What Is a Director's Service Address?

A director's service address is the address a UK company director provides to Companies House for receiving official communications relating to their role. It is the address that appears on the public Companies House register. The service address is not necessarily the director's home address. A director can use a different suitable address, including the company's registered office, provided it meets the relevant requirements.

This distinction is particularly important for people who run companies from home, overseas founders who do not live in the UK, and entrepreneurs who want to keep their personal residential address off the public register. Under UK company rules, directors generally provide both a service address and a usual residential address when they are appointed. The service address is public; the usual residential address is kept on a private register.

What does a director's service address mean?

A director's service address is essentially their public correspondence address. Companies House describes it as an address that can be used by a director to receive communications from third parties about the company. It can be the company's registered office, the director's residential address, or another suitable address. For example, a director might have:

• Residential address: Their home in Lagos, Nigeria
• Service address: A professional correspondence address in London
• Company registered office: A separate compliant address in England

These three addresses can be different. The service address is therefore not proof that the director lives at that location. It is primarily a public-facing correspondence address.

Is a director's service address public?

Yes. The service address is placed on the public Companies House record. Anyone searching the company's record can generally see it. Companies House's current AP01 director appointment form explicitly states that the service address is the address that will appear on the public record.

This is one of the biggest differences between a service address and a residential address. If a director uses their home as their service address, that home address can become publicly visible. Companies House therefore advises directors who do not want their home address publicly available to use a different address for their service address or the company's registered office.

Service address vs residential address

The two addresses serve different purposes.

A director should therefore avoid treating the two fields as interchangeable. Companies House requires both addresses for directors, with the residential address held privately and the service address made public.

Can the service address be the company's registered office?

Yes. A director can use the company's registered office as their service address. This is specifically recognised by Companies House. When the service address is the same as the company's registered office, the relevant filing can indicate that relationship rather than treating it as a separate physical address. For a small company, this can be a straightforward arrangement.

Example

Imagine a UK company has:

Registered office:
100 High Street, London

Director:
Emma Johnson

Emma lives at a different private residential address but chooses the company's registered office as her service address. The public Companies House record can therefore show the company address as Emma's service address without publishing her home address. However, Emma must still provide Companies House with her genuine usual residential address.

Can a director use their home address as their service address?

Yes, but there is an important privacy consequence. If a director uses their residential address as their service address, that address will appear on the public register. Companies House's AP01 form expressly warns that if the residential address is provided as the service address, it will appear on the public record.

For someone who works from home, this could mean customers, suppliers, competitors and members of the public can find their home address through the Companies House record. That is why many directors choose a separate service address.

Why would a director use a separate service address?

There are several practical reasons.

1. Privacy

The most obvious reason is keeping a home address off the public register. This can be especially useful for founders operating from their homes.

2. Professional presentation

A business correspondence address can provide a clearer separation between personal and corporate affairs.

3. International company formation

A founder living outside the UK may want their genuine overseas residential address recorded privately while using an appropriate correspondence address publicly.

4. Home-based businesses

If the company is operated from a director's home, using the home as a service address could expose that address publicly.

5. Managing correspondence

A professional address provider may receive company correspondence and forward it to the director, depending on the service arrangement. The important point is that a service address is not merely a marketing feature. It is part of the company's statutory information and needs to be maintained properly.

What makes a service address suitable?

The address should be capable of receiving communications intended for the director. It should not simply be an address selected because it looks prestigious or appears to be in the UK. Companies House's guidance describes the service address as an address for receiving communications concerning the company. If using a third-party address service, the director should make sure:

• They have permission to use the address.
• Correspondence addressed to them can actually reach the address.
• The provider understands its responsibilities.
• Important correspondence will be forwarded or made available promptly.
• The arrangement remains active for as long as the address is being used.

An address that cannot reliably receive correspondence defeats the purpose of having a service address.

Does a director need a UK service address?

Not necessarily. A director does not generally have to live in the UK to become a director of a UK company, and the service address does not have to be the director's home. The service address can be the company's registered office or another suitable address.

For international founders, this is an important distinction. A founder living in Nigeria, India, Canada, the UAE or the United States can potentially serve as a UK company director without having a UK residential address. The company itself still needs an appropriate registered office in the relevant UK jurisdiction.

International founder example

Suppose David lives in Abuja and establishes a UK limited company. His records might look like this:

Usual residential address:
His genuine home address in Abuja

Director service address:
A suitable correspondence address

Company registered office:
An appropriate UK address, David does not need to claim that the UK correspondence address is his home. This separation helps maintain accurate Companies House records while keeping his personal residential address private.

Is a service address the same as a registered office?

No. The two addresses can be the same, but they have different legal functions.

Registered office

The registered office belongs to the company. It is the company's official address for receiving documents and must meet Companies House requirements. It must be an appropriate address in the same UK country in which the company is registered.

Director service address

The service address belongs to the director's public record. It is used for correspondence concerning that director and is publicly available. A company with three directors could, for example, have one registered office but different service addresses for each director.

Can all directors use the same service address?

Yes, where appropriate. There is no general requirement for each director to have a unique service address. For example, three directors of a company could all use the company's registered office as their service address. Alternatively, each could use a different professional correspondence address. What matters is that the information filed with Companies House is accurate and the addresses are suitable for receiving communications.

What happens if a director changes their service address?

The company's Companies House records should be updated. A director's service address is part of the information that Companies House maintains, so a change should not simply be left until the next annual filing.

