A Hong Kong KYB file draws on several public registers.
Start with the Companies Registry for identity, officers and filed ownership records. Add the IRD record and other public searches according to the purpose and risk of the review.
By Matthew Lee
The Companies Registry and the IRD hold different records about a Hong Kong company.
A company search usually starts at the Companies Registry. A broader KYB review may also need the Business Register, court, insolvency and land records, depending on the transaction and risk.
The Companies Registry portal
The Companies Registry administers the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). It keeps the register of Hong Kong incorporated companies and registered non-Hong Kong companies. Public searches run through the e-Search Services on the Registry's e-Services Portal (e-services.cr.gov.hk).
Anyone can search as an unregistered online user and pay per item. Firms that search often can take an annual subscription, which gives lower image record fees and a keyword search on company names.
The BRN is the key
Since 27 December 2023 the eight-digit Business Registration Number (BRN) issued by the Inland Revenue Department has been the Unique Business Identifier at the Companies Registry. It replaced the former CR number, and it is the key the e-Search Services use to identify a company.
An entity with no BRN, for example a company exempt from business registration, is given a dummy BRN made from its old CR number with a letter prefix, such as C0012345. The portal's Quick Search has a CR No. / BRN mapping function. Search by BRN or by company name.
What the particulars show
The Company Particulars Search is the report most teams mean by a company search. For a local company it shows:
- Name: the company name, any former names and the dates of change
- Identity: BRN, company type, date of incorporation and registered status
- Office and capital: registered office and its effective date, and share capital where applicable
- Shareholders: for a local company with a share capital, the class and number of shares each holds, compiled from the Incorporation Form (NNC1), the latest Annual Return (NAR1) and any Return of Allotment (NSC1)
- Officers: current directors, any reserve director, and the company secretary
- Insolvency: any receiver, manager or liquidator, and the mode of winding up where relevant
- Charges: whether a register of charges exists
For a registered non-Hong Kong company it shows the address of its principal place of business in Hong Kong and the particulars of its authorised representative.
The report says whether a register of charges exists but does not list the charges. The Register of Charges Index Search is a separate, free search listing each registered charge with its creation and registration dates.
The shareholder table is not a live record. The Registry compiles it from the last filing, so it shows the position as at the latest Annual Return or allotment. A share transfer since then does not appear until the next return.
Keep the Annual Return image for ownership evidence. The Company Particulars sample (opens in a new tab) shows the summary; the Annual Return sample (opens in a new tab) shows the filing.
Which document for which job
| Document | What it shows | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Company Particulars Search | Current registered details, directors, secretary, share capital | First-pass KYB |
| Annual Return (Form NAR1) | Registered office, directors, secretary and the list of members with shareholdings as at the return date | Shareholders and ownership tracing |
| Incorporation Form (NNC1) and Articles of Association | Founder members, first directors and secretary, constitution | Companies too new to have filed a return |
| Certificate of Incorporation | Name, number and date of incorporation | Formal proof of existence |
| Document images (NR1, ND2A, NSC1, NM1 and others) | The filed form itself: a change of address, director change, allotment or charge | Evidencing a specific event |
| Directors Index Search | The companies in which a named person is currently a director or reserve director, or the current directors of a named company; past appointments are not included | Screening a director across the register |
The Annual Return is the document that matters for ownership. A private company files it within 42 days of each anniversary of incorporation. Its schedule of members gives each holder's name, address and number of shares.
Image records are ordered through the free Document Index Search, which lists every document a company has filed.
The Business Register at the IRD
Every business in Hong Kong, including every company, must hold a Business Registration Certificate from the Business Registration Office of the Inland Revenue Department. The Business Register is separate from the Companies Register. It is the one that carries the nature of business and the business address.
The BRC guide covers the certificate in detail. A sample is at Business Registration Certificate (opens in a new tab).
Three more registers
A company search answers who the company is. Three further registers answer whether it is in trouble and what it owns.
- Litigation: the Judiciary's integrated Court Case Management System (iCMS) lets a non-party search and inspect the writ of summons or other originating process of a case online. The fee is HK$14 for each document or case through iCMS, a concessionary rate of 80% of the HK$18 fee in the court fees rules. It has been available at the District Court since 6 May 2022 and at the High Court, starting with civil appeals, since 30 June 2025. A litigation search report compiles the actions in which the company appears as a party.
- Bankruptcy and winding-up: the Official Receiver's Office (破產管理署) runs an online search of bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangement and compulsory winding-up records, including whether a winding-up petition has been filed against a company.
- Land: the Land Registry's IRIS Online Services show the registered owner of a property and the mortgages and charges on the register. A current search shows the present position; a historical and current search adds the history. We list both, as land search, current and full.
The register a search never returns
Under Division 2A of Part 12 of the Companies Ordinance (sections 653A and following), in force since 1 March 2018, every Hong Kong incorporated company other than a listed company must keep a Significant Controllers Register (SCR).
It records each person who holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or who otherwise controls the company. It also names a designated representative who deals with law enforcement.
The SCR is kept at the registered office or another place in Hong Kong. It is not filed with the Companies Registry and is not open to the public.
A company search will never return it. For the beneficial owner, trace through annual returns and ask the client for an SCR extract. The UBO tracing guide and the UBO glossary entry explain how.
Fees and delivery
Check each registry’s published fee schedule when ordering, including certification and delivery charges. Our service charges and expected turnaround are confirmed when the order is accepted; see pricing.
Where teams go wrong
- Treating the shareholder table as current ownership: it is compiled from the last filing. Order the latest Annual Return as the evidence, and the NNC1 for a company incorporated within the last year.
- Reading the return date as today: an Annual Return shows members as at the return date, up to a year old. Check the Document Index for later allotments (Form NSC1); share transfers are not filed at all.
- Skipping the IRD record: the Companies Registry does not hold the nature of business. Banks ask for the BRC for that reason.
- Stopping at Hong Kong: if the member schedule names a BVI or Cayman company, the trace continues in that registry. CorpVerify covers both.
Ordering through Fill Easy
Email agent@fill-easy.com with the company name or BRN and the documents you need, for example company particulars, the latest annual return and the BRC.
The agent confirms the requested documents and returns the retrieved PDFs in the same thread with a request ID on each. Price and expected turnaround are confirmed when the order is accepted.
The same searches run through the REST API. How the inbox works is on the mailbox page, the search is listed as company particulars in the catalogue, and the product behind it is CorpVerify.
Which public records does the purpose of your next Hong Kong review require?