The new Form AD01 is used by UK companies wishing to change the location of their registered office address and was introduced on 1st October 2009. Brought about by the inception of the Companies Act 2006, it replaced the Form 287 document which was in use prior to this date.
The old Form 287 is now largely redundant but can and should still be used where the registered office address changed before 1st October 2009 (even if the notification to Companies House of this alteration is given sometime after).
All post September 2009 company registered office changes should be reported on the new Form AD01 which is available for download towards the end of this page.
In line with the common policy pertaining to the new Companies House forms, AD01 attempts to be descriptive of the particular action it represents. In this case “AD” being used as an abbreviation for the word address.
The “01” element signifies this change of company registered office address as the most common and prominent of the documents which can be used to inform Companies House of a change in location.
The new Form AD01 is very similar to the old Form 287 and largely requests the same information. That being the company number, its full name, the location of the new registered office and the signature by an authorised person.
One difference between this and other Companies Act 2006 documents is certain information sections such as the company number and post code now contain boxed separators.
Thus, the focus is on clarity and is an attempt to encourage uses of the Form AD01 to provide legible details of the change of registered office address and of the company to which the information relates.
Guidance notes for completing the AD01 Form are contained on the right hand side of the relevant sections. The salient notes include reminders that the old registered office facility should be capable of receiving registered office mail for up to fourteen days after the receipt of the document by Companies House.
Another relevant, yet sometimes overlooked note is that relating to changing the country in which the registered office is situated. In essence, a company registered in England and Wales must maintain its new registered office address within that jurisdiction. Similar rules apply to Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland Companies who are prohibited move cross border changes.
Download Form AD01 here
Form AD01 requires a PDF reader such as the one downloadable free from Adobe.
