What Happens to Company Mail When You Change Your Registered Office?

Ryan Patrick

Sep 5, 2026 • 12 min read

Changing your UK company's registered office is relatively straightforward, but changing the address at Companies House does not automatically guarantee that every piece of company mail will immediately follow you to the new location. That distinction is easy to overlook. When a company moves from one registered office to another, there can be a transition period during which letters, legal documents and other correspondence may still be sent to the old address. If the old address is no longer monitored, important documents can be missed.

The safest approach is therefore to treat a registered office change as both a Companies House filing and a mail-management exercise. Under current Companies House rules, a company's registered office does not officially change until Companies House has registered the new address. The new address must also remain within the same part of the UK in which the company was registered. This guide explains what happens to company mail after a registered office change, what you should do with the old address, whether post is automatically redirected, and how founders can avoid missing important correspondence.

What Happens When You Change Your Registered Office?

There are essentially three stages:

You submit the new registered office address to Companies House.
Companies House registers the change.
You update everyone else who sends correspondence to your company.

The second stage is important because your new address is not officially the registered office until Companies House has registered the change. Once the change has been registered, Companies House updates the company's public record and informs HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the new registered office address.

However, this does not mean that every private organisation holding your old address automatically updates its records. Your bank, accountant, solicitor, insurers, suppliers, customers and other organisations may still have the old address in their systems. That is why the practical work continues after the Companies House update.

Does Company Mail Automatically Go to the New Address?

No, not all of it. Changing your registered office with Companies House changes the company's official address on the Companies House register. It does not magically update the address held by every organisation that has ever corresponded with your company. For example, suppose your company moves from:

Old registered office:
London Office A

to:

New registered office:
London Office B

A letter posted by someone who has recently obtained your Companies House details may use the new address. But a bank, supplier or solicitor with the old address stored in its own database may continue sending correspondence there until you notify it. This creates two separate mail streams:

Mail sent using the new address

This should go to your new registered office.

Mail sent using the old address

This may still arrive at the previous premises unless you have arranged an appropriate forwarding or diversion service. For that reason, never assume that updating Companies House alone is enough.

Is Mail Sent to the Old Registered Office Still Valid?

Potentially, yes. This is one of the most important practical issues. Changing your registered office does not necessarily mean that everyone who has an old address is immediately aware of the change. If an important document is sent to the old address, you should not assume that it can simply be ignored because the company has moved.

The precise legal consequences of service can depend on the type of document and the applicable rules. For important legal or court documents, professional legal advice may be appropriate. From a business-management perspective, however, the safest principle is simple:

Make sure someone continues monitoring the old address during the transition.

A company should never deliberately create a situation in which official correspondence disappears simply because its registered office has changed.

Does Companies House Forward Mail From the Old Address?

No. Companies House updates the company's registered information; it does not operate as a general mail-forwarding service for your previous registered office. The responsibility for managing mail during a move rests with the company and its service providers.

If the old address was provided by an accountant, solicitor, serviced-office provider or registered-office company, contact them before the move and ask what happens to post received after your service ends. Some providers will forward mail for an agreed period. Others may return it to sender or charge an additional fee. Do not rely on assumptions.

Should You Set Up Royal Mail Redirection?

For a genuine physical business move, Royal Mail's business redirection service can be useful. Royal Mail provides a Business Redirection service for businesses moving premises. It can redirect mail from an old business address to a new one. Royal Mail also notes that if a business is leaving a multi-occupied address, a Business Diversion service may be more appropriate depending on the circumstances.

There are practical details to consider. Royal Mail's guidance says that business redirection applications need the relevant company names and trading names whose mail needs redirecting. Additional names can involve additional charges and identification requirements. This matters for businesses that operate under:

A registered company name
A trading name
Multiple companies at one address
Affiliated organisations

But redirection should be a safety net not your entire strategy

A mail-redirection service can help catch correspondence during the transition. It should not replace updating the senders themselves. Your long-term objective should be for important organisations to hold the correct current address, rather than depending indefinitely on mail forwarding.

How Long Should You Keep the Old Address Monitored?

There is no universal period that works for every company. The appropriate transition period depends on how widely the old address has been used and how many organisations send you correspondence. A company with very little physical correspondence may need only a short transition period.

A company dealing with banks, government agencies, insurers, lawyers, investors and numerous suppliers may want a longer period of monitoring. A sensible approach is to keep access to the old address for as long as your previous address provider permits, while actively updating all important contacts.

Create an old-address checklist

At minimum, consider:

Companies House
HMRC
Business bank
Payment providers
Accountant
Payroll provider
Insurance company
Solicitor
Major customers
Major suppliers
Lenders
Pension or benefits administrators where relevant
Industry regulators
Professional memberships
Utilities
Leasing companies
Subscription services
Payment processors

The exact list depends on the business.

What Happens to HMRC Mail?

