Understanding the Directors and Members Service Address

When you are starting your business, there are all sorts of paperwork that must be completed. Incorporating a private company can be a complex process and it is important to get it right at the outset. One of the things to consider concerns the official addresses of your business.

When your limited company is registered, Companies House requires an address for all directors, in the case of a limited company, or members in the case of a limited liability partnership. This information goes on the public record of your company and can be accessed by any member of the public. This "service" address is used to send official correspondence to company officers.

For many directors and members, this can seem intrusive and a disturbance to their privacy. Having a personal residential address on the public record can also lead to an increase in junk mail and unwanted sales callers. With the rise of identity fraud, many people also consider the public revelation of their home address to be a needless financial risk.

The situation is even more important for non-UK directors and members. As the service address needs to be in the UK, they are prevented from using their normal residential address. In many cases, directors and members use the registered office address as a service address. This is perfectly acceptable and many Coddan clients choose to go down this route.

In some situations, however, this may not be desirable or possible. If you are using a third party provider for your registered office address, they may not have the facilities to operate a service address. As you might expect, there are some regulations and requirements governing the service address, which of course must be adhered to.

These include the ability to receive official mail and notices. The service address must also be able to forward that mail to the relevant director or member in reasonable time. In some instances, a company may have many offices and many directors or members and each may want to have a separate service address.

At Coddan, we have extensive experience in company formations and all the regulations and paperwork associated with such matters. We also assist our clients with a whole range of associated services and provide assistance at every stage in the life of their companies. As part of this service offering we provide a professional and convenient director and member service address facility.