General Information on e-Filing

Documents of a company delivered to the Companies Registry through the e-Services Portal (www.e-services.cr.gov.hk) have to be signed by a natural person who has registered an Individual User account and subscribed to the e-Filing Services.

For a corporate company secretary which is a company registered under the Companies Ordinance to submit documents electronically for its client company, one of the company secretary’s officers (e.g. director, company secretary or authorised person) being a natural person can sign the electronic document in the capacity of the corporate company secretary and submit documents on behalf of the client company. The signatory must be an Individual User who has subscribed to e-Filing Services.

If the corporate company secretary is not a company registered under the Companies Ordinance, account association of the company secretary with the client company should be established first.

Individual Users (other than directors or the company secretary) can be associated to companies as their authorized persons in e-Services Portal. There are types of authorized persons, namely authorized person (with signing capacity) and authorized person (without signing capacity). The authorized person (with signing capacity) can be associated to a company for preparing and signing documents on behalf. The authorized person (without signing capacity) can be associated to a company for preparing documents only.

Authorized Persons and Employees

For Individual Users associated with companies as authorized persons in former e-Registry, their capacities will be migrated as authorized persons (with signing capacity) of the related associated companies.

For Individual Users associated with companies as employees in former e-Registry, their capacities will be migrated as authorized persons (without signing capacity) of the associated companies.

Registered Agents

Since the launch of the licensing regime for the Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSP), the existence of non-individual registered agents may pose a potential risk of non-individual providing corporate service without a valid TCSP licence. Therefore, while these non-individual user accounts have been migrated to e-Services Portal as a CR company or BR entity User as the case maybe, the role of non-individual registered agents has ceased and their associations with companies as registered agents in former e-Registry have been removed. In other words, these non-individual registered agents are no longer able to deliver documents on behalf of the formerly associated companies or individuals.

For the individual registered agents appointed by companies in former e-Registry, their capacities have been migrated as authorized persons (with signing capacity) of the associated companies.

However, since it is apt to have disputes for an individual claiming his/her appointed individual registered agent signing consent to act as director or notification for resignation without his/her prior knowledge, the role of individual registered agents acting on behalf of other individuals has ceased and their associations with other individuals in former e-Registry have been removed.

For details, please see CR’s External Circular No. 4/2023:
(https://www.cr.gov.hk/en/publications/docs/ec4-2023-e.pdf).

Yes, companies that are not incorporated or registered electronically can deliver documents in electronic form through the e-Services Portal. Individual Users who have subscribed to e-Filing Services can sign and submit documents electronically for and on behalf of his/her companies.

Documents required under the following Ordinances:

(i) Companies Ordinance (Chapter 622)
(ii) Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Chapter 32) – except for sections 38D and 342C
(iii) Securities and Futures (Open-ended Fund Companies) Rules (Chapter 571AQ) and
(iv) Limited Partnership Fund Ordinance (Chapter 637).

and some documents of:

(v) Limited Partnerships Ordinance (Chapter 37)
(vi) Trustee Ordinance (Chapter 29)
(vii) Registered Trustees Incorporation Ordinance (Chapter 306)

can be delivered in electronic form to the Registrar of Companies for registration through the e-Services Portal.

Any document (except the list of members/allottees in MS Excel) which is required to be delivered with a specified form can be submitted as an attachment to the relevant web form after it has been duly signed or certified as appropriate and converted into Adobe Portable Document Format (“PDF”).

To ensure the quality of image records of documents which are made available for public search, the page margins of documents should be set as Top: 1.27 cm; Bottom: 0.86 cm; Left: 1.06 cm; Right: 1.27 cm. Moreover, if a document is converted into a PDF file through document scanning, you are advised to arrange for “black and white” scanning to produce a better image.

Documents other than specified forms which are required to be delivered under the Ordinances as mentioned in Q5 above can be submitted at the e-Services Portal in PDF files. Requirements for submitting the documents electronically are specified by the related functions and processes of the e-Services Portal.

