When working through the company formation process, you need to provide multiple addresses.
Some of these addresses are placed on the public register – meaning anyone can freely view the address via the Companies House search tool. Some are not.
For example, the registered office and director’s’ service address (also known as the correspondence address) are on the public register.
The director’s residential address is not on the public register – provided that this address isn’t also being used as the registered office and/or service address.
But what about the shareholder’s address? Is this on the public register? Let’s take a look.
The shareholder’s address is on the public register if provided at incorporation
Your company’s first shareholders (and so shareholders at the time of the company incorporation) are known as subscribers.
The address that you provide for your subscriber(s) is placed on the public register, via the company’s incorporation documents (IN01 documents). These can be viewed, by anyone, by following these instructions:
- Access the Companies House ‘Search the register’ tool
- Enter the name of the company that you wish to find information on
- Select the correct company name
- Select ‘Filing history’
- Scroll down to ‘Incorporation’ and select ‘View PDF’
- The address will be in the ‘Initial Shareholdings’ section
The shareholder’s address is not on the public register if the person or company became a shareholder after incorporation
Post-company formation, shareholder addresses are not published on the Companies House register – provided that the shareholder isn’t also a director or person with significant control. If they are, the service address will be publicly available.
Thanks for reading
We offer a number of address services that help you keep your residential address off of the Companies House register. See the below links for more information:
We hope you found this post helpful – please leave a comment if you have any questions.
Please note that the information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice. While our aim is that the content is accurate and up to date, it should not be relied upon as a substitute for tailored advice from qualified professionals. We strongly recommend that you seek independent legal and tax advice specific to your circumstances before acting on any information contained in this article. We accept no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage that may result from your reliance on the information provided in this article. Use of the information contained in this article is entirely at your own risk.
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Comments (2)
Another great blog – thanks, Mathew!
Nick
Thanks for the feedback, it’s much appreciated!
Best regards,
The 1st Formations Team