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If you’re setting up a limited company in the UK, one of the first choices you’ll make is your registered office address. Many directors use their home address because it’s simple, free, and available straight away.

But the simplest option isn’t always the right one. Before you decide, it helps to understand what this address is used for — and what changes once it appears on the public record.

What is a registered office address?

Your registered office address is your company’s official address. Companies House uses it for formal correspondence such as confirmation statement reminders and legal notices. It doesn’t have to be where you work day to day, it just needs to be a real UK address where official mail can be delivered.

It’s also shown on the public Companies House register, which means anyone can look it up online for free.

Can you use your home address?

Yes. UK company law allows you to use your home address as your registered office address, as long as it’s a physical address in the UK (not a PO Box).

For many new directors, it feels like the obvious option: nothing to arrange, no extra cost, and it works fine if you’re starting small and working from home.

However, there are a few drawbacks that often only become clear later on.

The privacy issue

Once your home address is your registered office address, it becomes public. It appears on Companies House and is often picked up by third-party sites, data services, and mailing lists.

That can mean:

• Your personal and business life become harder to separate.
• You may receive unsolicited mail, marketing letters, or scam post.
• Your home address can be found by clients, competitors, and strangers.

Even if this doesn’t feel like a concern at the start, many directors find it becomes one as the business grows.

Safety and boundaries

Most businesses won’t run into problems, but sharing a residential address publicly can increase unwanted contact. It can also blur boundaries. Some people assume an address is somewhere they can visit or treat it as a sign you’re always ‘available’.

Over time, that overlap between work and home can become stressful.

Professional image

Your registered office address can shape first impressions. A residential address may make a company look smaller or less established, especially when you’re dealing with corporate clients, investors, or potential partners. In some sectors, a professional address helps build trust sooner.

What’s the alternative?

A registered office address service lets you use a different UK address for official company purposes while still working from home (or anywhere else).

Typically, this means:

• Official mail is received and handled securely
• You stay fully compliant with UK company law
• Your home address stays off the public register
• Your company has a consistent, professional address

If you don’t need a physical office but you do want a bit more separation and peace of mind, it’s a practical option.

So, should you use your home address?

You can, and plenty of directors do. The key is understanding the trade-offs before you register. Privacy, boundaries, and how your company looks on paper are all worth thinking through early.

For many online or service-based businesses, using a registered office service from day one avoids hassle later and keeps things more streamlined.

Looking for a registered office address provider?

At MYCO, our address services give your company a professional base. With locations in London, Ipswich, and Edinburgh, you can build credibility from day one.

We handle your official mail and keep everything in one place, so you can focus on running your business.

Explore our address packages today.

At MYCO, we believe in supporting our local communities and giving back. That’s why we’re delighted to announce our Charity of the Year for 2026: St Elizabeth Hospice. This partnership is a chance for all of us to come together, raise funds, and support people and families across our region when they need it most.

Who are St Elizabeth Hospice?

St Elizabeth Hospice is an independent Suffolk charity that provides specialist care and support for people living with progressive and life-limiting illnesses, as well as their families and carers. Their focus is always on the individual — helping improve quality of life and ensuring people feel as comfortable as possible, in the place that’s right for them.

They have been providing hospice care for more than 30 years, with patient care beginning in 1989. Since then, their work has made a real difference to thousands of local people each year.

A key part of what they do is offer care in the setting that suits each person best — whether that’s at home, out in the community, or within a hospice. Their teams provide multi-disciplinary support and work closely with other health and community services, helping people access the right care with dignity, compassion, and choice.

Why this partnership matters

By choosing St Elizabeth Hospice as our Charity of the Year, we can focus our fundraising and awareness efforts on a cause that supports so many people locally. Their services are free to patients, and much of their funding depends on fundraising and community support — which means every donation really does help.

Whether it goes towards specialist care, equipment, or support for families, each contribution plays a part in helping the Hospice continue their vital work.

Over the coming year, we’ll be getting involved in St Elizabeth Hospice fundraising activities and running our own MYCO-led events to support them. If you’d like to help, you can donate directly by clicking here — every contribution, big or small, makes a difference.

