Abstract: Company registration needs to provide the company’s registered address, but start-ups or online stores may not have the need for a physical office or store, the tentative company address in the early stage of entrepreneurship may also change with the operation, so what is the purpose of the company’s registered address, can the company’s registered address be changed in the future? Below you will find out what you need to know about your company’s registered address.
Purpose of the company’s registered address
According to the laws of Hong Kong, all forms of companies, whether limited or unlimited, are required to register their registered address in order to obtain a Business Registration Certificate, the registered address of a limited company needs to be registered with the Companies Registry and the Business Registration Office, and an unlimited company needs to be registered as a business. The address will be used as the place where the company sends and receives letters, and important government letters and statutory mail, such as tax returns, business registration certificate renewal notices, etc., will be sent to the company’s registered address.
What are the requirements for the registered address of the company
According to the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, a company’s registered address cannot be located outside Hong Kong and all Hong Kong companies must have a registered address. The Ordinance does not stipulate that the registered address of a company must be the place where the company carries out business activities, so it is possible to set up a company at a non-physical business address, provided that the registered address of a local company meets the following conditions:
1. P.O. Box addresses cannot be used;
2. The address must be able to receive mail;
3. Must be a physical address located in Hong Kong.
If there is no suitable address for the time being, it is not necessary to consider renting a virtual office, many secretarial companies can provide the service of renting a virtual office as a registered address, and can first rent a virtual office as the registered office address of the company. In addition, since the company address is a public enterprise information, the company address can be found through the search system, so some people may choose to rent another virtual office due to privacy reasons.
Is it legal to use a virtual office as a registered address?
Many people may have questions about renting a virtual office, is it legal to rent a virtual office as a registered address in Hong Kong?
The key to the legality of renting a virtual office is whether the operator you are renting a virtual office holds a “Corporate Service Provider Licence”, which is an offence under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) to operate a business centre or virtual office in Hong Kong without a licence.
Therefore, the legality of renting a virtual office depends on whether the operator holds a licence and can require the operator to show a licence before renting a virtual office, and then rent a virtual office and register it as a company address.
Can a company’s registered address be registered in one’s own residence?
The Ordinance stipulates that the registered address of a company must be a physical address in Hong Kong, and theoretically there is no problem in registering in one’s own residence.
Residences can be registered as company addresses, but there are two caveats:
1. Whether the terms in the lease agreement allow it to be used for company address or business purposes, if it is checked that your address does not meet the qualifications of the company address, there is a risk of being returned.
2. Whether you will be concerned about the address of the company being disclosed, since the company address is accessible in the investigation of the Companies Registry, if you are concerned about privacy issues, it is not recommended to choose residential registration as the company address.
summary
If you need to rent a virtual office, you may wish to contact the Langfeng Business Consultants team, we provide one-stop business consulting services, including company registration, bank account opening, secretarial services and office representatives, etc., all of which take care of your business needs, allowing you to focus your energy and time on the development of the company!
