A Detailed Guide On How To Renew Business Registration In Hong Kong

How Do You Renew Business Registration in Hong Kong?

To renew a Hong Kong Business Registration Certificate, a registered business generally pays the business registration fee and applicable levy stated on the renewal demand note issued by the IRD. Once payment is made, the receipted demand note becomes a valid Business Registration Certificate. If the notice is missing, renewal can still be completed electronically, by post or in person. 

Requirements for Renewing Business Registration and Maintaining a Limited Company

Before diving into how to renew business registration in Hong Kong, it is important to distinguish Business Registration Certificate renewal from other recurring company compliance obligations. 

The following requirements may apply to a Hong Kong limited company: 

1. Business Registration Certificate renewal: A business may hold a certificate valid for either one year or three years. The renewal fee depends on the commencement date and type of the renewed certificate. 
2. Annual return: A local private company is generally required to deliver Form NAR1 to the Companies Registry within 42 days after the anniversary of its incorporation or re-domiciliation date, except in the year of incorporation or re-domiciliation and subject to applicable exemptions. 
3. Financial statements and audit: Hong Kong companies are generally required to prepare financial statements and have them audited. A company that qualifies for simplified reporting is not automatically exempt from audit. A company that is dormant under section 5 of the Companies Ordinance may, however, be exempt from certain accounting and audit requirements under section 447. 
4. Profits Tax Return: The IRD generally issues the first Profits Tax Return to a newly incorporated company about 18 months after incorporation, although the IRD may issue a provisional return earlier where circumstances warrant. This is the timing of the IRD’s issue of the return, not a general rule that every company has “18 months to file”. 
5. Employer’s Return: Where an Employer’s Return is issued, it must generally be completed and lodged with the IRD within one month. For the year ended 31 March 2026, Forms BIR56A were issued on 1 April 2026 together with the requirement to file the relevant IR56B information. 
6. Annual General Meeting: Companies that are required to hold an AGM must comply with the timetable under the Companies Ordinance. For example, a private company or company limited by guarantee generally holds its AGM within nine months after the end of the relevant accounting reference period. Different timing applies in certain first-financial-year cases. However, the Companies Ordinance also permits certain companies to dispense with an AGM, and a single-member company is not required to hold one under section 612(2)(a). 

Types of Business Registration Renewals and Related Annual Compliance

As part of the process of how to renew business registration in Hong Kong, businesses should distinguish the renewal of the Business Registration Certificate from other annual filings. The Business Registration Certificate itself is available on either a 1-year or 3-year basis. Other obligations, such as annual return filing and tax reporting, operate independently.

Filing Annual Returns

Under the Companies Ordinance, local companies generally have annual return filing obligations. A local private company uses Form NAR1 and should, except in the year of incorporation or re-domiciliation, deliver its annual return within 42 days after the anniversary of incorporation or re-domiciliation. 

For a local private company, the annual registration fee is currently HK$105 when Form NAR1 is delivered within the prescribed 42-day period. Higher registration fees apply to late delivery. 

The late registration fees for a local private company are: 

• More than 42 days after but within 3 months after the return date – HK$870 
• More than 3 months but within 6 months – HK$1,740 
• More than 6 months but within 9 months – HK$2,610 
• More than 9 months – HK$3,480 

In addition to the higher registration fee, failure to comply with the annual return requirement may expose the company and every responsible person to prosecution. The Companies Registry states that the maximum penalty upon conviction is HK$50,000 for each breach, plus a daily default fine of HK$1,000 for a continuing offence. 

A private company that has validly become dormant under section 5 of the Companies Ordinance may be exempt from delivering annual returns while the dormancy exemption applies. The exemption ceases if the company enters into an accounting transaction or otherwise ceases to be dormant. 

Annual Audit and Auditor

Hong Kong companies are generally required to have their financial statements audited. Even companies that qualify for the statutory reporting exemption remain subject to audit requirements unless another exemption applies, such as the exemption applicable to a dormant company under section 447 of the Companies Ordinance. 

An auditor must also satisfy the eligibility requirements under the Companies Ordinance. The Companies Registry states that an eligible auditor must be a qualifying practice unit, such as a certified public accountant (practising), a CPA firm or an eligible corporate practice. 

The auditor examines the company’s financial statements and issues an auditor’s report. Tax return preparation and submission may also involve the company’s accountant or tax representative, but these functions should not be described as automatically being performed by the statutory auditor. 

Profit Tax Reporting

The IRD generally issues the first Profits Tax Return to a newly incorporated company approximately 18 months after incorporation. Where circumstances warrant, it may issue a Provisional Profits Tax Return earlier. 

Thereafter, the IRD normally conducts its bulk issue of Profits Tax Returns in April. For the 2025/26 year of assessment, the bulk issue took place on 1 April 2026. Filing deadlines depend on the return issued, the taxpayer’s accounting date and whether an applicable extension arrangement is available; they are not simply “1 April every year”. 

