What's the Difference Between a Correspondence Address & Residential Address?

Imagine you’re launching a new business in the UK. It’s an incredibly exciting time for any entrepreneur. You’ve got a brilliant product or service ready to put out into the market, you’ve got a solid business plan and now it’s time to build your business’s presence. But before you hit the ground running, you’ll need to deal with some practical matters; such as, where will all of your business’s official mail and packages go?

When registering a limited company in the UK you must supply a registered office address to Companies House. This address must be a physical address in the UK  and comply with regulatory requirements set by Companies House. A registered office can be any physical address whether residential or commercial. It's crucial to pick the right registered office address as this is where your business will receive its correspondence. Another address all company officers must supply to Companies House is a correspondence address (also known as a service address) this is the address where all company officers (directors, shareholders, secretary etc.) will receive their correspondence. A residential address is an address where someone resides, but any address you have resided in for 183 days is considered your residential address.

This blog will answer key questions such as; what is a residential address and what is a correspondence address. It will also look at the key differences between the two terms.

Looking to set your company up with a registered office in London? We can help. Contact us today to use our registered office service and set your company up in London!

• What is a registered office address?

What's a Correspondence Address?

A correspondence address, also known as a service address, is where you are officially contacted, aka receive post, packages and documents, but do not reside. In the context of a limited company, every company officer (directors, shareholders, Persons of Significant Control or secretary) must provide a correspondence address and a residential address to Companies House.

It’s important to note that a business’s director(s) and secretary’s correspondence address will be listed publicly on Companies House, alongside their name.

You can use any address for a correspondence address, but the officers must also provide their actual residence address.

A correspondence address is really similar to a registered office address. Both addresses are available to the public via the Companies House register, officers do not need to work from these addresses, and you can use a residential address- but it’s not advisable due to privacy concerns.

The main difference between a correspondence address and a registered office address is that a correspondence address can be anywhere in the world, whereas, a registered office address must be a physical address in the UK.

Since a correspondence address is public, many companies use a commercial address or a virtual office service as their dedicated correspondence address.  

There are numerous benefits to having a dedicated correspondence address:

• Professionalism: A dedicated correspondence address projects a professional image- it implies a company’s operations are bigger. Secondly, a dedicated address allows people to separate their work and personal mail. 
• Privacy: As a correspondence address is public, having a dedicated address protects the privacy of a company’s officials.
• Convenience: All of a company’s post, including those directed to company officers, comes to one place. This allows for a company’s post to be accessible even if your directors etc travel around. 
• Flexibility: A correspondence address doesn’t have to be where a business works. If a company is spread all over the country, or even the world, they can choose a virtual office service to receive correspondence. This means they’ll receive all their post without compromising on flexibility. 

What's a Residential Address?

Company officers must provide two addresses: a correspondence address and a residential address. But what does a residential address mean?

In essence, a residential mailing address is where someone resides. An address is qualified as a residential address if a person lives there for around 183 days in a year. A person can have multiple residential addresses, such as a university student or a migrant worker.

When registering your company you’ll need to provide proof of address, this is for identification and to have better knowledge about who is forming companies—  which helps cut back on economic crime. You can prove your residential address in the UK through utility bills or bank statements received in your name.  A correspondence address does not require the same proof of address. 

Correspondence Address vs. Residential Address

Location is a key difference between a correspondence address and a residential address. A residential address is tied to where a company’s officer lives, whereas a correspondence address can be anywhere. This means a business can pick an address which gives them an enhanced professional image and is in a convenient location for them to access.

Alternatively, if a company uses a residential address as a correspondence address it can open the address up to privacy concerns and may blur the lines between your work and personal life.

As mentioned above, another address supplied to Companies House when incorporating is the registered office address. This is a legal requirement for all UK limited companies. Your registered office address can be the same as your correspondence address and often is. This allows for all important correspondence addressed to your business or your company’s officers to arrive in one place.

With Companies MadeSimple, our registered office service applies to both your company’s registered office and your director’s service/correspondence address. 

Can a Home Address be your Correspondence Address?

The short answer is yes and a lot of first-time business owners do– but it’s not always the best move due to a few factors.

Most critically, the correspondence address is both public and linked to your/a company officer’s name. This means that one search of a director’s name can reveal their home address if they choose to list it as their correspondence address. Not only will this open your residential address up to unsolicited post and visitors but it also makes you vulnerable on the internet.

Using your home address as a correspondence address and a registered office address is a popular choice for new business since it is easy and cost-effective. However, due to this, companies who choose to use a home address can be perceived as smaller, and less professional.

Finally, using your home address for your business can blur the boundaries between your work and home life. You’ll receive all business correspondence at your home address. This can be quite overwhelming and difficult to manage.

There are many cost-effective choices for those wishing to keep their address private within a limited budget. Such as: 

• Service Address service
• Registered Office service
• Virtual Office service 

Now you Know the Difference!

So there you have it. A correspondence address or service address is where your company’s officers get their business correspondence such as letters, packages and documents. Whereas, a residential address is where someone resides. It qualifies as a residential address if you reside there 183 days a year. There a many benefits to using a dedicated correspondence address– flexibility, privacy, and professionalism.

In conclusion, it's important to consider all the elements of using a residential address as your correspondence address. Before registering your company make sure to analyse your specific needs.

Finally, if you need help registering your office address, get in touch! Here at Companies MadeSimple, we’re dedicated to making the registration process as simple as possible. Our registered office address service covers both your business’ registered office and the correspondence address of one officer. In turn, we’ll process your mail safely and securely and send it to you via email.