AD01 Form UK: Change Registered Office Address

At a glance

• Form: AD01, filed under section 87 of the Companies Act 2006.
• The appropriate-address rule: since 4 March 2024, the registered office must be an "appropriate address" under section 86(2) of the Companies Act 2006 — a standalone PO Box no longer qualifies.
• Fee: none at the time of writing (check GOV.UK for the current position).
• Processing time: usually within 24 hours online; paper filings take considerably longer.
• Legal effect: the change takes effect only once Companies House registers it — not on the date you submit the form.
• Old-address protection: documents served at the previous registered office remain validly served for 14 days after the change is registered (section 87(2)).
• Notification duty: Companies House guidance requires you to tell it within 14 days of the office actually moving.
• Enforcement: an address Companies House considers inappropriate can be replaced with a Companies House "default address," with strike-off risk for continued non-compliance under section 1097A.

What form AD01 does

The AD01 is the Companies House form a UK limited company uses to notify the registrar, under section 87 of the Companies Act 2006, of a change to its registered office address. Every company incorporated in England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland must maintain a registered office within that same jurisdiction, and the address is published on the public Companies House register.

You cannot use the AD01 to move a company registered in England and Wales to a Scottish or Northern Irish address, or the other way round — the official AD01 form sets this out directly: for an England and Wales company the new address can be anywhere in England or Wales; for a Welsh company it must be in Wales; for a Scottish or Northern Irish company it must stay in that jurisdiction. The registered office is the company's official point of service for legal documents, tax correspondence, and statutory notices, which is part of why the rules on what makes it an acceptable address were tightened in 2024.

The form can be filed on paper or, more usually, online through Companies House WebFiling or the Companies House service. There's no fee at the time of writing. This guide focuses on companies registered in England and Wales; the same statutory framework applies UK-wide, but a company registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland must keep its registered office there.

The "appropriate address" rule — what changed in 2024

Before 4 March 2024, a company's registered office simply had to sit in the right jurisdiction — there was no statutory test for whether anyone would actually see post sent there. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 changed that. It substituted a new section 86 into the Companies Act 2006, creating a duty for every company to ensure its registered office is, at all times, an "appropriate address."

Under section 86(2), an address is appropriate if, in the ordinary course of events:

• a document addressed to the company, and delivered there by hand or by post, would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company, and
• delivery of documents there is capable of being recorded by obtaining an acknowledgement of delivery.

Failing to comply without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence under section 86(3), committed by the company and by every officer in default, punishable by a fine.

The same reform inserted a new section 87(1A): the notice you give when changing your registered office — the AD01 itself — must now include a statement confirming the new address is an appropriate address within the meaning of section 86(2). The current AD01 form builds this in as a mandatory declaration you sign as part of the filing.

Does your address meet the test?

| Address type | Appropriate address? | |---|---| | Your own home address (lived in) | Yes — but it becomes visible on the public register once used | | A friend's or family member's address, with their permission | Yes, provided post there is expected to reach someone acting for the company and delivery can be acknowledged | | An accountant's or solicitor's office, with their agreement | Yes, if they've agreed to accept and act on statutory post | | A registered office / service address provider | Yes, if the provider is set up to receive, acknowledge, and forward post | | A standalone PO Box | No — delivery to a bare PO Box cannot be acknowledged by "a person acting on behalf of the company" | | An empty, disused, or unstaffed property | No — post would not be expected to come to anyone's attention | | An address used without the occupier's permission | No, and it can trigger the registrar's rectification power (see below) |

This reform was part of a wider package under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 aimed at reducing the use of registered offices that make companies hard to trace, or that misuse someone else's address without their knowledge or consent.

