How to Remove a Company From Your Address on Companies House

You've checked Companies House and found a company registered at your address that shouldn't be there. You've contacted the directors and got no response. Now you need to escalate. This guide covers the formal process for removing a company from your address — specifically the RP07 route — in plain English.

Before you start, use our free address lookup tool to confirm exactly which companies are at your address and get their company numbers. You'll need these for the process below.

The two main routes

There are two ways a company can be removed from your address as its registered office:

1. The company updates its own registered address. This is the quickest and cleanest outcome. If you contact the directors and they agree to update the address, they file a AD01 form (Change of registered office address) with Companies House and the address changes, usually within 24 hours. You don't need to do anything further.
2. You apply under section 1097A. If the company doesn't respond or refuses to cooperate, you use the formal dispute process — filing an RP07 form — to get Companies House to take action.

Always try route 1 first. It's faster, simpler, and doesn't require any forms. Route 2 is the fallback when the directors are unresponsive, unreachable, or uncooperative.

Understanding section 1097A of the Companies Act 2006

Section 1097A was added to the Companies Act 2006 by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. It gives individuals and organisations the right to apply to the Registrar of Companies (Companies House) to have their address removed from the register as a company's registered office when the address is being used without authorisation.

This is a formal statutory mechanism — not just an informal complaints process. Once you file an RP07 under this provision, Companies House is legally obliged to deal with it.

How to complete and file the RP07 form

Step 1: Download the form

The RP07 form is available from GOV.UK at:
gov.uk — Apply to change a company's disputed registered office address (RP07)

It's a PDF form that you can complete digitally or print and fill in by hand. As of 2025, it can also be submitted online via the Companies House online filing service.

Step 2: Complete your details (Part 1)

The first section asks for your details as the applicant — the person or firm applying for the removal. Complete:

• Your full name (or company/firm name if filing on behalf of an organisation)
• Your address (this must be the address you are applying to have removed)
• A contact telephone number or email address

Step 3: Complete the company details (Part 2)

In Part 2, you provide details of the company whose registered address you are disputing:

• Company name
• Company registration number (find this via the address lookup or at Companies House directly)
• The registered office address you are disputing (your address)

Step 4: State your grounds (Part 3)

This is the most important section. You need to briefly explain why the address is being used without authorisation. You do not need to write an essay — a few sentences is sufficient. For example:

"I am the occupier of [address]. I have not given consent to [Company Name] (company number [XXXXXXXX]) to use this address as its registered office. I have no relationship with this company or its directors. I contacted the directors by letter on [date] requesting them to update their address, but received no response."

If you have written to the directors and kept copies of that correspondence, attach it as evidence. It strengthens your application and may speed up Companies House's response.

Step 5: Sign the declaration (Part 4)

Sign and date the form to confirm that the information you have provided is accurate. If you are filing on behalf of a firm, use an authorised signatory.

Step 6: Submit to Companies House

The RP07 can be submitted by:

• Post: Address it to "The Registrar of Companies, Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ"
• Email: [email protected] (include RP07 in the subject line)
• Online: Via the Companies House online filing portal (you'll need a Companies House account)

What happens after you file

Once Companies House receives your RP07, the process typically runs as follows:

1. Companies House writes to the company's registered officers — the directors listed on the register — at their service addresses (or residential addresses if no service address is provided). This letter gives them a specific period (usually 28 days) to either confirm that they have the right to use the address, or to provide a new registered office address.
2. If the company responds with a valid alternative address, Companies House updates the register and informs you. The company is removed from your address.
3. If the company does not respond or cannot provide a valid address, Companies House may change the registered office to a "default address" — typically shown on the register as Companies House's own address in Cardiff. This signals to anyone searching the register that there is a problem with this company's address arrangements.
4. Companies House notifies you of the outcome once action has been taken.

Realistic timeline

The RP07 process is not instant. From submission to resolution typically takes 6–12 weeks, depending on Companies House's current workload and whether the company responds promptly. If you need a faster resolution — for example, because you are receiving significant volumes of statutory correspondence for the company — you can contact Companies House directly to explain the urgency.

What the RP07 process does not do

It is important to understand the limits of the RP07 process:

• It does not dissolve the company. The company continues to exist on the register — it just has a different (or default) registered office address.
• It does not stop all correspondence. If the company's address is changed to Companies House's default address, you may still receive some forwarded mail while the transition is processed. This should stop within a few weeks.
• It does not address any legal liability if the company has been using your address in a way that has caused you harm. If you have suffered financial loss or reputational damage, you may need to take separate legal advice.
• It does not apply if the company has a legitimate claim to the address. If a company can demonstrate that it has a valid tenancy agreement, lease, or other right to use the address, Companies House will not force a change.

After the removal: set up monitoring

Once you've resolved the immediate issue, take steps to prevent it happening again. A quick periodic search using our free address lookup tool will show you immediately if any new companies register at your address. For professional firms managing multiple addresses, ComplyPost's monitoring feature automates this — running nightly checks against the Companies House register and sending an alert whenever a new company appears.

The earlier you catch an unauthorised registration, the simpler it is to deal with. An RP07 is a last resort — most cases can be resolved with a single letter to the directors if you spot the registration quickly.