For documents submitted in PDF not in templates provided by the e-Services Portal, in order to ensure the quality of image records of documents for public search, the page margins of documents should be set as Top: 1.27 cm; Bottom: 0.86 cm; Left: 1.06 cm; Right: 1.27 cm. If the PDF file is prepared by scanning, “black and white” scanning is advised.

The fillable PDF templates for specified forms can be downloaded with the hyperlinks provided at the e-Services Portal. You should input the required data in the fillable PDF template and then upload and sign the document with the submission functions provided at the e-Services Portal.

Users can save the completed web form as PDF file on user’s device or print the web form for record purpose when submitting the form.

After submission, users can also save and print the submitted web forms for record using "Document Submission > Enquire Submitted Documents” function.

You should open the saved PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Reader (with Adobe Font Pack for Chinese Traditional and Chinese Simplified). For more details, please refer to the “Equipment Specifications for Using e-Services Portal of the Integrated Companies Registry System” under “Useful Information > Equipment Specifications” section.

No. Completed web forms should be submitted at the e-Services Portal. The Companies Registry will not accept printed copies of web forms delivered to the Companies Registry in person or by post.

No. All input fields of the web form will become non-editable to protect the form from further amendment after sending signing request to the Signatory of the form.

You can sign the web form with your password registered with the e-Services Portal, digital certificate or iAM Smart (linked-up with your account).

Once a web form or a particular section thereof has been signed, the entire web form will be protected from further amendment.

In case the web form or a particular section thereof is required to be amended, presentor of the document has to remove all the signatures of the web form and the input fields in the web form will become editable and changes can be made accordingly. After amendment, the web form is required to be signed by the signatory again to confirm the changes.

You can make payment online by:-

(i) deduction from deposit account at the e-Services Portal;
(ii) credit card (VISA/MASTER/JCB/UnionPay);
(iii) digital wallet (Apple Pay/Google Pay); or
(iv) PPS Shop&Buy Service.

If you wish to pay by credit card, you have to obtain the relevant secure code/password from the card issuing bank, as required.

For more details, please refer to Part B – Fees and Payment of the Frequently Asked Questions on “Registration of User Account for e-Services”.

Web forms which are processed by the system can normally be registered and made available for public inspection at the e-Services Portal within 12 hours.

No. A web form can be signed by an Individual User either with the password registered with the e-Services Portal, digital certificate or iAM Smart (linked up with the account). A statement ‘Signed by Digital Certificate’ if signed by digital certificate, ‘Signed by PIN’ if signed by password or ‘Signed by iAM Smart’ if signed by iAM Smart will be shown on the signing part of the web form. No manual signature will be shown on the image records of the registered documents.

No, the related e-submission service is currently not available. Starting from 24 October 2022, the Companies Registry only accepts submission of Form AD in paper to rectify a typographical or clerical error contained in a document already registered for the time being. Submission of the Form AD electronically to rectify typographical errors in registered documents will be implemented later in mid-2024.

Bulk Submission function allows users to submit completed and signed web forms in bulk. Users can select web forms to be submitted in bulk at [Document Submission > Bulk Submission].

Users must either have their own deposit accounts or shared company deposit account(s) at the e-Services Portal for payment of fees. Other payment methods (i.e. credit card (VISA/MASTER/JCB/UnionPay), digital wallet (Apple Pay or Google Pay) and PPS Shop&Buy Service) are not acceptable. After successful submission of web forms, a notification for receipt of bulk submission showing the submission results with payment details (if applicable) will be sent to the user’s message box at the e-Services Portal and registered email address.

Yes. You should notify the Business Registration Office of the change of business address within one month from the date of change by submitting a written notification or a completed Form IRC3111A.