Companies House states that it will notify HMRC when a registered office address change has been registered. That is useful, but it does not mean every HMRC-related address record you maintain is necessarily something you should ignore. Your company may have other addresses and correspondence arrangements for different tax purposes. For example, HMRC may hold information relating to:

Corporation Tax
PAYE
VAT
Other tax registrations
Business activities
Correspondence

Where your company has multiple HMRC records or separate correspondence arrangements, check that the relevant information is current. The safest approach is to verify rather than assume.

What Happens to Bank Statements and Banking Mail?

Your business bank is separate from Companies House. Even if Companies House has registered your new office, your bank may still have the old address in its records. This is particularly important because banks may send:

Account correspondence
Security information
Statements
Card-related documents
Compliance requests
Legal notices
Lending documentation

Contact your bank and ask which address records need to be updated. Do not assume that the bank receives the Companies House update automatically and changes every internal address record.

What Happens If Your Old Registered Office Was a Virtual Office?

This situation is particularly common among startups and international founders. Suppose you used a professional registered-office provider when you incorporated the company and later move to another provider. The old provider may continue receiving letters after the change. Your agreement may specify:

How long mail will be held
Whether mail is scanned
Whether documents are forwarded
Whether forwarding attracts a fee
What happens after termination
How legal documents are handled
How quickly you must collect correspondence

Read the service agreement before cancelling. If you simply terminate the service and walk away, you could lose access to correspondence sent to the old address.

What If the Old Registered Office Was Your Home?

This creates a different consideration: privacy. Registered office addresses are publicly available on the Companies House register. Companies House provides procedures for changing an address and, in certain circumstances, removing a home address from the public register.

If your home was previously the company's registered office, changing it to a professional address can help separate your company's public address from your private residence. But do not forget to update your other business records too. A founder may successfully remove the home address from the company's registered office while the old address remains stored with a bank, supplier or other organisation.

How Quickly Do You Need to Tell Companies House?

Companies House guidance says you must notify it of a change to the registered office address within 14 days of the change taking place. However, there is an important distinction: The change does not officially take effect until Companies House registers it.

For that reason, it is sensible to submit the change promptly rather than treating the 14-day period as a target. The faster the official record is updated, the easier it becomes to keep your business information consistent.

Does Changing the Registered Office Change Your Company Number?

No. Changing your registered office does not create a new company. Your:

Company number
Legal identity
Incorporation date
Share structure
Directors
Existing contracts
Assets
Liabilities

remain associated with the same company, subject to any separate changes you make. The registered office is simply being updated. You do not need to incorporate a new company merely because you move the registered office. There is, however, an important geographical restriction.

Can You Move the Registered Office to Another Part of the UK?

Not simply by changing the address. The registered office must remain within the same part of the UK in which the company is registered. For example, a company registered in England and Wales can change its registered office to another address in England and Wales. A company registered in Scotland must keep its registered office in Scotland. A Northern Irish company must keep its registered office in Northern Ireland.

Companies House states that moving the registered office to another part of the UK may require the company to be re-incorporated rather than simply filing an address change. This is something to check before agreeing to a new address.

What If Mail Keeps Going to the Old Address Months Later?

This is a common sign that one or more organisations have not updated their records. Do not simply rely on forwarding indefinitely. Instead:

Open or otherwise process the correspondence appropriately.
Identify who sent it.
Contact the sender.
Provide the current address.
Ask them to update their records.
Check whether any other correspondence from that organisation uses the old address.
Keep monitoring the old address if possible.

The goal is to eliminate the old address from your important business relationships.

What About Legal Documents?

Legal correspondence deserves particular attention. A registered office is not simply a place to receive routine letters. It can be used for formal documents and legal notices. That means a registered office should be continuously monitored. Companies House describes an appropriate registered office as one w here post addressed to the company is expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company and where delivery can be acknowledged.

If you change addresses, therefore, the transition should be managed so that important documents do not fall into a gap between the old and new arrangements. If you discover that an important legal document was delivered to the old address, do not assume the issue is harmless. Depending on the document, deadlines may apply, so professional legal advice may be necessary.

What If Your Registered Office Provider Closes or Stops Providing the Service?

This is another scenario founders sometimes overlook. Suppose your registered-office provider suddenly stops operating or terminates your service. You need to arrange a replacement address quickly. Companies House requires companies to maintain an appropriate registered office at all times. If an address is not appropriate, Companies House has powers to take action, including changing the company's registered office to a default address.

The company may then be required to provide an appropriate replacement address, with failure potentially leading to strike-off proceedings. The lesson is simple: Your registered office should never be treated as a set-and-forget service.

A Practical Registered Office Change Checklist

Use this checklist whenever you move.

Before the move

Choose a compliant new registered office.
Confirm you have permission to use it.
Confirm it is in the correct UK jurisdiction.
Arrange mail handling at the new address.
Check your old provider's forwarding arrangements.
Identify important organisations that need updating.

When filing the change

Submit the registered-office change to Companies House.
Check the company details carefully.
Keep evidence of the submission.
Wait for Companies House to register the change.
Check the public record afterwards.

