How do I find UK companies that have changed their registered office?
A change of registered office is filed at Companies House and shows in the company's filing history. It can mean a move, a new accountant or a restructure, so read the filing and check before calling.
Written from Lockley's index and the sources below, updated 16 October 2026.
A UK company that changes its registered office files a notice with Companies House, and the change appears in the company's filing history and on its public record. You can find these by reading each company's filing history, but the register offers no simple feed of recent changes, so finding them across a whole sector by hand is slow. The more important question is what a change means, because it often means less than it appears to.
What the filing is
The form is the AD01, notice of change of registered office address. According to the official form, the change does not take effect until Companies House registers the notice, and a person may serve documents on the company at its previous registered office for 14 days from the date the change is registered. The registered office must be in the part of the UK where the company is registered.
What a change can mean
A registered office is the company's official address for legal post, not necessarily where it trades. Reasons for a change include:
A move to new premises. This is the case a landlord, insurer, telecoms or facilities seller cares about, but there are other causes.
A switch of accountant or company-formation service. Many small companies use their accountant's address as their registered office, so a change often means they changed accountant. That is a signal for accountancy firms and software sellers, and nothing for anyone else.
A restructure or a change of owner after a sale.
Tidying up: moving from a home address to a business one, or the reverse.
How to find them
There are three routes. First, search Companies House by company and read the filing history for a change of registered office. Second, use the Companies House bulk data and its API if you have a developer, and filter filings by type. Third, use a service that watches the register and reports changes.
Lockley reads Companies House filings every night and links each finding to the record it came from. The index covers 5,578,743 active UK companies, counted 15 October 2026. A registered office change on its own is a weak signal, so it is most useful alongside others, such as a new hire or a planning application at the same company.
How to use it on a call
Be accurate about what you know. You saw a new registered office filed; you do not know why. A call that opens 'I noticed you have changed your registered address, are you moving?' will be wrong whenever the cause is an accountant change, and the company will know you were reading a list. Better to ask: 'I saw a recent address change at Companies House. Is that a move or a change of advisers?' Then listen.
Check the new address. If it matches a known accountancy or company-formation address, treat it as an adviser change. If it is a business address in a different town, a move is more likely. If it is a residential-looking address, the company may be very small or dormant.
Questions
What is an AD01?
The Companies House form for notice of a change of registered office address.
When does the change take effect?
When Companies House registers the notice. Documents may be served at the old address for 14 days from that date.
Does a change of registered office mean the company has moved?
Not necessarily. It can mean a change of accountant, a restructure or an address tidy-up.
Is the information public?
Yes. The registered office is on the public register, and the filing history shows changes.
Can I contact a company by post at its registered office?
You can, but PECR and UK GDPR rules on business marketing still apply to how you contact them.
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