Change your VAT registration details with HMRC
Update the trading name, business address or contact details on your VAT record.
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How it works: Change VAT registration details
Find your company
Search by name or number. We fill in the public details.
Answer the questions
Answer only what the register cannot tell us.
Pay by card
Approve the details and pay the total shown.
We submit to HMRC
We check it and send it to HMRC. Updates come by email.
About this filing
Tell HMRC within 30 days when your business name, trading name or main address changes, or the accountant or agent who deals with your VAT. Tell HMRC at least 14 days in advance if you change bank details.
Most changes are made in the VAT online account. Our service helps a VAT-registered limited company update its trading name, main business address, contact details, repayment bank details or VAT return dates.
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You tell us what has changed and when. We check that we are authorised to act for your VAT, prepare the update and you confirm it before it goes to HMRC. HMRC does not charge for the update.
How to change VAT registration details with HMRC
A VAT-registered business must keep its registration details up to date. GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC within 30 days of a change to the name, trading name or main address of the business, or to the accountant or agent who deals with your VAT. You might have to pay a penalty if you do not tell HMRC within 30 days.
Most changes are made through the VAT online account. GOV.UK lists these as the contact name and address, repayment bank details, VAT return dates (unless you have a non-standard tax period) and partnership members. If you cannot use the online account, you contact HMRC instead.
As your agent, we make the update through HMRC agent access, not your Government Gateway login. Never send us your Government Gateway password.
What you can change with this service
- Trading name. This is the name you trade under, not the company's legal name.
- Main business address. This is where the business is run, which may differ from the Companies House registered office.
- Contact details: the contact name, address, phone number and email HMRC should use for your VAT.
- Repayment bank details, where HMRC pays any VAT repayments.
- VAT return dates, for example moving to quarters ending March, June, September and December.
- Something else on your VAT record. Tell us what it is and we will check whether it can be done this way before you pay.
Changing your company name for VAT
A change to the company's legal name is not made through the VAT record. If the company has a Company Registration Number, you tell Companies House. Companies House then tells HMRC. GOV.UK says your business tax account will show the new company name within 15 days.
So if the company itself is changing its name, the change at Companies House comes first. You can use our change company name service (NM01) for that. A new trading name, where the legal name stays the same, is updated on the VAT record.
Changing VAT bank details and Direct Debits
You must tell HMRC at least 14 days in advance if you are changing your bank details. Give us the date the change takes effect so the update reaches HMRC in time.
If you pay VAT by Direct Debit, you also need to tell your bank. GOV.UK warns not to do this in the 5 banking days before or after your VAT return is due, as you could be charged twice. Setting up or changing a Direct Debit with your bank is not part of this service.
If you use the Annual Accounting Scheme, you must write to the Annual Accounting Registration Unit to change your Direct Debit details, including your registration number.
Changing your VAT return dates
GOV.UK says return dates can be updated in the VAT online account, unless you have a non-standard tax period. Tell us your current periods and the ones you want. A switch may leave one return covering a shorter or longer period, so check the timing with whoever does your bookkeeping.
If you have a non-standard tax period, the online account cannot be used for this change. We also ask whether you use the Annual Accounting Scheme, which has one return a year. We check the right route for your case before you pay.
What you need to change your VAT details
- Your 9 digit VAT registration number.
- Exactly what has changed: the new trading name, address, contact details, bank details or return periods.
- The date of the change. For bank details, the date the new account should be used.
- Authorisation for us to act for your VAT through HMRC. We will tell you if another step is needed.
- For a legal name change, confirmation that Companies House has registered the new name.
After you ask us to change your VAT details
Find your company and tell us what needs changing. We check our authorisation for your VAT and that the change can be made through this route. If it cannot, we tell you before any work is done.
We prepare the update and you confirm it before it is submitted. Your VAT record changes only when HMRC processes the update. A payment or a submission receipt does not on its own mean HMRC has made the change, so check your VAT account or letters from HMRC afterwards.
