Virtual office guide
Can a limited company use a virtual office?
Yes. A limited company can use a virtual office as its registered office. It must be an appropriate address, where post reaches someone acting for the company. It can also be your business address and your directors' service address. If you work somewhere else, it won't usually count as your principal place of business for HMRC.
What Companies House needs from a registered office
Your company's registered office can be a virtual office. It just has to meet the same rules as any other registered office:
- It's an appropriate address. Post sent to the company would reach someone acting for it, and they could acknowledge it.
- It isn't a PO box. It has to be a physical address.
- It's in the right part of the UK. A company registered in England and Wales needs a registered office in England or Wales.
- You have permission to use it. With a virtual office, that's your agreement with the provider.
A virtual office in Liverpool in a building with staff meets all four. At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, our team handles virtual office post ourselves. We do it here at 433 Liverpool Road, Huyton, Liverpool, L36 8HT, and keep it securely stored.
What a virtual office can be used for
| Use | Can it be a virtual office? |
|---|---|
| Registered office on Companies House | Yes, if it's an appropriate address |
| Director's service address | Yes |
| Business address on your website, invoices and letters | Yes |
| Google Business Profile | Only if you meet customers there in your listed hours. Google's own rules decide this. |
| Principal place of business for HMRC | Usually not, if you run the business from somewhere else |
What to check before you sign up
Your AML checks with the provider
Anyone who provides a registered office service has to check who their clients are. This is under the anti-money laundering rules. Expect to confirm who you are before the address goes live. At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, we send a secure form for this after you sign up.
Identity verification with Companies House
Companies House now also asks company directors and people with significant control to verify their identity. You do that with Companies House or an authorised agent. You don't do it with your virtual office provider.
What happens to your post
Official letters from Companies House, HMRC and the courts go to your registered office. So check how the provider handles post. Is it scanned? Can you collect it? Who tells you when it arrives? At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, every plan lets you collect your post from reception. The Virtual Office plan at £40 a month also has your post opened and scanned.
Whether you need premises
A few kinds of business need their own premises for a licence or registration. Some food, health and regulated financial businesses are like this. If that's you, check with the regulator before you rely on a virtual office.
Keeping your home address private
If you set the company up from home, your home may be on the public register. It may be there as the registered office and as your service address. A virtual office can replace it in both places. Every plan covers the registered office. Director's Cover adds the director's service address for £10 a month.
More detail: how to keep your home address off Companies House and registered office vs business address. Or see registered office address plans in Liverpool.