Companies House provides procedures for notifying changes to directors' details, including changes to service addresses. Its CH01 guidance specifically covers a change of service address. This is important because an outdated service address can cause important legal or corporate correspondence to go unnoticed.

Example

A director initially uses: 10 Business Street, Manchester, Six months later, the director moves to a new professional address: 20 Market Road, Manchester, The company should update the Companies House record rather than allowing official correspondence to continue going to the old address.

What if the service address changes but the home address does not?

This is perfectly possible. The two addresses are maintained separately. For example:

Service address: Changes from Address A to Address B
Residential address: Remains unchanged

The director only needs to update the relevant information. Companies House guidance specifically recognises situations where a director changes their service address without changing their residential address. The reverse can also happen: a director may move home while keeping the same service address.

What happens if the director's home and service address are the same?

The director can use the same address for both purposes, but the consequences are important. Because the service address is public, the home address can become visible on the public Companies House register. If the director later decides to separate the addresses, Companies House has procedures for updating the relevant records. This is why it is worth deciding on the address structure before incorporation or appointment, rather than discovering the privacy issue afterward.

Can you change a director's service address later?

Yes. A director does not have to keep the original service address forever. If circumstances change for example, the director starts using a professional correspondence service the company can update the Companies House record.

There are also procedures for correcting or removing certain addresses in particular circumstances. Companies House states that an application may be possible where a home address has been used as a service or correspondence address, subject to the relevant requirements. However, it is better to provide the correct public address from the beginning than to rely on later correction procedures.

What if the service address is not genuine or cannot receive mail?

This can create compliance and practical problems. A service address exists so that communications can reach the director. Using an address that is merely convenient but cannot reliably receive correspondence undermines that purpose. Directors should therefore be cautious about inexpensive address services that do not clearly explain:

• Who receives mail
• How correspondence is notified
• Whether documents are forwarded
• How quickly mail is handled
• How long the service remains active
• What happens when the service is cancelled

For an important legal correspondence address, reliability matters more than simply finding the lowest price.

Can a director use a PO Box?

A PO Box should not be confused with an appropriate registered office or service address. The requirements depend on the specific address and service arrangement, and a director should not assume that any PO Box automatically satisfies Companies House requirements.

For the company's registered office, Companies House requires an appropriate physical address where documents delivered by hand or post would be expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company and where delivery can be recorded. For directors, the safest approach is to use an address that clearly functions as a genuine correspondence address and meets Companies House requirements.

Is a service address useful for global founders?

Very much so. For an international founder, the service address solves a practical problem: how to maintain a UK company's public corporate record without unnecessarily publishing the founder's home address. Consider a founder living in Kenya who wants to establish a UK limited company. They may have no UK home at all. The founder can still potentially:

1. Become a UK company director.
2. Provide their genuine Kenyan residential address privately.
3. Use an appropriate service address for public correspondence.
4. Maintain a compliant UK registered office for the company.

This is one reason understanding UK address requirements is important before forming a company from abroad. IncorpUK, for example, operates in the broader company formation and management space for global founders who want to establish and manage UK companies remotely. Address arrangements are one practical part of the wider corporate infrastructure an overseas entrepreneur needs to consider.

Service address checklist for directors

Before submitting director information to Companies House, ask:

Public information

• Am I comfortable with this address appearing publicly?
• Can members of the public find it through Companies House?

Reliability

• Can official correspondence reach this address?
• Will I receive important documents promptly?

Privacy

• Is this my home address?
• If it is, am I comfortable with it being public?

Accuracy

• Does the address match the arrangement I actually have?
• Have I provided my genuine residential address in the correct private field?

Ongoing compliance

• What happens if I move?
• Who will update the Companies House record?
• Will the address remain available for the entire period it is being used?

These simple checks can prevent avoidable problems later.

FAQ: Director Service Addresses

What is a director's service address?

It is the address a director provides for receiving correspondence relating to their role. It is publicly available on the Companies House register.

Is a director's service address public?

Yes. It forms part of the public Companies House record.

Can a director use their home as a service address?

Yes, but the home address will then be publicly visible. Companies House advises using another address if you want to keep your home address private.

Can the service address be the registered office?

Yes. A director can use the company's registered office as their service address.

Is the service address the same as the residential address?

Not necessarily. The residential address is where the director normally lives and is kept private. The service address is the public correspondence address.

Does a non-resident director need a UK service address?

Not necessarily. A director can live outside the UK. The service address can be the registered office or another suitable correspondence address.

Can I change my service address after becoming a director?

Yes. Changes to a director's service address can be notified to Companies House using the applicable filing process.

Can two directors use the same service address?

Yes, provided the address is appropriate for receiving correspondence for each director.

What happens if I accidentally use my home address as my service address?

The home address can appear on the public Companies House register. If this happens, Companies House provides procedures for changing or, in qualifying circumstances, removing the address from the public record.

Conclusion

A director's service address is the public correspondence address recorded against their directorship at Companies House. It is not necessarily their home address and can be the company's registered office or another suitable address. The crucial distinction is between the three main addresses:

• Residential address: where the director normally lives; generally private.
• Service address: the director's public correspondence address.
• Registered office: the company's official registered address.

For UK founders, separating these addresses can provide a useful combination of compliance, privacy and practical correspondence management. For global entrepreneurs, it also means that living outside the UK does not automatically prevent them from serving as a UK company director. The best approach is straightforward: provide your genuine residential address privately, choose an appropriate service address for the public record, and keep both records accurate whenever circumstances change.