When a different route is needed
Some changes are not simple updates. If the legal entity changes, for example a sole trader incorporates, or you buy a business and want to keep its VAT number, you transfer the registration with form VAT68 and register again. Changes to a partner's details use form VAT2. To join a VAT group, the group completes form VAT50-51. An acting insolvency practitioner must contact HMRC to change details.
If the company is no longer eligible to be registered, for example it has stopped trading, it must cancel its VAT registration within 30 days. That is a separate service.
See also: Cancel a VAT registration · Change your company name at Companies House
Common VAT details change mistakes
- Missing the 30 day window because the change was not seen as a VAT matter, such as a move to new premises.
- Changing bank details less than 14 days before HMRC needs to use them.
- Changing a Direct Debit with the bank in the 5 banking days either side of a VAT return due date.
- Trying to change the company's legal name on the VAT record instead of at Companies House.
- Mixing up the main business address with the registered office. Updating one does not update the other.
- Treating a change of legal entity, such as incorporating, as a simple details change.
File it yourself or use SimpleFilings
You can always file directly with HMRC. Here is how that compares with using SimpleFilings.
| Question | File it yourself | Use SimpleFilings |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | No fee | £4.99 (no HMRC fee) |
| Who fills in the form | You complete the HMRC form yourself. Official guidance | We do, from your answers, after checking the public register |
| Approval | You submit it yourself | You confirm you are authorised and approve the details before we submit |
What this request covers
We check your authorisation and prepare the requested VAT record update. A legal company-name change must first be made at Companies House.
Before you start
- SimpleFilings must have the appropriate HMRC agent registration, account and service access before acting for you.
- Your company must authorise us through the HMRC route required for this service. We will tell you if another step is needed.
- Do not send us your Government Gateway password. We use our own agent access.
What is not included
Transferring a VAT registration, changing the legal entity, partnership membership or VAT-group changes. Direct Debit bank changes also need to be arranged with your bank.
Fees
£4.99 SimpleFilings service fee. HMRC does not charge a fee to update VAT registration details. The service covers one VAT record update request. It does not cover transferring a VAT registration, a change of legal entity, partnership or VAT group changes, or changing your Direct Debit with your bank. Any VAT, penalties or other amounts owed to HMRC are separate.
£4.99 SimpleFilings service fee. There is no HMRC application fee. Tax, penalties and other outstanding amounts are separate.
Total: £4.99. There is no HMRC fee for this request.
Step by step
- Find your company. Find your company by name or number. We fill in its public details from the Companies House register, such as the registered office, officers and people with significant control.
- Answer the questions. Answer only the questions we cannot fill in from the register, add any documents asked for and give the email address for your receipt and filing updates. Confirm that you are authorised to arrange the request and that you have checked and approve the details.
- Pay by card. Approve the details and pay the total shown by secure card payment. We check your answers before preparing the filing. There is no HMRC fee for this request.
- We submit to HMRC. We check your answers and the HMRC authorisation needed for this tax service, then submit to HMRC. Updates go to your email, and you can follow progress through your private request link. A payment receipt is not confirmation that HMRC has accepted the request.
Change VAT registration details: common questions
How long do I have to tell HMRC about a change to my VAT details?
30 days for changes to the business name, trading name, main address, or the accountant or agent who deals with your VAT. For bank details, tell HMRC at least 14 days before the change.
Is there an HMRC fee to change VAT registration details?
No. HMRC does not charge to update VAT details. If you use SimpleFilings, the only charge is the £4.99 SimpleFilings service fee.
How do I change my company name on my VAT registration?
If the company has a Company Registration Number, change the name at Companies House. Companies House tells HMRC, and GOV.UK says your business tax account will show the new name within 15 days.
Does changing my registered office update my VAT address?
Not automatically. The registered office is held by Companies House. The main business address on your VAT record is separate and should be updated with HMRC if it changes.
Can I change my VAT return dates?
Yes. GOV.UK says return dates can be changed in the VAT online account unless you have a non-standard tax period. If you have one, or use the Annual Accounting Scheme, we check the right route before you pay.
What happens if I do not tell HMRC about a change?
GOV.UK says you might need to pay a penalty if you do not tell HMRC about changes within 30 days. HMRC letters and repayments may also go to the wrong place.