Hong Kong Companies Registry: Company Search and Filing Guide
A working map of the Companies Registry’s public search products and electronic filing controls, including what each result can—and cannot—establish.
The Hong Kong Companies Registry’s e-Services Portal is the official online route for public company searches and Companies Ordinance filings. Use e-Search to identify a company by name or Business Registration Number, buy a Company Particulars Report or director index, inspect the document and charges indexes, and obtain filed-document images. Use e-Filing to incorporate companies and deliver annual returns, officer, office, share and other prescribed notices through the applicable account and signing route.
A search result is evidence from the public company register, not a complete due-diligence conclusion. A filing acknowledgement proves delivery, not necessarily registration. For both tasks, record the search or filing date, exact legal name and BRN, product or form selected, receipt or reference, result and any limitation. Interface labels and user routes change, so the service functions and current fees in this guide were checked on August 19, 2026.
In this article
- Portal services and user objectives
- Free name, document and charges indexes
- Paid reports, director searches and document images
- Status, directors, shareholders and charges
- Forms, authority, signatures and fees
- Delivery, payment, status and registration
- Requisitions, corrections and verification
- A reproducible Registry evidence file
Key takeaways
- Free e-Search products locate a record and its indexes; paid reports or images provide the particulars needed for a decision.
- Company Particulars Search currently costs HK$22, while company-based and director-based Directors Index searches cost HK$11 and HK$22 respectively.
- The public register shows filed information and document history, but it does not prove a company’s bank status, tax clearance, solvency, current beneficial ownership or sector licence.
- For filing, distinguish a saved draft, signed document, delivered transaction, registered document and updated public record as separate states.
Choose between e-Search and e-Filing
e-Search and e-Filing sit on the same Companies Registry e-Services Portal but solve different problems. e-Search is the public-information service: it helps a user locate companies and entities, inspect indexes and buy reports or document images. e-Filing is a delivery service: an authorised presenter prepares, signs, pays for and submits a statutory document. Searching does not authorise a filing, and filing access does not make a user the company’s director or secretary.
| Task | Portal service | Result to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Check whether a name or entity record exists | Company Name Search / Quick Search | Search criteria, date, matching legal name, BRN and status display. |
| Review current registered particulars | Company Particulars Search | Paid report, receipt and review notes on relevant fields. |
| Locate a filed form or accounts | Document Index + Image Record Search | Index entry and purchased image of the exact document/version. |
| Check directors or charges | Directors Index / Charges Index and related products | Named report or index result with search basis and limitations. |
| Deliver incorporation, annual return or change notice | e-Filing | Final form, signature evidence, transaction acknowledgement, payment and registration result. |
Unregistered users can access public e-Search functions, while some features and pricing distinguish registered online users from unregistered users. e-Filing routes depend on the form and user. In 2026, the Registry introduced designated filing for unregistered users with iAM Smart+ for Form NAR1 and Form NR1, while the regular e-Filing account and subscription route remains relevant for broader submissions. Check the live form-specific instructions before assigning a signer or presenter.
Select the search product from the decision question
Define whether you need identity, current particulars, directors, a charge, a document image or a historical chronology before paying for a report.
Start with free company and index searches
The free search layer is a locator. Company Name Search supports a left-partial or exact-name match and helps identify the current legal name, BRN and basic status result. The Document Index Search shows what documents have been registered and their dates. The Register of Charges Index and Register of Disqualification Orders Index identify whether relevant indexed records exist. The Registry fee page lists these index searches as free.
Search variations matter. Remove punctuation, try the exact English or Chinese legal name, use left-partial matching and, when known, search the eight-digit BRN. A trading name, translated brand or former company name may not lead directly to the expected current record. For companies registered before December 27, 2023, use the CR No./BRN Mapping function when an old company number appears in a contract or historic document.
A free index is a signpost
An index can show that a document or charge record exists, but the underlying image or particulars report usually carries the substance. Record the exact index entry before buying an image so the correct filing date and form are selected.
