Hong Kong Companies Registry: Services and Official Access

Find the official service without an old shortcut

Start at the Companies Registry website and follow its Electronic Services link to the e-Services Portal . The information website uses www.cr.gov.hk; the transaction portal uses www.e-services.cr.gov.hk. Check the complete hostname before entering identification details or paying. A commercial formation website is a separate service provider even when it links to the same government portal.

The Registry website separates Registration of Companies, Registration of Documents and Public Search. It also provides specified forms, filing tips and compliance material. Choose the task first: learning which form applies, delivering a document and inspecting a company record are different activities. Opening a search result does not file anything for a company.

Older paperwork may identify a company by its former company number. The Registry now uses the Business Registration Number (BRN), the first eight digits of the Business Registration Certificate number, as its Unique Business Identifier. The portal’s Quick Search > CR No. / BRN Mapping function connects the old and current identifiers. Match the legal name as well as the number before ordering records.

Match the question to the Registry evidence

Write down the question the recipient needs answered before buying a report. The following selection tool combines the Registry’s public search service scope with its company information product guide . The final column is an editorial check on whether the selected output actually answers your question; it is not a government certification standard.

A free name search or document index can therefore be the first investigative step rather than the final evidence. A document index is not the document itself . For a transaction involving a particular appointment or filing, identify the relevant record before ordering its image; for a request about current company particulars, begin with the current report instead. This avoids paying for a historical form when the recipient asked a different question.

For company formation in Hong Kong , choosing an e-Filing service follows the decision about the entity being established. A search helps inspect the register; it does not submit an incorporation application. The distinction between viewing evidence and changing the register determines both the access route and what you should retain.

Choose guest access or a service subscription

For an occasional search, the official guide directs users without an account to Unregistered Users > e-Search Services, then the Search menu. Unregistered access avoids creating an account merely to inspect public records. Search products may still be payable; guest access does not make every result free.

For the full range of e-Filing Services, register an account and subscribe to that service. The user registration pamphlet distinguishes Individual, CR Company, BR Entity and Other Non-Individual users. Other Non-Individual accounts cannot subscribe to e-Filing. Select the category of the actual user, rather than treating every corporate applicant as a Hong Kong company.

The pamphlet lists a Hong Kong identity card or passport for individual e-Filing identity evidence, and a valid Business Registration Certificate for a BR Entity. Electronically submitted supporting copies must meet its certification rules; available digital-identity routes differ. Account activation and approval of subscribed services are separately notified. Finish the approval needed for your task before scheduling a filing.

As checked on 17 October 2026, e-Filing user registration is free. Optional e-Search subscriptions carry annual fees of HKD 500 for a principal account and HKD 100 for a subsequent account, separate from search-product charges. Compare expected use before subscribing; a one-off records request may need only guest access.

Use filing services for applications and company changes

The portal’s e-Filing service delivers forms and documents to the Registrar. For a local incorporation application, the electronic incorporation pamphlet identifies Incorporation > Local Company as the menu route. It covers both companies limited by shares and companies not limited by shares, with the appropriate application documents. Choose the applicable entity and filing function rather than uploading documents through a search order.

Account activation, authority to submit and valid document signatures are separate checkpoints. Resolve electronic signing requirements and portal permissions with the participants before assuming prepared forms are ready to deliver. An account used to arrange a submission does not by itself resolve who must sign the underlying document.

For an approved incorporation application, electronic certificates are downloaded following notification to the submitting user’s message box and registered email. Save the Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate themselves. A payment confirmation or an application screen is useful transaction evidence, but it is not a substitute for those issued certificates.

Resolve access problems with the right record

Diagnose the problem at the point it occurs. If you can log in but cannot use a filing function, compare your user category and approved service with the task. If a company cannot be found under an old identifier, use the Registry’s number-mapping route before concluding that the company is absent. Neither problem is solved by buying another report at random.

If the question is whether a document has been registered, inspect the Document Index status. Keep your submission reference, date, acknowledgement and any Registry message together so an enquiry can identify the exact transaction. Before repeating a payment or submission after an interrupted session, establish what the system recorded. This is a practical recovery method, not a claim that every interruption has the same cause.

The Registry’s e-Services FAQ directory separates User Registration, User Migration, Electronic Filing and Electronic Search, so select help for the failing function. Its published portal support contact is the 24-hour Help Desk Support Service Team at +852 8201 8273 or helpdesk@e-services.cr.gov.hk, also shown in the registration pamphlet. Provide the service name and reference when available; keep passwords out of the enquiry.

Escalate when Registry evidence does not meet the request

Before sending a result onward, check the company identity, the question asked, the product selected and whether the recipient requires certification. Retain the downloaded output with its search date or order reference. These details let another person understand what was actually checked rather than infer more from a screenshot.

If the requested evidence concerns a different authority, private records or a recipient’s own acceptance rules, establish that requirement before placing another Registry order. Ask the recipient to specify the missing fact or document. Escalate a portal or registration-status discrepancy to the Registry with the transaction evidence; escalate uncertainty about what the recipient will accept to that recipient.