The importance of accessing always up-to-date company registered offices

The registered office, meaning the one registered with the Chamber of Commerce or Companies Registration Office, is one of the fundamental criteria for determining a company’s tax residence.

Knowing a company’s registered office is, however, also vital for suppliers, partners, creditors and supervisory authorities. When the registered office is not up to date, situations may arise ranging from notifications that are never received to the risk of establishing business relationships with entities whose legal status is uncertain or opaque.

Having access to official, certified and constantly updated data on companies is a fundamental requirement for efficient processes and simplified operations, as well as for avoiding fraud and compliance issues.

Registered office: what it is and why it matters

The registered office, also known as the head office or statutory office, is the place where a company’s administrative and decision-making center is located. In addition to being the company’s official address, the registered office is also presumed to be the location of the corporate bodies and where the most important decisions are made.

Each legal entity may have only one registered office, which must be stated in the company’s articles of incorporation and registered with the Companies Register. The registered office address is the one to which official notifications and communications must be sent.

The publication of the registered office in the Companies Register guarantees transparency and the protection of third parties: anyone who needs to interact with a company can rely on a certain and official address to which communications can be sent.

Difference between registered office and operating office

As we have seen, the registered office is the place where the company is officially domiciled. Very often, however, companies have more than one address: in addition to the main office, there may be a separate administrative office and several operating offices or local units, which are the locations where production or business activities actually take place.

Generally, the registered office, tax office and administrative office coincide. Very large companies, however, may have a separate administrative office from the main registered office.

There is a substantial difference between the registered/administrative office and the operating office: while the former is the sole reference point for legal notifications, operating offices may be multiple (e.g. shops, warehouses, plants, branches, etc.) and, except in specific cases, are not relevant for third parties interacting with the company.

What is the tax domicile?

Another possible distinction, especially in the case of very large companies or those with a geographically distributed presence, is that between the registered office and tax domicile. Just as with the administrative center, the tax domicile may also be associated with a separate address.

For example, in Italy, Italian tax law (TUIR) establishes that the tax domicile legally coincides with the registered office of the company. However, if the administrative office is separate from the main registered office, the Italian Revenue Agency considers the place where administrative activities are carried out as the tax address.

Even in this case, the registered office remains the sole reference point for official communications from other authorities and bodies, as well as the only official address shown such as the Chamber of Commerce registration in Italy or the KBIS extract in France.

Company registered office: why choosing official data matters

Knowing a company’s registered office address is crucial in several operational contexts: electronic invoicing, shipments, marketing campaigns and the service of official notices are just a few examples. Having access to outdated or inaccurate addresses—especially when automated systems are in place—can lead to costly consequences in terms of time, money and resources:

• Ineffective notifications and communications;
• Billing and logistics errors: undelivered shipments, returned mail and incorrect invoices result in wasted time and resources;
• Service disruptions and delays;
• Due diligence issues: the inability to trace a company’s registered office may lead to legal and compliance risks.

Inaccurate or outdated data can ultimately compromise every stage of the relationship with a legal entity, from onboarding and shipping to the delivery of commercial documents and potential debt recovery.

Registered office and business information: the advantages of official data

When it comes to business information, access to official data is crucial: only such data has legal value and is enforceable against third parties.

Only public information contained in the Companies Register managed by the Chambers of Commerce guarantees accuracy and constant updating: companies are legally required to report any change to their registered office, and this information is subject to verification by the competent Chamber of Commerce.

Accessing official data therefore means not only relying on correct and verified information, but also on the most up-to-date data available.

The use of official data also ensures:

• Process efficiency: using a single authoritative source such as the Companies Register makes it possible to standardize data entry and address management processes, reducing manual errors;
• Optimized communications and logistics;
• Improved compliance: official data enables immediate verification of documentation compliance and demonstrates due diligence in information acquisition;
• Prevention of fraud and illegal activities: relying on official data reduces the risk of entering into agreements with shell companies or entities with opaque management.

Registered Office of Companies: How to Obtain Official Data 

Official company data, as we have seen, are those provided by the Chambers of Commerce and Company Registers of each country, which can be obtained by requesting an official document (for example, a Company Profile in Italy or a KBIS Extract in France) or, in some countries, online through the digital services of the Company Registers.

In addition to these manual tools, there are business information API services like the one offered by Openapi, which represent the most advanced level of interaction for instant access to certified company data worldwide. These services are essential for those who need a continuous and automated flow of official information, allowing real-time retrieval of data such as the registered office address, contact details, operational status, and financial information.

Thanks to centralized access to official sources from numerous countries, Openapi’s APIs allow linking data from over 500 million companies to internal systems such as ERP and CRM. This enables automatic retrieval, entry, and updating of information, simplifying compliance with Anti-Money Laundering regulations, operating with greater security and transparency in international markets, and performing due diligence checks on thousands of entities simultaneously for portfolio assessment or risk management.