- Do not treat “Live” status as proof of solvency or good standing in every sense.
- Do not treat the absence of an indexed charge as proof that no contractual security or foreign security exists.
- Do not infer a current shareholder list from a company-name result.
Buy the report or image that answers the question
Paid products should be chosen from the decision question, not purchased as an undirected bundle. As checked on August 19, 2026, a Company Particulars Search costs HK$22 per company. A company-based Directors Index costs HK$11; a director-based index costs HK$22; a Director Particulars Search costs HK$11 per director or reserve director. Different permissions and protected-information rules affect what personal data is visible.
| Product | Current fee | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Company Particulars Search | HK$22 | Review registered company type, status, office, capital and other particulars supplied in the report. |
| Directors Index—company based | HK$11 | Identify directors or reserve director indexed against one company, subject to the inspection regime. |
| Directors Index—director based | HK$22 | Search company associations by the director search criteria, with identity and privacy limitations. |
| Director Particulars Search | HK$11 | Obtain the available particulars report for a specified director or reserve director. |
| NNC1 / annual return image | HK$16 registered; HK$18 unregistered | Inspect the actual filed incorporation form or annual return image online. |
| Other document image | HK$9 registered; HK$10 unregistered | Inspect a change notice or other filed document not in a higher-fee image category. |
Online download fees checked on August 19, 2026. Prospectuses, accounts, Articles and charge instruments use other image fees. Onsite and hard-copy amounts differ.
The NNC1 image records the company at incorporation. An annual return records particulars at its return date. Neither is automatically proof of today’s shareholders or officers if changes occurred later or a filing is overdue. A current verification therefore combines the latest Company Particulars Report, relevant annual return and intervening change documents. When ownership is material, request the company’s current register of members and transfer/allotment evidence directly; the public file has evidential limits.
Save the purchased PDF or image with a filename that includes the BRN, form and registration date. Preserve the receipt and note whether the search was conducted as a registered or unregistered user. A screenshot of a browser result can lose context, pagination and issue date. The durable evidence package is the official report or image plus the search criteria and analyst note.
Interpret public records with their limits
The Companies Registry records documents delivered under company legislation. It does not verify every commercial claim a company makes and does not consolidate tax, bank, licence, court and foreign-register data into one risk score. Interpret each field by its legal source and date. A company can be “Live” while being late on a tax return, insolvent in fact, inactive, unlicensed for a proposed service or rejected by a bank.
Directors
Use current particulars and director/change filings, while respecting the new inspection regime and limits on protected residential addresses and full identification numbers.
Shareholders
Incorporation and annual-return images can show members at stated dates, but the company’s register of members is the key current internal record.
Charges
Use the charges index and filed instrument particulars to identify registered security; review the underlying transaction and later satisfaction/release filings.
Document dates are not all event dates. A change may take effect before its notice is registered, and a late filing can reach the public record well after the underlying event. Read the form’s stated effective date, registration date and return date separately. If a document contradicts another, build a chronology rather than choosing the newest PDF automatically.
For a high-value transaction, corroborate Registry evidence with the counterparty’s Certificate of Incorporation, valid BRC, Articles, current registers, board authority and activity licence. Tax clearance, litigation, insolvency, sanctions and bank ownership reviews use other sources and professional procedures. The public company file is foundational, but it is one layer of due diligence.
Test the filing against the statutory registers
Reconcile the form version, authority, event date, officers, office, shares and fee before signatures and electronic delivery.