The Companies Registry and the Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”) have jointly introduced an OPTIONAL ELECTRONIC one-stop notification service at the e-Services Portal for a company to report the change of registered office address also as a change of business address on its Business Registration Certificate. By using this electronic service, you may request the Registrar of Companies to notify the Commissioner of Inland Revenue on your behalf that the business address of your company as registered under the Business Registration Ordinance (Chapter 310 of the Laws of Hong Kong) has changed to the new address of your registered office with effect from the effective date of change as stated in the web Form NR1.

Normally, the IRD will send out your amended Business Registration Certificate by post on the next working day after the registration of the web Form NR1 by the Companies Registry.

No. The electronic one-stop notification service mentioned in Q1 above does not apply to registered non-Hong Kong companies. You need to notify the Companies Registry and the Business Registration Office of the change separately in web Form NN9 and Form IRC3111A respectively.

(i) For reporting the appointment of a natural person as director by web Form ND2A, that person must be an Individual User who has subscribed e-Filing Services at the e-Services Portal. The full name and Hong Kong identity card/passport number of the newly appointed director entered in the web Form ND2A must be identical to those provided for user registration at the e-Services Portal.

(ii) For reporting the appointment of a body corporate as director by web Form ND2A, the body corporate must have an associated Individual User to sign documents on its behalf at the e-Services Portal. The Company Name and Business Registration Number of the newly appointed director entered in the web Form ND2A must be identical to those provided for user registration at the e-Services Portal.

The newly appointed director who is a natural person and has registered as an Individual User and subscribed to e-Filing Services at the e-Services Portal can sign the Consent in the web Form ND2A either with password registered with the e-Services Portal, digital certificate or iAM Smart (linked with the account).

If the newly appointed director is a body corporate, the Individual User associated with it can sign the Consent electronically on behalf of it.

Alternatively, the director (body corporate) can appoint an authorization person with signing capacity to sign the web Form ND2A on its behalf.

No. You have to report your resignation as director and the company secretary separately in two web Forms ND4.

You can report changes of registered office addresses to the same address and changes in particulars of a specific director or company secretary in one go for up to 10 companies in web Forms NR1 and web Forms ND2B at the e-Services Portal.

The documents have to be submitted by an Individual User associated to the related companies.

Please refer to the demonstration on “Reporting Same Change for Multiple Companies” at the e-Services Portal.

Web forms of up to 10 companies can be submitted in one go to report the same changes. Alternatively, you can submit completed and signed web forms in bulk using [Filing > Document Submission > Bulk Submission] function.

To facilitate completion of the web Form NAR1 of a company, key particulars of the company as at the made up date of the annual return (“return date”) as registered and kept by the Companies Registry (at 0:00 GMT+8) will be provided. You should review and update the particulars prefilled by the system (if required) and complete other required details in the web Form NAR1.

For a private company, the return date is the anniversary date of incorporation of the company in a year.

For a public company and a company limited by guarantee, the return date is 6 months and 9 months respectively after the company’s accounting reference date. For cases where the Companies Registry does not have records of the accounting reference dates of the companies or cases where the annual returns are submitted under the requirements of the predecessor Companies Ordinance, key particulars will not be provided and you have to complete all the details in the web Forms NAR1.

You can amend or update the company particulars in web Form NAR1 to reflect the correct position as at the return date. If there were changes in the company particulars which have not yet been reported to the Companies Registry, you must complete and submit the relevant forms or documents.

You can report up to 5 currencies for the share capital of a company in a web Form NAR1.

You can report up to 5 classes of shares in a web Form NAR1.

Yes. You may either input particulars of members in a web Form NAR1 or attach a list of members to the web form. The list should be in Microsoft Excel format specified by the Companies Registry which is available for downloading from the Companies Registry’s website (www.cr.gov.hk).

No. The service for electronic submission of annual returns is provided on a 24-hour basis. A web Form NAR1 which is submitted with correct annual registration fee at any time within 42 days after the return date at the e-Services Portal will be regarded as submitted within the prescribed time period.

