What Is a SAIL Address? A Guide for UK Limited Companies

Virtual office locations are also known as single alternative inspection locations (sail addresses) which are basically an alternate inspection location for UK limited company statutory registers outside of the registered office.

Why do you need a sail address?

It's simple.

As a result of using a virtual office as your registered office you may not wish to allow members of the general public to visit your business to view company records, therefore a sail address provides a compliant solution.

Below we will provide further information about what a sail address actually is, whether your business needs one (spoiler: yes – probably!) and how to establish a sail address with companies house should you need one.

What does sail stand for?

Single Alternative Inspection Location. Companies act 2006 created the concept of a sail address. The main idea behind the creation was to enable companies to hold their statutory registers and records away from their registered office.

By default, every UK limited company must store certain statutory registers open to public inspection at its registered office. However, what happens when it isn’t possible? Perhaps your registered office is a virtual office or your home – perhaps you wouldn’t like to have members of the public showing up unannounced at your place of residence.

Therefore a sail address can help resolve the issue.

However, as stated earlier your sail address must be located in the same region within the UK as your company’s registered office. Therefore, if your company is registered in England & Wales, your sail address must be located in England or Wales. Unfortunately, placing a sail address in Scotland won’t cut it.

Do i require a sail address?

Not every company requires a sail address. Below is some hard-hitting reality-checks:

Reasons you probably don’t need a sail address include:

• Your registered office is a physical premise that you can use to display company records for inspection
• You’ve opted to keep your statutory records at companies house (as explained below)

You probably do need a sail address if:

• You’re utilising a virtual office as your registered office and you’re storing your own statutory records
• You operate your business from home and you’d prefer not to receive visits from the general public wanting to inspect records
• Your business has multiple locations and you’d prefer not to have members of the public viewing your statutory records at each individual location

An even easier option exists however. In june 2016, companies can opt to file statutory records at companies house rather than maintaining private records. To achieve this, simply file form EL01 with companies house and they’ll take care of the rest regarding allowing access for public inspections.

No need for a sail address.

Many small businesses and start-ups currently opt to file their statutory records at companies house. Smart choice – eliminates all hassle associated with managing statutory records.

Which statutory registers must be kept open for public inspection at a sail address?

Should you decide to maintain your own statutory registers (and not submit them to companies house), those registers must remain available for public inspection at either your registered office or your sail address:

• Member register (i.e. shareholders)
• Directors’ register
• Residential addresses of directors (only held internally but still required to be stored)
• Secretary’s register (if applicable)
• People with significant control (PSC) register
• Copies of service contracts for directors (or memorandum outlining terms)
• Resolutions and meeting records

Members of the public can request to view these statutory records during regular business hours.

Failure to produce such documents can lead to fines being imposed upon your company – and potentially each director who defaults. Worth avoiding.

Sail vs registered office

Don’t get confused between two very different concepts.

Your registered office is used by hmrc and companies house and other government departments/official agencies to contact you. By law, all UK limited companies must have a registered office and it cannot be a post box.

Your sail address is the place where members of the public can view company records. Only necessary should you decide to keep your statutory records elsewhere than at your registered office.

Both can be the same address – but they don’t have to be. Both appear in the companies house register.

For a deeper explanation into registered offices please refer to our article explaining what is a registered office address and why do i need one?

Can i use a virtual office as my sail address?

Yes. As long as your virtual office provider accepts requests for inspection during regular working hours, you can utilise either the same virtual office as your registered office or as your sail address.

At Hoxton Mix, our Virtual Office London Plan provides you with a professional registered office address at 66 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NA - smack bang in the middle of Shoreditch. All correspondence from companies house and hmrc will be handled by us. Mail will be scanned and uploaded onto your customer portal.

Prices begin at less than £21/month billed annually (£24.99 billed monthly). No long-term contract obligations.

Please see our plans for prices and details on virtual offices →

That said; most small businesses and start-ups tend to elect to store their statutory records with companies house (by submitting form EL01). Thus eliminating the requirement for a sail address altogether, thus removing the potential issues related to receiving inspection requests.

How do i set up a new sail address using companies house?

If you do require a new sail address, here is how you go about setting it up:

In order to establish a new sail address: submit form AD02 (Notice of Single Alternative Inspection Location) with companies house. You can do this using either web-filing on the companies house website or posting paper copies.

Form AD02 requires you to state:

• Company number
• Full sail address
• Confirmation that records will be made available for inspection at the above address

To change your existing sail address: submit form AD03 (change of Single Alternative Inspection Location).

Remove your current sail address: submit form AD04 (Notice that company has ceased to have a Single Alternative Inspection Location). At this point, your statutory registers must be stored at your registered office or you can again elect to store them at companies house using form EL01.

Free from companies house filing fees.

Need assistance with changing your registered office address? See how do i change my registered company address.

Compliant business address

Whether you need a registered office, a sail address or both, renting out physical space is not the most cost-effective way to avoid non-compliance with hmrc regulations etc.

Hoxton Mix offer london virtual office addresses to freelancers, startups, growing businesses and many others since 2012. Plans start from under £21/month billed annually or £24.99 billed monthly. No lock-in contracts.

FAQ

What is a SAIL address?

A SAIL address (Single Alternative Inspection Location) is an address where a UK limited company keeps its statutory registers for public inspection, instead of at its registered office. It must be in the same part of the UK where the company is registered.

Can I use my home as a SAIL address?

Yes, you can use your home address as a SAIL address. However, this means members of the public could request to inspect your company registers there during normal business hours. Many business owners prefer to use a virtual office address to avoid this.

Is a SAIL address the same as a registered office?

No. A registered office is your company's official legal address for government correspondence. A SAIL address is where statutory registers are kept for public inspection. They can be the same address, but a SAIL address is only needed if you keep your registers somewhere other than your registered office.

How much does a SAIL address cost?

There is no Companies House fee to register a SAIL address. The cost depends on the address itself — a virtual office that can serve as a SAIL address starts from under £21/month with The Hoxton Mix.

Do I need a SAIL address if I keep registers at Companies House?

No. If you elect to keep your statutory registers at Companies House (using form EL01), you don't need a SAIL address or to provide a location for public inspection. This is the simplest option for most small businesses.