Prepare a Companies Registry filing
A statutory filing begins with the event and deadline, not with a portal menu. Identify what changed, the legal effective date, the prescribed form, responsible company officers, required approval and signature, delivery period and fee. Use the current form from the Registry, because an obsolete form can be rejected even when the underlying information is correct.
| Event | Common form or filing | Control point |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation | NNC1 + Articles + IRBR1 | All founder, officer, office and share data agree before electronic signature. |
| Private-company annual return | NAR1 | Deliver within 42 days after the anniversary of incorporation, with current particulars and correct fee. |
| Registered office change | NR1 | Use the actual effective date and coordinate business-address notification where needed. |
| Director/secretary change | Relevant ND2A/ND2B notice | Record appointment, cessation or particulars accurately and update internal registers/authority. |
| Share allotment or capital change | Relevant return or notice | Board/member approval, consideration and register entries agree with the public filing. |
For a private company, NAR1 registration costs HK$105 if delivered within 42 days after the return date. The fee escalates to HK$870, HK$1,740, HK$2,610 and HK$3,480 across the published late periods. An annual return with an insufficient fee is not accepted, and the applicable amount can be calculated by the redelivery date. This makes payment verification part of timely compliance, not an administrative afterthought.
Reconcile the proposed public filing against the company’s statutory registers, board minutes and supporting event evidence. If the register of directors shows a change but the board approval or consent is missing, correct the authority chain before pressing submit. If the filing corrects an earlier error, preserve the original, correction explanation and approval; do not overwrite the company’s history.
Submit, sign and monitor e-Filings
The e-Filing process moves through draft preparation, review, signature, payment, delivery, Registry processing and registration. Assign one presenter to control the transaction reference and communications. The person signing must sign in the correct statutory capacity; a service provider’s platform approval is not a substitute for the signature required on the prescribed form.
- Obtain the current specified form and complete it from the approved event record.
- Validate names, BRNs, addresses, dates, roles, capital figures and attachments against the statutory registers.
- Route the final rendered form to the authorised signer under the applicable e-Filing or iAM Smart+ route.
- Pay the exact fee shown for the delivery date and save both payment evidence and the transaction acknowledgement.
- Monitor the presenter’s portal and email for requisitions, rejection or registration confirmation.
- After registration, run the relevant e-Search or obtain the registered document image to confirm the public record changed as intended.
Delivery is not registration
A transaction acknowledgement establishes that the Registry received a submission. The filing is complete only when it is registered or otherwise accepted and the expected public record or certificate is available. Track these as separate dates.
- A saved draft has no filing effect.
- A signed form may still be undelivered.
- A paid transaction may still receive a requisition or be returned.
Recover a returned filing and confirm the public record
When the Registry raises a requisition or returns a document, obtain the exact notice, submitted form, payment status and deadline. Diagnose whether the problem is form version, incomplete data, signature, authority, inconsistent particulars, missing attachment or fee. Correct the source event record and every dependent document before resubmission; patching only the portal field can create a public/internal mismatch.
Some corrections require a fresh signature or new board approval because the substance changed. Preserve the first version, requisition, corrected version, approvals and redelivery reference. For deadline-sensitive filings, assess whether the statutory period has expired and whether the fee or offence exposure changes on redelivery. Do not assume the original delivery date protects a document the Registry did not accept.
After registration, verify the result using the appropriate search product. A name or status display may be enough for a simple confirmation; a particulars report or image record is better when exact fields or the registered form matter. Compare the public result with the intended change and the internal registers. If the Registry record is correct but another authority or bank still shows old data, follow that institution’s update process rather than submitting a duplicate company filing.
Close each search and filing with reproducible evidence
A defensible Registry search records the entity, identifier, search date, product, result and limitation, then preserves the official report or image. A defensible filing records the event, authority, final signed form, fee, acknowledgement, Registry response, registration date and post-registration verification. Both should be reproducible by someone who did not operate the portal.
Use free searches to locate records, paid products to answer specific questions and direct company evidence to fill public-register gaps. For e-Filing, release only a form that agrees with the statutory records and monitor until registration—not just delivery. Escalate ownership, authority, charge or correction questions when the public chronology cannot be reconciled; portal access does not replace legal analysis.
Build a reproducible Registry evidence file
Preserve the exact search or filing inputs, official outputs, receipts, limitations and verification result for the company’s compliance or diligence record.
Frequently asked questions