How to file the AD01

1. Confirm the directors agree to the change. Changing the registered office is normally a board decision, so record it in a board minute or written resolution before filing. Check your articles of association for any restrictions, and make sure the proposed new address is in the same UK jurisdiction as the company's incorporation, otherwise the filing will be rejected.
2. Check the new address meets the appropriate-address test. If you're using a service address provider, an accountant's office, or a business centre, make sure they have agreed in writing to accept and act on statutory post. Using an address without genuine permission is both a compliance risk and, since 2024, a specific trigger for the registrar's rectification powers.
3. File the AD01 with Companies House. The quickest route is online through WebFiling or the Companies House service, which usually processes the change within 24 hours. You'll need your company number and authentication code. There is no fee for filing an AD01 at the time of writing, but check GOV.UK for the current position. A director, the company secretary, or an authorised agent can authenticate the form; a company secretary is appointed and can be notified using form AP03 if your company doesn't already have one.
4. Tell Companies House within 14 days of the move. GOV.UK guidance is explicit that you must notify the change within 14 days of it taking place — separate from the 14-day rule below, which protects anyone serving documents at your old address after registration.
5. Wait for registration, and keep the old address monitored. The change is only legally effective once Companies House registers it under section 87(2). For 14 days after registration, documents served at the previous address are still treated as validly served, so arrange mail forwarding or monitoring during that window.

When the change takes effect — two separate 14-day periods

It's easy to conflate two different 14-day rules that apply around an AD01 filing, and getting them mixed up is a common source of confusion.

The first is a notification duty: Companies House guidance requires you to tell it about the change within 14 days of the office actually moving. This is about how quickly you must file.

The second is the old-address service window set out in section 87(2) of the Companies Act 2006: once Companies House registers your change, a person can still validly serve documents on the company at the previously registered address for 14 days after registration. This protects third parties who send post to the address they last had on record — it doesn't extend your own deadline to file.

Section 87 also deals with the company's own record-keeping duties during a move. Under section 87(3), a company that has given notice of an address change may act on that change — for the purpose of duties like keeping statutory registers available for inspection, or stating the registered office on documents — from any date it chooses, up to 14 days after giving notice. Section 87(4) covers the practical case where a company unavoidably stops performing those duties at the old office before it could give prior notice: provided it resumes at the new premises as soon as practicable and notifies the registrar within 14 days of doing so, it isn't treated as having failed to comply.

What happens if Companies House decides your address isn't appropriate

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 also gave the registrar a new enforcement power. Under section 1097A of the Companies Act 2006, the Secretary of State can make regulations authorising the registrar to change a company's registered office to a Companies House "default address" if satisfied — on its own initiative, or on someone else's application — that the current address is not an appropriate address under section 86(2).

This matters most where an address has been used without the occupier's permission — for example, someone registering their business at a stranger's home or a former landlord's premises. The regulations made under this power, the Registered Office Address (Rectification of Register) Regulations 2024, let the registrar move a company onto a default address and then require it to provide evidence of a genuinely appropriate address. Companies House guidance describes a window of around 28 days for the company to do this. While on the default address, some of the company's normal duties around record inspection and disclosure are suspended, but the default address cannot be used to store the company's statutory registers.

If a company fails to move off the default address and provide an appropriate one, section 1097A allows the regulations to create a summary offence for continued non-compliance, and to empower the registrar to strike the company off the register. A company can appeal to the court against a registrar's decision to change its registered office under these regulations.

After you file — practical housekeeping

Filing the AD01 only updates Companies House. Once it's registered:

• Update HMRC separately for corporation tax, PAYE, and VAT as applicable — HMRC does not automatically receive the Companies House update.
• Tell your bank, insurers, and any regulators you deal with.
• Update your website, letterheads, invoices, and email footers so correspondents and customers use the right address.
• Keep the old address monitored for at least the 14-day statutory service window, ideally longer, so nothing important slips through during the transition.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using an address without genuine permission. This is now a direct trigger for the registrar's rectification power under section 1097A, not just a courtesy issue.
• Assuming a PO Box still works on its own. Since 4 March 2024 it doesn't, because delivery can't be acknowledged by a person acting for the company.
• Treating the submission date as the effective date. The change only takes legal effect once Companies House registers it under section 87(2).
• Filing across jurisdictions. You cannot move a registered office from England and Wales to Scotland, Northern Ireland, or Wales-only (or the reverse) using an AD01 — the filing will be rejected.
• Forgetting HMRC, the bank, and insurers. The AD01 only updates Companies House; every other institution needs telling separately.

See our other guides to Companies House forms for related filings, including appointing a corporate director or a corporate secretary.

This guide provides general information about changing a company's registered office address in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.

Last reviewed: August 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.