Change company name

Before you begin

To update or maintain any company details with the Companies Office:

1. You will need to be logged on as a registered user of the website, Read more...
2. And have Company Authority for the company.  Read more...

Step one | Reserve the new company name

The first step in changing a company name is to reserve a new name.  The general process is the same as when you reserve a name for a new company. 

• From the Online Services - Do It Now menu choose Change Company Name.  Find the existing company by entering some search criteria (for example, the company number).
• Select the company name change option - Reserve a new company name
• Once you have received email confirmation that your new name has been reserved you can move onto the next steps.

Note | You will also need to follow the procedures set out in your constitution (if you have one) for changing your company's name.  This guide only provides guidance on reserving the name and registering the change.

Step two | Change company name

From the Online Services - Do It Now menu choose Change company name.  Find the existing company by entering some search criteria (for example, the company number).

From the Search Results select the company to update.

Now select the company name change option that applies - you can:

• Use an already reserved name
  From the list of reserved names, select the name you want to use.  Even if there is only one name in the list, you need to select it.
• Reserve a new company name
  If you have not yet reserved a name to use, you can reserve one here. 
• Swap names with another company 1
  When you use the Change Company Name option you can choose to Swap company names.

 ¹ Notes about swapping company names

• You must be a director of, or have authority for, the company you want to swap names with.
• When you swap names with another company you need to pay two application fees to reserve the new names of both companies (that is; NZ$10.22 for each name that is changing - so if two companies are swapping names NZ$20.44).