Getting the virtual office address format right is the difference between mail that lands in your box the same afternoon and mail that sits in a sorting pile with a question mark on it. Every week our front desk logs envelopes addressed to a first name only, to a company name that is not the one on file, or to a suite that does not exist. All of it gets to you eventually, because we look you up. But “eventually” is not what you are paying for. This guide shows the exact virtual office address format, what the Attention line is for, and how to fill in the address on the government forms that are pickiest about it.
ON THIS PAGE
- The virtual office address format, line by line
- What the Attention line is for
- Government forms: registered office, mailing address and the PMB
- The address only works while your subscription is active
- Couriers, packages and what not to send here
- Everywhere else: website, invoices, Google
- Quick answers
The virtual office address format, line by line
A virtual office address format has one more line than a home address, and that line is the part people drop. Your onboarding email gives you the exact version with your own Private Mailbox number, but every VanCubers address follows the same shape:
ATTN: JANE WONG
PMB 123
250-997 SEYMOUR ST
VANCOUVER BC V6B 3M1
Line one is the business exactly as it appears on your subscription. Line two is optional and names a person. Line three is your PMB number. Line four is the suite and street in Canada Post’s addressing format: unit number, hyphen, civic number, street. The last line is city, province and postal code, with two spaces before the postal code.
Capitals and no punctuation are Canada Post’s preference for machine sorting. “Suite 250, 997 Seymour Street” is also perfectly fine and is how we write it on the website. What matters is that the suite number and the PMB are both present.
Do I have to include the PMB? No. Mail addressed to your business name or a registered person at Suite 250 still reaches you, because we look up the name in our system and the virtual office address format works with or without it. The PMB just skips the lookup, which is the difference between a same-day photo in your inbox and a next-morning one on a busy day.
Where does the PMB go if a form only has two address lines? Put it on the same line as the suite: “250-997 Seymour St, PMB 123”. Some forms reject “PMB” as a word. Then write “Unit 250 Box 123” and leave the rest unchanged.
Can I write “Box 123” instead? Yes for postal purposes. Avoid “PO Box”, which invites the very question a street address is meant to answer. Either way the rest of the virtual office address format stays the same.
What the Attention line is for
The “Attention To” field on the onboarding form confuses more new customers than anything else, so here is the logic behind it. It is the one part of the virtual office address format that is about people rather than places. Mail is logged to your business, never to a person. The Attention line tells the front desk which person on your pickup list an envelope is meant for, and it lets us match mail that arrives addressed to a person rather than to the company.
Each subscription covers one legal name plus one trading name. Many customers are numbered companies that trade under a brand, and government mail from CRA or BC Registries is addressed to the legal name, which some owners have not seen written out in years. We keep both so that nothing bounces. Under those two names you can list the people mail may be addressed to. They also need to be on your authorised pickup list if they will collect it, and they bring photo ID when they do.
Works. Legal name, one DBA, and named people with “Attn:”.
Does not work. A second company under the same subscription, or mail for your own clients. An accountant cannot route client mail through their box. Each business needs its own subscription so its mail is logged and held correctly.
Changed your name? Email the account team and we update the file. You do not need to cancel and start again.
Government forms: the virtual office address format for registered office, mailing address and the PMB
Use the same virtual office address format on every form. Only where the PMB goes changes, and the table shows the field to put it in.
| Where | Which field | How to write it |
|---|---|---|
| BC Registries (incorporation, annual report) | Registered office and records office, delivery and mailing address | Suite 250 – 997 Seymour St, Vancouver BC V6B 3M1. Add the PMB to the mailing address line if the form allows it |
| CRA (business number, GST/HST, payroll) | Mailing address, and physical address if you operate from here | Same suite format. CRA accepts a care-of or box line, so the PMB fits on line two |
| City of Vancouver business licence | Business address | Suite format, no PMB needed. Choose the licence category that matches what you actually do at the address |
| Banks and payment processors | Business address for statements and cards | Full format including the PMB, because replacement cards arrive by courier and the name on them must match your file |
If you move your CRA mailing address here, do it through your CRA account or the change of address process rather than by writing the new address on a return, so that every program account updates at once. One thing the address is not: a residential address. ICBC, personal tax and anything tied to where you live stay at home.
The address only works while your subscription is active
This is the part people test, so it is worth being blunt. The virtual office address format above does nothing on its own. Writing Suite 250, 997 Seymour Street on a form does not create a mailbox, and putting it on a website does not mean anyone here has heard of you. The address works because a staffed front desk has your business on an active subscription and checks every envelope against that list. Off the list, there is no service, and the virtual office address format on your letterhead is just words.
