Company Registered at My Address Without Permission — What to Do

You've searched Companies House and found a company registered at your home or business address that you've never heard of. It's an unsettling discovery — and unfortunately, it's more common than most people realise. Companies House does not verify that a director has the right to use an address as a registered office before recording it on the public register.

The good news is that there is a clear process for dealing with it, and in most cases it can be resolved without legal action. This guide explains what to do, step by step.

First: Use the free address lookup to see everything

Before taking any action, use our free Companies House address lookup tool to get a complete picture of what's on the register at your address. You may find multiple companies — some you recognise, some you don't. Understanding the full scope of the issue will help you prioritise your response.

The lookup shows all companies currently listed at your address on the Companies House register — both active companies and dissolved ones whose last registered address was there — along with their company numbers and status. Note down any companies you don't recognise — you'll need their company numbers for the steps below.

Step 1: Check if you actually know this company

Before assuming the worst, do a thorough check of your own records. Search for the company name and number in:

• Your email history
• Any tenancy or lease agreements you've signed
• Your accountant's records (if you use one)
• Any business services you've purchased in the past

The company may belong to a previous tenant of your property who hasn't updated their address. It may be a company you encountered briefly years ago. It may be a subsidiary of a business you do recognise under a different name. In any of these cases, the resolution is the same: contact the company and ask them to update their registered address — but the urgency and approach will differ depending on the relationship.

Step 2: Check Companies House for the directors' details

Go to find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk and search for the company by its number. Click through to the company record and look at the "People" section — this lists all current and resigned directors, along with their service addresses (or residential addresses if no service address was provided).

Note the names and any available contact details. You'll use this information in the next step.

Step 3: Contact the directors directly

Write to the directors — by email if you can find their contact details online, by letter to their service address if not — and explain the situation. Keep your communication factual and professional:

• State that their company (give the full name and company number) is registered at your address
• Explain that you have not authorised the use of your address
• Request that they update the registered address within a specific timeframe — 14 days is reasonable
• Provide the Companies House link for updating a registered office address: gov.uk/file-changes-to-a-company-with-companies-house

In the majority of cases, this is all it takes. Most directors are not acting maliciously — they simply haven't gotten around to updating their address, or weren't aware it needed to be changed. A polite but firm letter usually prompts action within a few days.

Step 4: File an RP07 form if there's no response

If the directors do not respond within your stated timeframe, or if the company appears to be dormant with no reachable directors, you can escalate the matter formally using the RP07 form.

The RP07 (officially titled "Remove a registered office address") is a Companies House form that allows a person or firm to dispute the use of their address as a registered office. It is the mechanism provided under section 1097A of the Companies Act 2006 for exactly this situation.

How the RP07 process works

1. Download the form from GOV.UK: gov.uk — Apply to change a company's disputed registered office address (RP07)
2. Complete section 1 with your details and the company's details
3. Explain why the address is being used without authorisation — a brief factual statement is sufficient
4. Submit the form to Companies House by post or email (the submission address is on the form)

Once Companies House receives the RP07, it will write to the company's registered officers and to the address shown on the register. If the company provides a valid alternative registered address within 28 days, it will be updated. If no valid alternative is provided, Companies House can change the registered office to a default address — which appears on the register as "Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ" — making it obvious to anyone checking that there is a problem with the company's address.

Important caveats

• The RP07 process does not immediately remove the company from the register — it initiates a process
• You may be asked to provide evidence that you occupy or own the address in question
• If the company genuinely has the right to use the address (for example, because they have a current tenancy agreement you were not aware of), the RP07 will not succeed

Step 5: Report suspected fraud

If you have reason to believe the company was registered at your address with fraudulent intent — for example, to make a fraudulent business appear more credible to lenders, customers, or HMRC — you should report it to Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk) and to the Companies House Intelligence Directorate.

Signs that a registration may be fraudulent rather than merely negligent include:

• The company has no web presence and no apparent legitimate business activity
• The directors' names return results suggesting previous involvement in dissolved or struck-off companies
• The company was incorporated very recently and has no obvious connection to your area or industry
• You've received correspondence addressed to the company from lenders, courts, or HMRC about significant financial matters

If you are an accountancy firm or legal practice, also consider whether you have any Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) obligations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. If you have inadvertently been used as part of a money laundering arrangement — even unknowingly — you may have reporting obligations to your National Crime Agency.

Preventing it from happening again

Once you've resolved the immediate issue, set up a routine to catch any future unauthorised registrations early. Run a Companies House address lookup for your address every few months. If you're a professional firm, monthly monitoring is advisable — and ComplyPost automates this for paying customers, sending you an alert the moment a new company appears at your address.

The sooner you spot an unauthorised registration, the easier it is to deal with. Most cases resolved within weeks of the registration are straightforward. Cases discovered years later — particularly when the company has since been dissolved or the directors have become unreachable — are considerably more complex.