Changing your registered office in Hong Kong: a switching checklist
Moving a Hong Kong company to a new registered office is one short form, but the move touches more than the Companies Registry. Here's the whole switch, in order: before, on the day, and the loose ends that catch people out, especially when leaving a provider that also held your post, your registers and your directors' addresses.
Updated 31 October 2026 · by LAULEGA LIMITED, licensed TCSP (TC000573)
For the rules a registered office has to meet, see 818HI's registered office guide. For what a new provider should cost, see what a virtual office costs. This guide is about the move itself.
Before you move
- Sign up with the new provider first. A licensed provider must check you and your company before it starts acting for you (Cap. 615 Sch. 2 s.3(1)(a)), so allow time for identity documents and a short call. Don't file anything until the new address is confirmed.
- Pick the date of change. The notice to the Registry states it, and the 15-day clock runs from it.
- Pass a board resolution approving the new address and the date. Our free change of registered office tool drafts it.
- Find out what the old provider holds for you: post, the company's registers and minute book, directors' correspondence addresses, perhaps the company secretary role. Each needs its own step below.
The filing: Form NR1 within 15 days
When the registered office changes, the company must deliver a notice of change to the Companies Registry within 15 days after the change (Cap. 622 s.658(3)). Two points from the same section:
- Putting the new address in the annual return does not count (s.658(4)).
- Late filing is an offence for the company and every responsible person, with a fine at level 5 (HK$50,000) and HK$1,000 a day while it continues (s.658(5); Cap. 221 Sch. 8).
Business registration updates itself. Once the NR1 is registered, the Registrar passes the change to the Business Registration Office, and the company is treated as having notified it (Cap. 310 s.8(2B)). There's no separate business registration form for the address.
The loose ends
- Directors' correspondence addresses. If any director used the old provider's address for correspondence, that's a change in the register of directors, and it must be notified to the Registry within 15 days too (s.645(4)), at the risk of a level 4 fine plus HK$700 a day (s.645(6)).
- The registers. Statutory registers kept at the old office have to move with you, or to another place in Hong Kong (Cap. 622I s.3). Collect the originals; ask your company secretary whether the Registry needs a notice of where they're kept.
- The company secretary. If the old provider was also your secretary and you're changing that too, a separate notice is due; see the 818HI guide to changing your company secretary.
- Name display. Your company name must be on display at the new office (Cap. 622B s.3). Confirm the new provider has done it.
- Tax correspondence. Separately from business registration, anyone chargeable to profits tax who changes address must tell the Commissioner of Inland Revenue in writing within one month (Cap. 112 s.51(8)). Ask your accountant whether the Registry's hand-over covers you or a separate letter is needed; for tax matters see Certanta's guides.
The post still arriving at the old address
A document left at or posted to your registered office counts as served on the company (s.827), and letters sent before everyone has caught up will keep arriving at the old address for a while. Before you leave:
- agree with the old provider how long they'll keep scanning or forwarding, and at what cost;
- ask them to tell you at once about anything from the Registry, the Inland Revenue Department or a court;
- tell banks and payment providers, the Trade Marks Registry if the old office was your address for service, any licensing authority, and your customers and suppliers;
- update your website, invoices, letterhead and email signatures.
Our guide to the letters a company can't afford to miss explains why the gap matters.
The deadlines in one place
| What | Deadline | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of change of registered office (Form NR1) to the Companies Registry | Within 15 days after the change | Cap. 622 s.658(3) |
| Business registration | Automatic: the Registry passes the NR1 change on | Cap. 310 s.8(2B) |
| Directors' correspondence addresses, if they were at the old address | Within 15 days after the change | Cap. 622 s.645(4) |
| Change of address for profits tax purposes | Within 1 month | Cap. 112 s.51(8) |
An example (invented)
Westbridge Analytics Limited moves from one virtual office to another on 3 March. The new provider completed its checks the week before. The board signs the resolution on 28 February, and the NR1 is filed on 4 March, well inside 15 days. Business registration updates itself. The sole director had used the old address for correspondence, so a notice of that change goes in the same week. The old provider forwards stragglers for a month and hands back the registers.
Moving to us? We file the change.
LAULEGA's registered address service includes filing the change of registered office when you move to us. Government mail to the new address is scanned to your portal free within one business day, and your company name is on display from day one.
See the virtual office Free resolution toolFrequently asked questions
How long do I have to notify a change of registered office in Hong Kong?
15 days after the change, by delivering a notice of change (Form NR1) to the Companies Registry (Cap. 622 s.658(3)). Including the new address in the annual return doesn't count (s.658(4)).
Do I need to tell the Business Registration Office separately?
Not for the registered office. Once the NR1 is registered, the Registrar passes the change on and the company is treated as having notified it (Cap. 310 s.8(2B)).
What if my directors used the old address for correspondence?
That's a change in the register of directors, which must be notified to the Registry within 15 days (Cap. 622 s.645(4)).
What happens to post sent to my old registered office?
Until the change is filed, the old address is still your registered office, and documents left there count as served (Cap. 622 ss.658(2), 827). Agree with the old provider how long they'll forward or scan mail, and tell your banks, customers and authorities.
Can I keep my company registers at the old provider?
Registers can be kept at the registered office or another place in Hong Kong (Cap. 622I s.3). If the old provider won't keep them, collect them. Ask your company secretary whether a notice of where they're kept is needed.
Is there a free template for the board resolution?
Yes. LAULEGA's free change of registered office tool drafts the board resolution as a Word file, ready for the directors to sign.
This guide summarises the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), Cap. 622B, Cap. 622I, the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310), section 51(8) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) and Schedule 2 of Cap. 615 as published on e-Legislation on 29 October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice; for your own facts, ask your adviser. The example company is invented. Written and reviewed by LAULEGA LIMITED, a licensed trust or company service provider (TCSP licence TC000573).