If you never signed up. Mail addressed to a business that is not on file is stamped “Return to Sender” and goes straight back, which tells the sender in plain terms that the business does not operate here. Nobody phones you, because we have no number for you. If a bank, a courier, BC Registries, CRA or a customer asks whether your business is at this address, the front desk answers no, because it is true. Every week someone who copied the virtual office address format from a website discovers this when a replacement bank card or a government letter comes back to the sender.
If you let it lapse. Your account is archived on the first day of non-payment, as set out in our Terms and Conditions. Same-day notification, scanning and forwarding stop that day, and every piece of mail that arrives afterwards is stamped “Return to Sender”. Anything already sitting in your box can be collected for 30 days from that first day and is then shredded. We are a mailroom, not an archive. Renewal notices go out before the term ends, and being away, missing the email or having an old card on file does not extend it. Reinstate from My Account or by email and your PMB stays the same, but anything that arrived after the lapse is already on its way back, and anything left uncollected past 30 days is gone.
Registrations make it worse, not better. If your registered office is an address that refuses your mail, the annual report reminders and dissolution warnings from BC Registries come back unopened, and the company can be dissolved for a missed annual report without you ever seeing the notice. CRA treats returned mail as an unreachable taxpayer.
Not sure you are active? Before you put the virtual office address format on anything important, log in to My Account and check the subscription status before anything important is sent here. A Basic plan is $30 a month. One returned bank card or one missed CRA letter costs more than a year of it.
Couriers, packages and what not to send here
Couriers ignore the PMB and deliver to the suite, so for FedEx, UPS, DHL and Amazon the virtual office address format is simply your business name, Suite 250, 997 Seymour Street. Give the courier a phone number, because drivers who cannot find a name on a package will call before they leave. We sign for everything during front desk hours, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and we handle customs and duties on your behalf.
Size is the one limit. We hold packages up to 18 by 12 by 12 inches for as long as your subscription is active. Anything larger needs a heads-up before it arrives and same-day pickup, because there is nowhere to store it overnight. If you cannot come in, email us a prepaid courier label or an Uber pickup and we will hand the item over at the front desk.
Good fits. Letters, cheques, bank cards, government notices, sample products, documents for signature.
Give notice first. Pallets, furniture, anything over the size limit, deliveries that need a signature from a named person.
Not here. Inventory you plan to store and ship from, perishable goods, and mail for businesses that are not on your subscription.
Everywhere else: website, invoices, Google
Consistency is the whole game for local search. Use one virtual office address format on your website footer, your invoices, your email signature and any directory listing. Pick one form, we suggest “Suite 250 – 997 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 3M1”, and never mix “Suite 250” on one page with “#250” on another. Your public virtual office address format can leave the PMB off; it is for mail, not for customers. If you plan to put the address on a Google Business Profile, read our guide on using a virtual office for Google Business Profile first, because Google’s rules for that are stricter than any government form.
New to the address? The virtual office in Vancouver page covers plans and what is included, and the FAQ answers the pickup, forwarding and holding questions this post does not.
Quick answers
What is the correct virtual office address format for VanCubers?
Business name, an optional Attention line, your PMB number, then 250-997 Seymour St, Vancouver BC V6B 3M1. Your onboarding email shows it with your own PMB filled in.
Does the virtual office address format need the PMB number?
No. Mail with your business name or a registered person’s name still reaches you. The PMB speeds up sorting, so use it where you can.
What goes on the Attention line?
A person on your pickup list. Mail is logged to your business, and the Attention line tells the front desk who to hand it to.
How many business names can be on one subscription?
One legal name and one trading name. A second business needs its own subscription.
Is the virtual office address format accepted as a registered office in BC?
Yes. It is a real commercial street address with a staffed front desk, which is what BC Registries and CRA require. Use the suite format shown above.
Can I use the address before I sign up, or after my subscription ends?
No. Mail for a business that is not on an active subscription is refused and returned to the sender, and the front desk will confirm to anyone who asks that the business is not here. If your term lapses, the account is archived on the first day of non-payment, mail arriving afterwards is stamped “Return to Sender”, and anything still in your box is shredded 30 days after that day, as set out in our Terms and Conditions. Reinstate and your PMB stays the same.
What is the largest package you accept?
18 by 12 by 12 inches without notice. Larger items need a heads-up first and same-day pickup.
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