During the transition

Keep monitoring the old address.
Arrange appropriate Royal Mail redirection where useful.
Update your bank.
Update HMRC records where necessary.
Notify your accountant.
Update insurers and professional advisers.
Update major customers and suppliers.
Change your invoices and business stationery.
Update your website where the address is displayed.
Update contracts and standard correspondence templates.

After the move

Check Companies House again.
Confirm your bank has updated its records.
Confirm key suppliers have the new address.
Monitor the old address for unexpected mail.
Follow up with any organisation still using the old address.
Keep evidence of the address change and related notifications.

Should You Update Your Website and Invoices?

Yes. Even though a website address or invoice address is not necessarily the same thing as your registered office, outdated information can create confusion. For example, your website might display: Registered Office: Old Address, while Companies House shows: New Address, A customer checking both could reasonably wonder whether your website is outdated. Update relevant:

Website pages
Email signatures
Invoices
Quotes
Contracts
Letterheads
Purchase orders
Company profiles
Supplier portals
Customer portals

But be careful not to label every address as your registered office. If you have separate trading, correspondence and registered addresses, identify them accurately.

What About the Company's Business Cards?

This seems minor, but it is another source of stale information. If your company uses printed:

Business cards
Brochures
Letterheads
Marketing materials
Packaging

check whether the old address appears. For a small startup, this may be easy. For a larger company with multiple departments, distributors and sales teams, address changes should be communicated internally as part of the move.

A Realistic Example

Imagine a UK consulting company called Brightstone Advisory Ltd. Its original registered office is provided by a London serviced-office company. After two years, the founders decide to use another professional address. They update Companies House, and the new address becomes the company's official registered office. But several weeks later, the old provider receives:

A letter from the bank
A supplier notice
A legal letter
A professional membership renewal

Why? Because those organisations still have the previous address stored in their own systems. Brightstone's best response is not to blame Companies House. It should:

Arrange forwarding from the old provider.
Contact each sender.
Update the address in each system.
Confirm the new registered office.
Keep monitoring the old address temporarily.
Review other records for the same problem.

This is the difference between changing an address on paper and successfully migrating a company's correspondence system.

How IncorpUK Fits Into the Process

For global founders, changing a registered office may be part of a broader company-management process. A founder may move from a formation address to a dedicated registered-office service, change service providers, move into a co-working environment or establish a permanent office.

IncorpUK is relevant as a UK company formation and management platform for global founders, where registered-office decisions form part of wider company administration and compliance. The key is to treat an address change as an operational project rather than a single Companies House form.

FAQ

Does company mail automatically go to my new registered office?

Not necessarily. Mail sent using the new address should go to the new registered office, but organisations that still have your old address may continue sending correspondence there. Update important senders directly and consider a suitable mail-redirection arrangement during the transition.

Does Companies House forward mail after I change my registered office?

No. Companies House updates the company's official record but does not provide general mail forwarding from your previous registered office.

How long does a registered office change take?

Your new address does not officially become the registered office until Companies House registers the change. Companies House advises companies to notify it within 14 days of the change taking place.

Will HMRC know that I changed my registered office?

Companies House states that it will notify HMRC after the registered office change has been registered. However, you should still check that other relevant tax and correspondence details are correct.

Should I redirect mail from my old registered office?

It can be a sensible precaution, particularly if you expect important correspondence to continue arriving at the old address. Royal Mail offers a Business Redirection service for business moves.

Can I change my registered office to another part of the UK?

Generally, you cannot simply change the registered-office jurisdiction. The new address must remain within the same part of the UK in which the company is registered.

What happens to mail sent to my old virtual office?

It depends on your agreement with the provider. Some providers offer forwarding or scanning services after the registered-office service ends, while others may have different arrangements. Check the contract before cancelling.

Do I need to tell my bank about my new registered office?

Yes, it is sensible to update your bank directly. Your bank maintains its own records and may continue using the old address until you change it.

Can missing mail cause problems for my company?

Yes. Missing official, financial or legal correspondence can create serious practical problems. This is why a registered office must remain an appropriate address where company post is expected to reach someone acting for the company.

Do I need a new company number when I change my registered office?

No. Changing the registered office does not create a new company. Your existing company number and legal identity remain unchanged.

Conclusion

Changing your UK registered office is more than updating a line on the Companies House register. The official address changes when Companies House registers the new address, but your company's wider correspondence network may take longer to catch up. That is why a well-managed move should include both the legal filing and a deliberate mail-transition plan. Before and after changing your registered office:

Confirm the new address is legally appropriate.
File the change with Companies House promptly.
Check that the new address has been registered.
Keep the old address monitored during the transition where possible.
Consider Royal Mail Business Redirection where appropriate.
Update your bank, accountant, insurers and professional advisers.
Notify important customers and suppliers.
Update invoices, contracts, websites and other business materials.
Check that HMRC and other relevant records remain accurate.
Never ignore important documents that arrive at the old address.

For startups and international founders, this is especially important when moving between virtual offices, co-working spaces and serviced-office providers. The best address change is not simply one that appears correctly on Companies House. It is one where the legal record, mail handling, banking information, tax records and business communications all move together without leaving important correspondence behind.