Keep your business details separate from your personal life
If you work from home, consider which address details you make public. When your home is also your business visiting address, it may appear in the Business Register unless it has been hidden. Address details may also appear on your website, invoices, quotations or social media. Check which details you must provide for your activities and use an appropriate business address.
Ideally, consider this before registering your business.
The business postal address
A separate business postal address reduces the need to share your home address in correspondence. It does not automatically change your KvK visiting address or remove your home address from public sources. Sole proprietorships can request that their visiting address be hidden by registering a separate public postal address. Other legal structures are subject to different conditions.
Previously published details may still appear elsewhere online or in historical records.
Would you like somewhere to work away from home as well as a separate business address? Real workspace is available at our virtual office. You can rent a flexible workspace from us, giving you somewhere to work away from home. Contact us for availability and rates.
Limits to business privacy
A business address does not make your home address untraceable to authorised bodies. Government organisations and judicial bailiffs can, subject to conditions, receive information from the Personal Records Database (BRP) to carry out their statutory duties. A debt collection agency does not automatically have the same access. And if you are suspected of a criminal offence, the police and judicial authorities can, of course, find you at your home address.
Business privacy is therefore intended solely to prevent unwanted visits from clients, representatives offering business services or other business contacts whom you would rather not have at your door just as you are sitting down with your family.
Having your address hidden in the Business Register
Do you have a sole proprietorship? You can ask the KvK to hide your business visiting address even if you are not facing threats. You must register a separate postal address in the Business Register. This postal address remains public and must differ from both your home address and your business visiting address. For other legal structures, such as a VOF or BV, the visiting address can only be hidden in a threatening situation, subject to additional conditions.
The options depend on the legal structure and the type of threat. Hiding the address in the register does not remove it from every public source: it may still appear on other websites or in historical records. Authorised bodies and professional groups may retain access to the protected address under certain conditions.
How to change your business address
When you start using a business address provider, or business postal address, it is important to remove all outdated information. Change your address online through the KvK website so that the Business Register shows the correct details. It is then sensible to make a checklist of other places where you need to update your address.
Think of your website, or multiple websites if you have several businesses. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok often display a business address on your business account. Your company may also be listed on an industry website or a municipal business directory. The address needs to be updated there too.
Applying for a business postal address
If you decide to apply for a business postal address with us, it is important to realise that your home address does not simply disappear. It can still be found. Before you can use a business address provider’s services, you must also supply the required information about your company or companies. Customer due diligence is always carried out before your agreement can take effect.
Our plans have a one-year term; you choose how often you pay. You can find more information on our pricing page. You can submit your application directly through our sign-up form.
