Legal Address: What It Is and Who Needs One

Under the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, every legal entity must have its own registered (legal) address. This is the location where the executive body must be situated:

• the collegial executive body (board or directorate), or

• the sole executive body (director or генеральный director / CEO).

The registered address must also store the company’s constitutional and corporate documents, including the charter (articles of association) or founding agreement, the book of comments and suggestions, the inspection logbook, the certificate of state registration, minutes of shareholders’ meetings (or the decision of the sole participant), the tax registration notice, and other documents related to the company’s activities.

But what if you run a very small company where you are the founder, director, manager, marketer, and even the warehouse worker when needed? Renting an office may not be cost-effective, yet a legal address is still mandatory.

To comply with the law and still work comfortably from home, a coworking space, a café, or anywhere else — read the article prepared by the lawyers of Gravis.

What Is a Legal Address?

A legal address is the address where your company is officially registered and where the director and employees (if any) are deemed to be located.

In our article about company registration, we explained that you must determine the address immediately after the company name has been approved and before applying to the registration authority. Otherwise, your company simply cannot be registered.

Large corporations with thousands of employees usually own office and production facilities. Medium-sized companies rent offices. Small businesses, however, often face difficulties: finding suitable premises that meet all legal requirements at a reasonable cost is not easy — especially for a new entrepreneur with limited funds. So does it make sense to overpay for premises you do not actually need? Usually not.

Modern business increasingly operates in a mobile environment. Meetings with clients and contractors can be held online or at neutral locations, and daily work often requires only a laptop, phone, and internet connection. Remote work practices have also shown that productivity does not decline when teams are distributed — particularly when the company is still small and funds would be better invested in staff motivation and salaries rather than office maintenance.

Who Must Have a Legal Address?

All legal entities without exception — regardless of ownership form (LLC, ALC, private unitary enterprise, OJSC, CJSC, etc.), business activity, or location — must have a legal address. The law applies equally to everyone.

An important point to remember: residential premises generally cannot be used for this purpose. Only owners of a private unitary enterprise (ЧУП) may register at their residential property, and even then there are practical considerations.

For example:

• supervisory authorities will know your home address and official correspondence may be sent there;

• using residential property for business purposes may affect how utilities and operational matters are handled.

For this reason, regardless of the type of company you own, it is usually wiser to keep your home as a private living space and treat the legal address as a formal business element that must be properly arranged.

Who Provides Legal Addresses?

Today, registered addresses can be arranged through various specialized providers. The market offers many options, allowing businesses to choose solutions that fit their operational needs. When selecting a provider, it is important to look beyond the formal address itself and consider supporting infrastructure such as on-site administrative staff, mail handling and storage, and timely notification of official correspondence or visits.

For many years, Gravis has supported clients with company registration and business development. During this time, hundreds of companies — from small startups to large projects — have been established with our assistance. Thanks to extensive practical experience in corporate law and registration procedures, we understand the legal requirements for registered addresses, the risks involved in choosing them, and the nuances of their future use.

We help clients understand legal address requirements, assess the reliability of market offers, and correctly prepare all necessary documentation so the business operates legally and without unnecessary questions from regulatory authorities.