Form 13 – How to Change Your Registered Office Address

When you’re running your company, you might at one point need to change its business address. 

You might want to do this because: 

1. You have initially registered your business through your home address. Now that your business has grown, you might be wanting to expand into a bigger, different location. 

2. Your current office location might be switching to a different address. 

But how do you exactly do this?

Well, the common denominator between both these scenarios is that you need to fill out and submit ‘Form 13’ to change your business address.

This is a pretty simple and straightforward process if you have a little nudge in the right direction.

So, if you’re looking to change your business’s address, this blog will guide you through the entire process step-by-step. 

How to: Change your business address

The good news is that there are no restrictions when it comes to changing your company address. You can make this change at any time after initially registering.

All you need to do is submit a completed Form 13 along with a Company Resolution to the Registrar of Companies (ROC).

Once you hand in your forms, the Registrar’s office should process your documents at least within five working days. 

Let’s take a look at this process in a little more detail

What should you submit to the ROC?

Like we mentioned before, you need to submit two forms to the Registrar’s office in order to change your company address:

1. Company Resolution 

2. Form 13 

When you’re filling in these documents, make sure you type in all your information. The ROC in Sri Lanka does not accept handwritten documents anymore.

Changing your business address: Company Resolution 

Every important decision made within a registered company must be approved by its Board of Directors. Usually, these decisions are made at the Annual General Meetings (AGM) or Board Meetings. 

So, if you’re planning on changing your business address – you need to run it by your director board first. 

If your change of address proposal is approved, you then need to document it by passing a ‘Company Resolution’.

Think of this ‘Company Resolution’ as a mutual acknowledgement and agreement of the address change by the directors.

Once the resolution has been signed and passed, you can now present it to the Registrar of Companies. 

This resolution will also signal to the ROC that your company’s Board of Directors has discussed and approved this shift. 

Filing Form 13 

The Company Resolution is only the opening act when it comes to changing your business address. 

‘Form 13’ is the main act. 

In other words, this is the most important document when changing your address. 

It is a pretty simple form to fill so let’s jump into it!

In case you’re looking for the form right now, you can download it right here.  

Filing Form 13 Step 01: Basic Information

There’s four basic details every company owners has to fill in Form 13: 

1. Number of company 
2. Company name 
3. Address of new registered office
4. Date of change of new registered office 

There’s also one important detail to remember when filling this section in.

You have to make sure that ‘The change in the registered office of the Company takes effect on’ date is at least five days after passing the company resolution. 

Filing Form 13 Step 02: Legal Signatures 

Once you have filled in the basic information, either a Director or the Company Secretary will have to authorise it with their signature.

Finally at the end of the form, mention the contact details of your company. 

This form is usually presented to the ROC by the Company Secretary, so make sure to mention his/ her details at the end of the document. 

What happens after you submit Form 13?

You will receive a certified copy of Form 13 once you submit your Company Resolution + Form 13 to the ROC.

Once the submission is complete, you need to inform the other authorities about the address change.

These authorities include the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), the Labour Department and any banks your company has business dealings with. 

Why is your business address so important?

All businesses in Sri Lanka must legally have a registered office in Sri Lanka according to the Companies Act. 

This registered address is used to communicate all your notices and business related communications. This includes bank statements, bills and all your legal and secretarial work.

The ‘company address’ of your business is the office address that you mention during the registration process of your company.

It’s important to take your company address seriously since it is going to be shown on all your company documentation. If your business is a physical one, then this address is important to attract your clients and customers. 

However, this isn’t always taken into consideration when most businesses are starting off. 

A majority of the time, entrepreneurs choose to register the business address under their personal home addresses. 

Since this usually leads to relocation, let’s take a look at how you can choose the right location –  and by extension, the right company address. 

What should you look for in a company address?

Every business is different. This means that they all have different needs when choosing a physical location. 

Your business will determine exactly what it needs when selecting a store location and address.

However, there are a few common factors that every business type can consider:

1. Competition – Having other businesses similar, and close to your location will have its pros and its cons. Some businesses thrive when they compete with each other and some businesses prefer being the only one of its type on the block. You will have to decide which option will suit your business the best.

2. Access to other services – Make sure that your business can easily obtain goods and services from your producers and that employees can access the location easily. For example: It’s absolutely essential for retail outlets to have their own parking. 

3. Be mindful of the law – Some areas might have tighter rules than others. For example: you might want to seriously consider the types of businesses you want to open up next to a children’s park or school. On the other hand, some areas have special economical advantages like the free trade zones – which can have reduced tax work for your business.

4. Utilities and other costs – There’s always bills to pay. Think about these costs and if you can afford them before signing onto any agreement. 

It’s always smart to carry out background checks on the location and read the fine print on the documentations before making any payment. This will help you select the best package that will suit your business when it comes to picking a location. 

File for your company’s address change with Simplebooks!

Simplebooks is a registered Company Secretary with years of experience handling company address changes.
In case you want to skip the hassle of this process, you can have a dedicated team of experts who can guide you and make company changes on your behalf.

Our team will:

• Change your registered company address
• Communicate with ROC for paperwork 
• Handle the submission of relevant documents  

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