and has registered the change.

Although your change of will take legal effect immediately upon registration by , the law provides for a 14 day transition period starting on the date makes the change. This is for two reasons:

  1. 14 days to allow you to comply with your legal obligations after changing your address. For guidance on these obligations see Q&A 12; and

  2. 14 days during which third parties can still legally send correspondence to your previous address. For further guidance, see Q&A 14.

You should therefore ensure you are able to complete the practicalities associated with the change within this 14 days period, and also that your previous address can be monitored during this time.


Q14:What happens if someone sends correspondence to my company at its old registered office?

Although a change of takes effect when registered by , a person who a document on your at its old address within 14 days of registering the change will have validly it.

Accordingly, it is important that you make arrangements to check regularly for any post or other documents left at the old address during this period.

In any event, it is likely that you will want to ensure that you receive correspondence sent to the old address and it is good practice to set up a mail forwarding service for a period of time following the change of . You should also make arrangements to ensure that documents delivered other than by mail will be forwarded to you.

This might be relevant if a courier or attends at the old to documents on your . It will also help to ensure that you receive all relevant correspondence.