UK Virtual Address for Company Registration: Rules, Prices, Non-Residents
A UK virtual address lets you register a limited company, receive its official post and show a business address on your website without renting an office — and you do not have to live in the UK to use one. Since 4 March 2024 the address must pass the "appropriate address" test of section 86 of the Companies Act 2006, so it has to be a staffed street address, not a PO Box. Our catalogue lists 90 such buildings in London, 54 in Manchester, 13 in Birmingham and 24 in Edinburgh, with virtual business address plans from $74 per month at centres run by Regus, Spaces, Signature and HQ.
What the law demands since 4 March 2024
Section 86(2) of the Companies Act 2006 now defines an appropriate address with two tests: a document delivered there by hand or by post must, in the ordinary course of events, be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company, and the delivery must be capable of being recorded by an acknowledgement. Companies House applies both limbs to every one of the addresses on its register, and a company sitting at a non-compliant address is committing an offence. A staffed reception at a centre such as Fleet Street — a Regus building in the City of London and one of 90 catalogue locations in the capital — satisfies both limbs, because a named receptionist accepts the letter and the operator logs the delivery.
The same reform banned bare PO Boxes: since 4 March 2024 Companies House refuses them as registered offices, although a third-party agent's street address remains explicitly permitted. Enforcement is not theoretical. Where the registrar decides an address is inappropriate, it can move the company to a default address at Companies House itself, and if the company fails to file a compliant replacement within 28 days, the registrar may begin strike-off proceedings under the Companies Act 2006.
UK virtual address price in 2026
Start with the state's own numbers. Since 1 May 2024 Companies House charges £50 for a standard online incorporation and £34 for the annual confirmation statement filed electronically — the filing where you now also confirm your registered email address. Those fees are fixed; the variable cost is the address itself, and that is where providers differ by an order of magnitude in prestige for similar money.
Across our UK catalogue, a UK virtual address that is good enough for company registration starts at $74 per month, with a median of $161 for a full virtual office. London offers the widest choice — 90 buildings, from One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, where Signature operates the 37th floor, to Spaces Canary Wharf and Regus Fleet Street. A director paying the from-price of $74 per month spends less on a Canary Wharf-postcode address than many firms pay for a single hour of City legal advice.
Outside the capital the from-price does not move: Manchester lists 54 buildings from $74 per month, including Regus King Street and Spinningfields plus Spaces Deansgate, and Birmingham adds 13 locations from $74, led by Edmund House and the Lewis Building. For a company trading nationally, registering in Manchester at the same $74 entry price as London is a legitimate way to signal a regional headquarters.
Can non-residents use a UK address for company registration?
Yes. UK company law has no residency requirement for directors or shareholders: a founder living abroad can form a private limited company, and the company needs a registered office in the UK, which is exactly what a UK virtual address provides. Two extra steps apply to non-residents. Every director and person with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House — through GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider — and each director needs a service address that can sit anywhere in the world, including the same building.
What a virtual address does not solve is banking: UK banks set their own rules for non-resident directors, and many ask for proof of a residential address as well as the company address. Plan the bank account before you pick the address, not after. If all you need is the registered office itself, with no mail scanning or meeting rooms, compare the registered office address service UK on coworkings.uk.
How to choose a UK virtual address provider
First, check supervision. A business supplying registered office or correspondence addresses is a Trust or Company Service Provider under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and must be supervised for anti-money laundering purposes — by HMRC on its TCSP register, unless it is already overseen by the FCA or a professional body. An unsupervised provider can be shut down, taking your address with it and starting your 28-day default-address clock.
Second, respect jurisdiction. A company incorporated in Scotland must keep its registered office in Scotland, so a Scottish company needs one of Edinburgh's 24 catalogue buildings — Regus Princes Street, George Street or Spaces Lochrin Square — rather than any of London's 90. Third, prefer providers that can prove the s86(2) acknowledgement test in practice: IWG-network centres such as Signature at One Canada Square run staffed receptions during business hours, log deliveries and scan statutory mail, which is precisely the evidence trail the Companies Act 2006 asks for.
Finally, look for identity-verification support. Since 18 November 2025, new directors and persons with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House, either directly through GOV.UK or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). A provider that is also a registered ACSP can bundle the verification with the address, which matters for the roughly 12-month transition window Companies House gave existing directors.
Switching addresses: form AD01 and the 14-day rule
Moving an existing company onto a UK virtual address is a single filing: form AD01, submitted to Companies House online, including a statement that the new address is appropriate within the meaning of section 86(2) of the Companies Act 2006. The change takes effect when the registrar registers it, and the company must notify the change within 14 days. Remember the parallel duty introduced on 4 March 2024: every company must maintain a registered email address, which Companies House keeps off the public record and uses for compliance notices — keep it current when you change providers, or penalty warnings will go unread.