To avoid delays owing to unforeseen circumstances and payment of higher registration fees, you are advised to submit the web Form NAR1 as early as possible.

No. The system will not check whether there is any duplicate filing of annual returns for the same year during the submission process. If you wish to ascertain if an annual return has already been filed in respect of a particular year, you may conduct a Document Index Search free of charge at the e-Services Portal.

Electronic notifications for delivery of annual returns will be sent to companies which have registered Company User accounts at the e-Services Portal as follows:-

(i) For a private company, the notification will be sent on the anniversary date of incorporation of the company.
(ii) For a public company, the notification will be sent on the return date that is 6 months after the company’s accounting reference date.
(iii) For a company limited by guarantee, the notification will be sent on the return date that is 9 months after the company’s accounting reference date.

For public companies and companies limited by guarantee, in cases where the Companies Registry does not have records of the accounting reference dates of the companies, notifications cannot be sent to these companies.

Electronic notifications will be sent by the system automatically to the message box and registered email address of your Company User account. You can readily access the e-Services Portal through a hyperlink provided in the notification for e-submission of web Form NAR1.

Individual Users of the e-Services Portal who have established account association with relevant companies may also subscribe to the Annual Return e-Reminder Service at the e-Services Portal free of charge to receive notifications for e-submission of annual returns of the companies.

For more details, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on “Annual Return e-Reminder Service”.

The financial statements can be submitted in PDF file as an attachment to the web Form NAR1. They should be duly signed or certified as true copies by relevant officers before they are converted into a PDF file. The size of the file should not exceed 20MB.

To facilitate completion of an web Form NN3 of a registered non-Hong Kong company, key particulars of the company as at the most recent anniversary date of registration as registered and kept by the Companies Registry (at 0:00 GMT+8) will be provided at the e-Services Portal. You should review and update the particulars prefilled by the system (if required) and complete other required details in the web Form NN3.

You can amend or update the company particulars in web Form NN3 to reflect the correct position as at the made-up date of the annual return. If there were changes in the company particulars which have not yet been reported to the Companies Registry, you must complete and submit the relevant web forms or documents.

You can report up to 5 currencies for the share capital of a company in a web Form NN3.

No. The service for electronic submission of annual returns is provided on a 24-hour basis. A web Form NN3 which is submitted with correct annual registration fee at any time within 42 days after the anniversary date of registration at the e-Services Portal will be regarded as submitted within the prescribed time period.

To avoid delays owing to unforeseen circumstances and payment of higher registration fees, you are advised to submit the web Form NN3 as early as possible.

No. The system will not check whether there is any duplicate filing of annual returns for the same year during the submission process. If you wish to ascertain if an annual return has already been filed in respect of a particular year, you may conduct a Document Index Search free of charge at the e-Services Portal.

If your company has already registered a Company User account with the e-Services Portal, electronic notifications for delivery of annual returns will be automatically sent by the system to the message box and registered email address of your Company User account on the anniversary date of registration of your company. You can readily access the e-Services Portal through a hyperlink provided in the notifications for e-submission of web Form NN3.

Individual Users of the e-Services Portal associated with relevant companies may also subscribe to the Annual Return e-Reminder Service at the e-Services Portal free of charge to receive notifications for e-submission of annual returns of the companies.

For more details, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on “Annual Return e-Reminder Service”.

The latest published accounts can be submitted in PDF file as an attachment to the web Form NN3. They should be duly signed or certified as true copies by relevant officers before they are converted into a PDF file. The size of the file should not exceed 20MB.

