Change of Company Name

Key Takeaways

• A Hong Kong company name change must be approved by special resolution. 
• Run a Company Registry Search to ensure the proposed name is not identical to any existing live company.
• File Form NNC2 with the Companies Registry and pay the HK$295 fee.
• The name change certificate can be ready in 5 business days.

There are many reasons you might want to change your company’s name. Perhaps your business has grown big enough to offer new goods and services now, and you want its name to reflect that. Perhaps you simply wish to refresh your company’s public image and further distinguish it from that of your competitors. 

In any case, the procedure for changing a company name in Hong Kong is very simple, and can be done in as quickly as a few business days. As we’ll see in this company name change guide below, straightforward and efficient corporate governance is a benefit that Hong Kong companies continue to enjoy.

5 Steps to change the company name

To get your new company name approved by the Hong Kong Company Registry, your best bet is choosing an original name. If the company name is the same as that of another live HK company, the Registrar might issue a “change of name direction,” i.e. you’ll be asked to come up with another name.

The same applies to company names that involve trademarked elements, as such a name may infringe intellectual property rights and attract criminal or civil sanctions within or outside of Hong Kong.

Take note of the following when coming up with your company name: 

• The name of all Hong Kong companies limited by shares, if in English, must end with “Limited” 
• A company name deemed contrary to public interest by the Registrar will be rejected
• A company name implying associations with the Chinese or Hong Kong government will require further approval from the Registrar
• A company can have both an English name and a Chinese name, but it cannot have a mixture of Chinese and English characters in one single name. 
• Certain words, such as “trust,” “bank,” and “school,” require the prior approval of the Registrar, as they indicate regulated activities 

Step 1 – Conduct a company name search

Once you’ve come up with a company name, conduct a company name search in the Companies Registry’s online system. 

Note that the HK Companies Registry disregards the cases of letters, accent marks on letters, spaces between letters, and punctuation marks. Certain expressions will also be taken as the same. These include “Hong Kong” and “HK” ; “and” and “&”; and “Far East” and “FE”.

For example, the Companies Registry will regard “Mary & Peter Hong Kong Limited” as identical to “mary andPeter H.K. Limited.”

To see whether your name is identical to that of an existing company, select the “exact name search” function, as shown below. 

If you’d like to know whether any company (including deregistered and dormant ones) have ever used your proposed company name, you may conduct a “left partial search.” The results will display all the companies whose current or old names contain the words you’ve searched. 

Step 2: Check record at the HK Trademark Registry

To avoid trademark disputes down the line, input your proposed company name into the Intellectual Property Department’s trademark register. 

If your proposed company name contains trademarked elements, it might not be an issue if your business’s activities belong to a different class of goods and services than the class(es) covered by the trademark. Let’s say for example that you wish to name your clothing company ABC Clothing Limited. 

ABC has been trademarked under classes 5 and 16 by two companies. Class 5 mainly covers pharmaceuticals and medical products, and Class 16 mainly covers art supplies. Your company’s activities are not covered by the registered trademarks, and so including ABC in your company name is not necessarily an issue. 

However, if the trademarked element is highly unique, it might be a good idea to think twice before including it in your company name. 

Step 3: Pass a special resolution for company name change

Passing a special resolution is a prerequisite for changing the name of your company. 

Unlike an ordinary resolution, which may be passed by a simple majority, a special resolution requires a minimum of 75% of the votes cast by members in order to be passed. 

If there are many members in your company, you may convene a meeting to pass the resolution. If you’re the sole director and shareholder, however, you may simply need to prepare and sign a written resolution authorizing the name change. 

Step 4: Submit Name Change request to the Companies Registry

Within 15 days of the passing of the special resolution, you must fill in and deliver Form NNC2 “Notice of Change of company Name”, along with a filing fee of HK$295, to the Companies Registry. You may do so at the Registry’s e-Services Portal, or you may deliver the form in hard copy to the government offices. Note that the Registry must receive the form and the filing fee before the 15 days or up, or there will be penalties. 

Step 5: Receive the Name Change Certificate

Your company’s name change only becomes effective when the Certificate of Change of Name has been issued. This is what it looks like: 

If you opted to file the NNC2 form and make your payment electronically, then an electronic version of the certificate should be emailed to you. If you delivered the form and the fee physically, then you may collect it at the government offices in 5 business days. 

Note that both the electronic form and the hard copy have the same legal effect.

And, in around 7-12 business days, the new business registration certificate showing your new company name will be delivered to your registered office. And just like that, the name change is complete, and now it’s time to inform your customers and suppliers of the change. 

If you require help with the process, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to assist you with the process from start to finish. Feel free to contact us now for details. 

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Frequently Asked Questions