How to remove your home address from Companies House

Can I remove my home address from Companies House?

Yes, in many cases. GOV.UK says you can apply to remove your home address if it was used as your service or 'correspondence' address, or as the company's registered office. You apply as an individual on form SR01, and Companies House charges £34 for each document the address appears on.

Removal works document by document. You list the documents in your application, and Companies House removes your details from those documents. Anything you do not list stays as it is.

The same form can also remove the day of your date of birth from documents filed before 10 October 2015, your signature from certain documents, and your business occupation where you had to give it, for example on a director appointment form. The guidance applies to limited liability partnerships as well as companies.

Source: Removing your home address from the Companies House register

What you can and cannot remove

Companies House does not have the legal power to remove some addresses. The table sets out the main cases.

Source: Your personal information on the Companies House register

Is my home address public if I am a director?

Not necessarily. Every director gives Companies House two addresses: a service address, which is public, and a usual residential address, which is kept on a private register. Your home shows on the public register when you have used it as your service address, or as the company's registered office or inspection (SAIL) address, so check the company's filing history rather than assuming it is hidden.

GOV.UK says Companies House only shares a director's usual residential address with credit reference agencies and specified public authorities, such as the police. People with significant control give the same details as directors, and most PSC information is public apart from the home address and full date of birth. A company secretary only has to give a service address.

Your full date of birth is also kept private. For directors appointed after 10 October 2015, only the month and year are shown. Documents filed before 10 October 2015 may show the day as well, which is why SR01 lets you remove it.

Source: Your personal information on the Companies House register

1. Stop using the home address

If your home is still the registered office of an active company, the company must change its registered office before you can apply. Our guide on how to change your registered office address covers the AD01 filing and the rules the new address must meet. If the company has been dissolved, GOV.UK says you must wait 6 months before applying to remove an address used as a registered office.

If you still hold a position in the company and your home is your current service address, you must give a replacement address. A director's service address is updated on form CH01 and a PSC's on form PSC04. We can change a director's details for you, including the public correspondence address.

Source: Removing your home address from the Companies House register

2. Find every document that shows the address

Before you apply, you need to know which documents contain your details. GOV.UK suggests searching for the company on the free Companies House register. Go through its filing history and note each document that shows your home address.

If you have been an officer of more than one company, check each one. Every document you want changed must be listed on the application.

Source: Apply to remove your personal details from the Companies House register (SR01)

3. Pay £34 for each document

The fee is £34 for each document listed in your application, and the Companies House fees list describes it as a fee charged for each document suppressed. Our guide to Companies House fees lists it alongside the other charges.

Pay through GOV.UK Pay before you send the SR01. You will get a payment reference, which you must include with the application. Companies House will reject an application that does not include the payment reference or the correct fee.

Source: Apply to remove your personal details from the Companies House register (SR01)

4. Send form SR01 to Companies House

Email the completed SR01 and the payment reference to [email protected]. GOV.UK says this is the quickest way to register your application.

You can post the SR01 instead, with a cheque or postal order, to The Registrar of Companies, PO Box 4082, Cardiff, CF14 3WE. Paper applications sent by post usually take longer. Include any supporting evidence the form asks for, or the application may be rejected.

Source: Apply to remove your personal details from the Companies House register (SR01)

What happens after you apply?

Companies House will let you know once it has processed your application, and it removes your details from the documents you listed. How long this takes depends on the number of documents involved. If you are a serving director, secretary, PSC or LLP member, you must give an alternative address so the register stays complete.

Part of the address stays visible if you are no longer an officer, the company has been dissolved, or the address was used as a registered office. For a UK address, only the first half of the postcode is shown. For an address outside the UK, only the state or province and the country are shown. Companies House will reverse the removal if you are found guilty of a false statement offence.

Source: Removing your home address from the Companies House register

Extra protection if you are at risk of violence or intimidation

SR01 is open to anyone whose address qualifies. A separate route exists if you, or someone living with you, are at serious risk of violence or intimidation because of the company's activities. GOV.UK gives examples such as people targeted by activists, people licensed under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and people active in the defence industry.

Directors and LLP members can apply under section 243 of the Companies Act 2006, and PSCs under section 790ZF, so that Companies House does not give their home address to credit reference agencies. A PSC can also apply for all of their PSC information to be kept off the public register. Each application costs £100 and is made by post, on forms Companies House sends on request. You cannot protect a home address that is the company's registered office.

A company, or a person who registers a charge, can apply on form SR02 or SR03 to remove an address, but only on the same risk grounds. These applications take at least 30 days, and complex cases can take up to a year. A refused application can be appealed to the High Court, or the Court of Session in Scotland, within 28 days of the decision notice.

Source: Apply to protect your details on the Companies House register

Common mistakes when removing a home address

Most rejected or disappointing applications come down to timing or missing documents.

• Applying while the home address is still the company's registered office. Change it first.
• Missing documents from the list. The fee is per document, and anything not listed is not changed.
• Sending the SR01 without the GOV.UK Pay payment reference.
• Moving the registered office to an address the company cannot use, such as a PO Box. It must still be an appropriate address.
• Asking Companies House to delete the address under UK GDPR. It is exempt from erasure requests because the law requires the register to be public.
• Using the home address again as a service address when joining another company, which puts it straight back on the public register.

Source: Your personal information on the Companies House register

Get help changing the address first

The SR01 application is made by you directly to Companies House, and the £34 fee for each document is paid to them. SimpleFilings can deal with the filings you need before you apply. We can change your registered office to a new address, or update a director's public correspondence address. Our £4.99 service fee applies to each filing we prepare and submit once you approve it.