Employee’s Return For Remuneration and Pensions

Hong Kong employers have separate reporting obligations for employee remuneration. For the year ended 31 March 2026, the IRD issued Employer’s Returns (Form BIR56A) on 1 April 2026, and employers are generally required to file the completed return within one month together with the relevant Form IR56B information. 

Employers may also have event-driven reporting obligations through forms such as IR56E for commencement of employment, IR56F for cessation of employment and IR56G where an employee is about to leave Hong Kong for good or for a substantial period. 

Annual General Meeting

An AGM is a company-law obligation rather than a form of Business Registration Certificate renewal. Where a private company or company limited by guarantee is required to hold an AGM, the general rule is that it should be held within nine months after the end of the accounting reference period. Special timing rules apply where the company’s first accounting reference period exceeds 12 months. 

Not every company must physically hold an AGM. For example, a single-member company is not required to hold an AGM under section 612(2)(a), and the Companies Ordinance also contains mechanisms under which other companies may dispense with AGMs. 

How Much Does Business Registration Renewal Cost in Hong Kong in 2026?

For Business Registration Certificates commencing between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027, the IRD’s official fee table shows a total payable amount of HK$2,350 for a 1-year certificate and HK$6,170 for a 3-year certificate. The totals include the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund levy, which resumed from 1 April 2026 after a two-year waiver. 

STATISTIC-SOURCE: https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/brfee_table.pdf 

Businesses should check the commencement date of the renewed certificate when determining the applicable fee, because the IRD determines renewal charges by reference to the commencement date and type of certificate. 

What are the Procedures for Renewing a Business Registration?

For a registered business, the Business Registration Office normally sends a business registration renewal demand note around the middle of the month preceding the commencement month of the renewed certificate. For example, where a renewed certificate begins in May, the IRD states that the demand note is generally issued in mid-April. 

Check the specified payment date shown on the demand note and settle the full fee, levy and any applicable penalty by the required date. Upon payment, the receipted demand note becomes a valid Business Registration Certificate. 

Step-by-Step Renewal Process

1. Check your current certificate’s expiry date. 
2. Look out for the IRD renewal demand note before the next certificate period begins. 
3. Check the business particulars and amount payable. 
4. Pay the amount shown on the demand note through an available IRD payment channel. 
5. Keep or download the renewed certificate after payment. 
6. Check separately whether any business particulars, annual returns, tax filings or licences also need attention. 

For electronic users, the IRD’s current eTAX services allow eligible users to view and download outstanding business or branch registration demand notes and, following full payment, download the corresponding Business Registration Certificate. The certificate will normally be available after 10:00 a.m. on the next calendar day after payment and remains available through the service for two months from the payment date. 

What If You Do Not Receive or Lose the Renewal Demand Note?

If you do not receive a renewal demand note, you should inform the Commissioner in writing within one month after the expiry of your current Business Registration Certificate. 

If the demand note is missing or lost, renewal can still be handled in the following ways: 

• In person: Visit the Business Registration Office with the old Business Registration Certificate and request a fresh demand note. 
• By post: Send a photocopy of the old Business Registration Certificate together with a crossed cheque payable to “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.” 
• Electronically: Eligible users can log in to their designated eTAX account and use the “View/Download Business Registration Demand Note” service. 

If the business address has changed and the Business Registration Office has not yet been notified, the address should also be updated through the applicable notification procedure. 

What If Your Business Details Have Changed?

Renewing a Business Registration Certificate does not remove the obligation to notify the authorities of relevant changes to business particulars. 

For changes covered by the Business Registration Ordinance, notification generally needs to be made within one month of the change. The IRD provides electronic, postal and in-person channels for relevant notifications. Failure to submit a required notification on time is an offence, and the IRD states that a person may be liable to a fine of HK$5,000 and imprisonment for one year. 

Keeping the Business Registration Office’s records current is particularly important because renewal notices and certificates may be sent using the address held by the authorities. 

1-Year vs 3-Year Business Registration Certificate

The IRD states that, once a business selects the 3-year certificate arrangement, the selection remains valid until it is revoked in writing. For a business with branches, the selection also applies to its branches. 

How Can We Help?

Most businesses do their best to stay compliant with government regulations and file all the necessary documents requested from them. However, managing Business Registration Certificate renewal together with annual returns, accounting, audit, tax and company secretarial obligations can require significant administrative coordination.  

Premia TNC is a professional service provider offering support across areas including company formation, taxation, accounting, company secretarial services and other corporate requirements. Our team can help businesses maintain their compliance calendar and distinguish between recurring obligations administered by the Inland Revenue Department and those administered by the Companies Registry.