Virtual registered office

What it means

A virtual registered office is a registered address provided by a service company, usually with mail handling and scanning. It is lawful and practical for small firms.

To a bank, an insurer or a partner it is nonetheless a flag that prompts further questions during client verification: where the company actually works and who is there.

The registered office and the place where the company actually works need not be the same, and with a virtual office they never are. No business is done at the provider’s address, only mail is received; if the company sees customers or sells elsewhere, that place is notified as an establishment in the trade register.

How it works in practice

The contract should state how quickly mail is forwarded and what happens when an official letter arrives. Most dealings with authorities run through the e-mailbox, where the address does not matter.

For a loan application or larger tenders it helps to have real premises or at least to evidence where the work happens. An address in the register alone is not enough.

When a company with a virtual office registers for VAT, the tax administrator often makes an on-site inquiry or asks where the business really operates. We therefore prepare the evidence in advance: a lease for the premises where the work is done, a warehouse contract or contracts with customers.

What to watch out for

If the provider closes or stops collecting mail, the company never learns about decisions delivered there. Service still counts as valid and deadlines keep running.

If the provider ends the contract, the company must register a new office quickly. A company that has no real registered office risks the court opening proceedings to dissolve it, and the application to register the change needs the consent of the new premises’ owner, which cannot be had overnight.