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Using the Companies Register just got better
Registering a new company and filing your Companies Office annual return is now easier with the new Companies Register website.
What's changed
The Companies Office has revamped its Companies Register website. This is the site used to:
- register a new company in New Zealand
- search its public list of all companies registered in New Zealand — or to research their directors/shareholders
- file your Companies Office annual return
- update your company’s details, eg new mailing address or director’s name.
Companies Register (external link) — Companies Office
The redesign of the Companies Register website includes:
- Improved navigation so you can find what you need more quickly.
- Clearer search results that can be filtered, eg search registered companies only, or for companies that are in liquidation.
- An online help centre with more than 100 guides on everything from how to set up a company to meeting your registration obligations while in business.
- Easy access to other registers managed by the Companies Office, eg Financial Service Providers Register.
How to start a company (external link) — Companies Office
Using the new website
No login is needed to search the register, eg to check if a business name is available.
Other online services need a RealMe® login — just like the previous website — and then you complete these tasks in the same way:
- reserve your company name
- register your company
- file annual returns with contact details for your company and its directors.
If you’ve saved links to pages on the old website, you’ll automatically be redirected to the right place in the new website. You’ll now be able to save pages you access regularly as favourites for quicker access.
RealMe (external link) — Department of Internal Affairs
Watch this video about the new website, including how to log in and complete key tasks.
How to file your Companies Office annual return
Every company in New Zealand must file an annual return with the Companies Office each year to confirm it’s still operating as a company. If you don’t file your annual return each year, your company risks being removed from the national Companies Register.
Companies Register — Companies Office
An annual return is not a tax return. It includes:
- the company’s address(es)
- names and addresses of its directors and shareholders
- details of its ultimate holding company, if applicable
- general filing information, eg the month the company files its annual return every year.
There’s a $41.40 fee to file an annual return. You can file online on the Companies Office website. If you haven’t done this before, you’ll need a RealMe® login to register for a Companies Office account.
File your annual return online (external link) — Companies Office
RealMe (external link) — Department of Internal Affairs
*RealMe® is a registered trade mark of the New Zealand government and New Zealand Post.