Yes, you can login the e-Services Portal [Filing > Document Submission > Online Submission] and select “Local Companies > Charges and Receivership / Winding Up and Dissolution” or “Registered Non-Hong Kong Companies > Charges and Receivership / Winding Up and Dissolution” of “Open-ended Fund Companies > Receivership / Winding Up and Dissolution” to complete the submission process of the documents electronically as follows:-

(i) Completion of web forms online

After inputting the required data through the guided wizard, the following web forms will be generated for review and signing -

(a) NM1, NM2, NM8 and NM9 (relating to charges and release of charges);
(b) NW1 and NW2 (relating to liquidation of local companies); and
(c) NN11 and NN14 (relating to liquidation/dissolution of registered non-Hong Kong companies); and
(d) Liquidator’s Statement of Account (relating to liquidation of local companies or open-ended fund companies).

Any other documents which are required to be delivered together with the specified forms should be converted into PDF file and attached to the relevant web forms upon submission. For files containing the certified copy of charge instrument, instrument evidencing release of a charge or instrument effecting the dissolution of a registered non-Hong Kong company, the size of each PDF file should not exceed 20MB. For files containing court orders for extension of time for registration of documents relating to charges, the size of each PDF file should not exceed 5MB.

Please also refer to Part A – General for more information.

(ii) Submission by uploading fillable PDF files / PDF files

The following documents can only be submitted at the e-Services Portal in fillable PDF files / PDF files with an e-signature page attached and the size of each file should not exceeding 5MB -

(a) NM3 and NM4 (relating to mortgagee taking possession of charged property);
(b) NM5, NM6, NRC2 and NRC3 (relating to receivership);
(c) NM7 (relating to change in particulars of mortgagee, receiver or manager);
(d) NW3, NW4, NW5 and NW6 (relating to liquidator/provisional liquidator);
(e) OFCW1, OFCW2, OFCW3, OFCW4, OFCW5 & OFCW6 (relating to liquidation of open-ended fund companies);
(f) OFCRC1, OFCRC2, OFCRC3, OFCRC4 & OFCRC5 (relating to receivership of open-ended fund companies); and
(g) Special resolution for winding up, return of final meeting and final statement of accounts (relating to liquidation of local companies or open-ended fund companies).

The fillable PDF templates for specified forms can be downloaded with the hyperlinks provided at the e-Services Portal. You should input the required data in the fillable PDF template and then upload and sign the document with the submission functions provided at the e-Services Portal.

Upon registration of a charge, a Certificate of Registration of Charge (“the Certificate”) in electronic form (in PDF file) will be issued. Email notifications for download of the Certificate will be sent to the message box and registered email address of the registered user who submits the web form.

Electronic certificates will be kept in the e-Services system for six months only. Users are advised to download and save the electronic certificates in their records as early as possible after receipt of the email notifications.

For charges documents submitted through the e-Services Portal, the Certificates will only be issued in electronic form. Certificates in electronic form or hard copy form (issued for charges documents delivered to the Companies Registry in hard copy form) have the same legal effect.

You may order a certified copy of the Certificate at a fee online at the e-Services Portal.

Before submitting an application for deregistration at the e-Services Portal, you should have already obtained a Notice of No Objection from the Commissioner of Inland Revenue (“Notice”). The Notice has to be certified as a true copy by the applicant who should be a director or the company secretary of the company. The certified copy should be converted into PDF file and the file size should not exceed 5 MB.

You can login the e-Services Portal [Filing > Document Submission>Online Submission]. Input form number “NDR1” to search and retrieve “Form NDR1 - Application for Deregistration of Private Company or Company Limited by Guarantee” with the “Quick Search by Form Number (for Specified Forms only)” function. Follow the steps as displayed on screen and fill in the required particulars and submit the completed web form NDR1 with the certified copy of the Notice as attachment. The Form NDR1 must be submitted within 3 months from the date of issue of the Notice.

If you want to change the capacity of the Applicant or the particulars of the Applicant provided in the signed form, you must go back to Step 3 “Sign & Submit” to remove the signature of the web form first. After removing the signature, you can go to Step 2 “Certification of Applicant” again and amend the applicant’s capacity or particulars. Thereafter, you are required to sign the web form again before submission.