The Register of Directors and the Register of Secretaries kept by Companies House are reminded that new rules on what information will be available on the public file come into force on 1 October 2009. From this date new directors and company secretaries will be able to file a service address in addition to their usual residential address.

The service address, which can either be the company’s registered office or another address, will be the only address which will appear on the public version of the registers.

The residential address will only be available for use by Companies House, the credit reference agencies and other public authorities.

For existing directors and company secretaries, their current residential address will automatically become the service address on 1 October 2009. However, they will be able to change their service address to, for example, the company’s registered office online via the Companies House website, www.companieshouse.gov.uk, after this date. Any historical addresses will still be available to the public unless existing directors and company secretaries can successfully apply for a Confidentiality Order. Company directors and secretaries can apply for a Confidentiality Order in order to protect their residential address from being made public. However this can only be obtained if it can be shown that a director, company secretary or another person living with them is at serious risk of intimidation or violence should the address be made public. The changes are part of the main implementation of the Companies Act 2006 on 1 October 2009.

The changes will also affect the following areas of company law; the Registrar’s powers, incorporation of companies, change of constitution, change of company name , treatment of company name, administrative restoration of companies to the Register, alternative address for inspecting a company’s registers voluntary dissolution, statement of capital.

Information on all the changes is available from here