Article by PolicyBee

If you’re someone who’s looking to launch a new start-up or scale-up their side hustle in the future, you might have heard the term, ‘incorporation’, mentioned to you several times.

It’s a sure way to protect yourself as your business grows, with clear legal benefits as well as obligations.

But, seeing as there’s a bit of extra hassle involved, what does being a limited company mean? And what limited company insurance do you need?

What Makes a Limited Company?

You’ll probably set yourself up as either a sole trader, limited company, or a partnership when you start your business.

There are other types of companies, but if you incorporate yourself at Companies House, you’ll probably be ‘limited’ as over 92% of all corporate body types fall into that category.

Being a limited company means you’re ‘limited’ by shares (if your company has shares and shareholders) or by guarantee (the money gets invested back in, so not-for-profit). 

As a limited company, your personal and business finances are separate. There’s also a list of other responsibilities you have to meet, or you could face a fine.

Sole traders have ‘sole’ responsibility money-wise. Partnerships mean, well, you have a partner who you share accountability with.

And with that in mind, what are limited company insurance requirements?

What Insurance Does a Limited Company Legally Require?

If anyone works for you, you’re legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. There are always exceptions to the rule, though. For example, if you’re the only director of your limited company and the only employee. 

Employers’ liability insurance (EL) is there if a staff member has an accident or is made ill through work and they say it’s the business’s fault. If they make a claim against you, EL pays for a solicitor to defend you, and it’ll pay any compensation if it’s awarded. 

While not strictly a legal requirement, trade bodies, such as RICS (for surveyors) or the Complementary Natural Health Care Council, make having certain levels of insurance a condition of membership. You’ll have to check your trade organisation’s website and membership terms for specifics. 

What Are Other Limited Company Insurance Requirements?

If a trade body specifies insurance, it’ll most likely be professional indemnity (PI). Or, if you’re in beauty, medicine, aesthetics or therapy, you’ll be looking for medical malpractice (“med mal” for short, or ‘treatment and liability’). Both of these are designed to protect you if you mess up professionally. 

You can read more about the differences here, but essentially, PI covers you if a client is financially impacted by a mistake you’ve made or bad advice you’ve given. For example, an accountant could get the figures wrong, meaning a client makes damaging business decisions based on faulty projections.

And medical malpractice is more about if you physically or mentally injure a client. Say a treatment doesn’t go to plan, or the result isn’t what was promised. 

You’ll need one or the other, but not both. If a client sues because your work wasn’t up to scratch, your insurance pays for a specialist solicitor to defend you. And it covers any compensation you have to pay – which can involve some hefty sums.

If you meet with people, either when you’re out and about or have clients at your workplace, public liability insurance (PL) is a good investment. You won’t deliberately trip them up and break their wrist. Neither, unfortunately, will that cup of coffee magically un-splash over their laptop. 

But, if you or they are a bit accident-prone, PL will keep your limited company finances safe when it comes to third-party slips, trips, and smashes. Again, it pays for a specialist solicitor to defend you if you need them and covers any compensation awarded.

You Might Also Want To Think About…

A limited company means your personal and business finances are separate. But as a director, that doesn’t mean your finances are safe. 

If a regulator, shareholder, employee, customer, competitor, or member of the public say you, personally, have made a mistake or done something wrong, they can take legal action.

That means you have to pay out personally if you’re found liable. Directors’ and officers’ insurance will pay a solicitor to defend you and cover any compensation awarded.

If your company works ‘online’, then cybercriminals could target you. And they aren’t picky over the size of their target. Big, small, not-for-profit, multinational – anyone can be a victim. 

If you have a website, they can hack you. If you send emails, they can trick you. Cyber insurance covers both.

It gets you immediate access to IT experts to stop these types of attacks and fix your systems. It also provides legal experts if you need them. You can even add financial cybercrime and business interruption cover to your policy.

Looking for small business insurance? Click here to get your personalised quote with PolicyBee today and protect your business with confidence.