How to Remove Your Home Address from Companies House: A Director’s Guide to Protecting Your Privacy
Your home address could be publicly visible on Companies House without you realising it. If you used your home as your limited company’s registered office when incorporating, that information may appear on the public register. The good news is that there are procedures to change your registered office address and apply to remove eligible historical documents containing your home address.
In this guide, we explain how to change your registered office using form AD01, how to apply for historical address removal using form SR01, and why a Companies House privacy review should be part of your company’s ongoing compliance.
1. Why Is Your Home Address Showing on Companies House?
When you establish a UK limited company, Companies House requires certain company and director information to be made publicly available. This is part of the transparency requirements that come with operating a limited company.
The important distinction is between your registered office address, service address, and usual residential address.
- Registered office address: The official address of the company. It is publicly available on Companies House.
- Director’s service address: The correspondence address shown on the public register. It can be your accountant’s address or another suitable address.
- Usual residential address: Your actual home address, which Companies House collects but generally keeps on its private register rather than displaying publicly.
Problems can arise when directors use their home address as the company’s registered office or service address. That information can then appear on relevant public filings.
For example, if you incorporated your company using your home address, it may appear on the original incorporation documents. Changing the registered office address later does not automatically remove the address from historical documents.
This is why company directors should review their existing Companies House records rather than assuming that changing their current address resolves the issue.
Image suggestion: A clear infographic comparing a registered office address, director’s service address and private residential address, showing which information is publicly visible and which is generally protected.
2. Step One: Change Your Registered Office Address Using Form AD01
Before applying to remove your home address from historical filings, you must first make sure it is no longer being used as your active company’s registered office.
You will need an alternative registered office address. Common options include:
- Your accountant’s registered office address, where this service is offered.
- A professional registered office address provider.
- A suitable virtual office address service.
An important point: a registered office address must be an appropriate address where company documents can be delivered and brought to the attention of someone acting on behalf of the company. It must also be in the same part of the UK in which the company is registered.
Once you have arranged the alternative address, you can submit a change through the Companies House online service or use form AD01.
You will generally need your company’s authentication code to file online.
The change does not take effect until Companies House registers it. You must notify Companies House within 14 days of the change taking place.
Changing your registered office address is an important first step, but remember that it does not automatically remove your previous address from historical filings.
Image suggestion: A simple three-step visual showing the selection of a suitable registered office address, completion of form AD01 and confirmation of the updated Companies House record.
3. Step Two: Remove Your Home Address from Historical Companies House Filings Using SR01
This is the part many company directors overlook.
Even after changing your registered office address, your previous home address may remain visible on historical documents available through Companies House.
Fortunately, individuals can apply to have eligible personal information removed from the public register using form SR01.
The process allows an individual to apply to remove certain personal details, including:
- Their home address.
- Their signature from eligible documents.
- Their business occupation in applicable circumstances.
- The day of their date of birth on documents filed before 10 October 2015.
If your home address was previously used as your company’s registered office, you can apply to have it removed from eligible historical documents. This process became available for former registered office addresses from 27 January 2025.
How does the SR01 process work?
- Search for your company on the Companies House register.
- Identify the historical documents containing your home address.
- Check that the documents are eligible for suppression.
- Complete form SR01 with the relevant document details.
- Pay the applicable fee and submit your application to Companies House.
The current fee is £34 for each document listed in your application. Therefore, if your address appears on several eligible documents, the total cost can increase.
You should also be careful when identifying the documents. Companies House requires you to list the original filing that introduced your home address as the registered office. Listing the wrong document can result in the application being rejected.
It is also important to understand that this is not a blanket deletion of every historical company record. Only eligible personal information in documents that Companies House can suppress can be removed.
Image suggestion: An SR01 process infographic showing a Companies House document search, identification of historical filings, the £34 per-document fee and submission of the application.
4. Why Every Company Director Should Consider a Companies House Privacy Review
Many directors concentrate on their annual accounts, confirmation statements, Corporation Tax returns and other filing obligations. However, they may never check exactly what personal information is available through their company’s public record.
A Companies House privacy review can help identify information that may need attention.
For example, a review could examine:
- Whether your home address has been used as a registered office.
- Whether your previous residential address appears on historical filings.
- Whether your director’s service address is appropriate.
- Whether other eligible personal details appear on public documents.
- Whether your company’s current registered office information is accurate.
This is particularly relevant for directors who incorporated their businesses several years ago, changed addresses or used their home address when setting up their first limited company.
Changing your registered office address and applying for historical document suppression are separate steps. Both need to be considered if your objective is to reduce the amount of personal information visible on the public register.
It is also worth remembering that removing information from Companies House does not automatically remove copies held by third-party websites, search engines or commercial company-information databases. Those organisations may have their own records and removal procedures.
Image suggestion: A professional privacy audit visual showing a director’s company profile being reviewed, with icons representing registered office details, historical filings, service addresses and personal information.
Looking Ahead: Why Accountants Bring More Than Compliance Support
Protecting personal information is not simply an administrative exercise. It is part of managing a company’s information responsibly.
A good accountant should help business owners understand their statutory obligations, maintain accurate company records and identify potential compliance issues before they become problems.
At Ten Piece Limited, we provide accounting services for small businesses and limited companies, alongside practical support with company administration and financial compliance.
Our Companies House privacy review service is designed to help directors understand what information is publicly available about them. We can review relevant company filings, identify potential address exposure and assist with the appropriate procedures for changing registered office details and applying for eligible historical document removal.
Our wider UK accounting services include bookkeeping, tax consultancy, accounts preparation, VAT, payroll and tax compliance and advisory services.
If you operate a limited company, it is worth taking a few minutes to check what information is publicly available about you.
Your company’s records should be accurate, compliant and managed with care. Your personal privacy deserves attention too.
Contact Ten Piece Limited to discuss a Companies House privacy review.
