Hong Kong remains one of the easiest places in the world to incorporate a company. File electronically and you can have a Certificate of Incorporation and a Business Registration Certificate inside an hour, for under four thousand Hong Kong dollars in government fees, with no minimum share capital and no requirement for a local director.
That is the easy part. The harder parts are the ones nobody mentions in the sales copy: you must have a Hong Kong company secretary and a real Hong Kong address, the bank account is a separate battle entirely, and there are two different annual renewals to two different departments that founders routinely confuse. This guide walks through what you need, what it actually costs, how long it takes and what happens afterwards. If you would rather hand it to someone, see our directory of company formation services.
What you need before you start
Five things, and you cannot incorporate without all of them.
You will also need to appoint a designated representative, who is the person law enforcement contacts about your significant controllers register. That must be a director, shareholder or employee resident in Hong Kong, or an accountant, solicitor or licensed corporate services provider. Most founders cover both this and the secretary role through the same provider, and our directory lists business services across Hong Kong if you need one.
This combination is why most founders based outside Hong Kong end up using a service provider on day one. The company secretary and the registered address are statutory requirements, not optional extras, and a non-resident founder generally cannot supply either.
- A company name. English only, Chinese only, or both, but a single name cannot mix English words with Chinese characters, and Chinese names must use traditional characters. An English company name must end with the word Limited, written in full. You can check availability free and instantly on the Companies Registry e-Services portal.
- At least one director. A natural person, aged eighteen or over, of any nationality, resident anywhere. A company cannot be the sole director of a private company.
- At least one shareholder. Any nationality, any residency, and the sole director can also be the sole shareholder. There is no minimum share capital.
- A company secretary. Mandatory. If an individual, they must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. If a company, it must have its registered or principal office here. Crucially, if you have only one director, that person cannot also be the company secretary.
- A registered office address in Hong Kong. It must be a physical Hong Kong address, not an overseas one.
The incorporation process, step by step
One post-incorporation formality catches people out. If any first director did not sign the consent to act on the incorporation form itself, they must file Form NNC3 within fifteen days. Separately, within one month of actually starting to trade, you must tell the Business Registration Office your business nature, commencement date and trading address if they differ from what you filed.
- Check the name. Free and instant through the Companies Registry e-Search service. Some words need prior consent, and anything implying a government connection will be refused.
- Prepare Form NNC1, the incorporation form for a company limited by shares, with the registered office, directors, secretary, shareholders and share details.
- Prepare the Articles of Association, either using the Registry’s model articles or custom-drafted ones.
- Prepare Form IRBR1, the notice to the Business Registration Office. Since 2011 the Companies Registry and the Inland Revenue Department have run a one-stop service, so filing the incorporation form is automatically treated as a business registration application too.
- Submit and pay, either electronically through the e-Services portal or on paper. Both forms must go in the same format, so you cannot file one electronically and one on paper.
- Receive both certificates together. The Certificate of Incorporation and the Business Registration Certificate are issued at the same time under the one-stop service. Electronic certificates are PDFs and carry the same legal effect as paper.
What it actually costs
One point worth flagging, because a great deal of older advice online gets it wrong. The HK$150 annual levy was fully waived from April 2024 to March 2026, and during that window a one-year certificate cost HK$2,200. That waiver has now lapsed, so the levy is payable again and the correct current total is HK$2,350. Anything telling you otherwise is out of date.
On top of the government fees, a service provider will charge for incorporation, the first year of company secretary and a registered address. A complete first-year package typically runs somewhere between HK$5,000 and HK$16,000 depending on what is bundled, against that government-fee floor of HK$3,895. Ask providers plainly whether the HK$3,895 is inside their quote or on top of it, because both models exist.
- Companies Registry incorporation fee: HK$1,545 filing electronically, or HK$1,720 on paper. If the application fails, most of this is refunded but the lodgement fee is not.
- Business Registration Certificate, one year: HK$2,200 fee plus a HK$150 levy, so HK$2,350 in total.
- Business Registration Certificate, three years: HK$5,720 plus a HK$450 levy, so HK$6,170.
- Certificate of Incorporation: no separate charge. It is covered by the incorporation fee.
- Total government fees, electronic filing with a one-year certificate: HK$3,895.
How long it takes
Electronic filing is dramatically faster. A private company limited by shares filed through the e-Services portal normally has its Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate issued within about an hour. Paper filing takes until the fourth working day after delivery. A company limited by guarantee takes around three weeks either way.
The name check itself is instant and free, so there is no reason not to run it before you prepare anything else.
What happens after incorporation
Incorporation is the beginning of your compliance obligations, not the end.
On tax, Hong Kong charges profits tax on a territorial basis, so only profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong are chargeable. The two-tiered rates mean a corporation pays 8.25 per cent on its first two million dollars of assessable profits and 16.5 per cent above that. Where a group has connected entities, only one nominated company can use the lower rate. A newly incorporated company usually receives its first profits tax return around eighteen months after incorporation.
- The bank account. This is consistently the hardest step, particularly for non-residents. Most banks require an in-person meeting and thorough due diligence, and will decline applicants with no genuine Hong Kong connection. No formation agent can guarantee you an account, whatever the marketing says. The regulator has pushed banks towards a more proportionate approach and introduced a simpler account tier for smaller businesses, but expect this to take weeks rather than days.
- The significant controllers register. Every company must identify anyone with significant control, broadly more than a quarter of the shares or voting rights, and keep a register of them. It is never filed anywhere, which is exactly why people forget it, but it must exist, be current, and be produced to law enforcement on demand.
- Statutory records kept at the registered office: registers of members, directors and secretaries, minute books and the register of charges.
- The annual return, Form NAR1, filed with the Companies Registry within 42 days of each anniversary of incorporation. It costs HK$105 on time and escalates sharply if late, reaching HK$3,480 beyond nine months, with prosecution possible on top.
- The business registration renewal, paid separately to the Inland Revenue Department. This is a different obligation to a different department with a different deadline, and confusing the two is the single most common compliance mistake founders make.
- Employer obligations, from your very first employee including part-timers: notify the Revenue of a new hire, enrol eligible staff in an MPF scheme within 60 days, and take out employees’ compensation insurance, which is compulsory before anyone starts work.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing the two annual renewals. The annual return to the Companies Registry and the business registration renewal to the Revenue are separate. Miss either and the penalties escalate.
- Assuming a sole director can be the company secretary. They cannot, and this catches out almost every solo founder.
- Underestimating the bank account. A Certificate of Incorporation is not a bank account, and it is not a promise of one.
- Forgetting the significant controllers register precisely because it is never filed.
- Reading territorial taxation as zero tax. Offshore claims must be substantiated and are increasingly scrutinised.
- Budgeting only for the Companies Registry fee and forgetting the business registration fee due at the same time.
- Using a registered-address provider that does not reliably forward post. Missed official notices lead to penalties and, eventually, to being struck off.
- Assuming incorporation gives you the right to live or work here. It does not. That is a separate visa question entirely.
Good to know
A short checklist before you file:
- File electronically. It is cheaper and takes about an hour rather than four working days.
- Run the free name check first, before you prepare anything else.
- Decide one year or three on the business registration certificate; three years costs less per year.
- Diarise both renewal dates the day you incorporate.
- Check any provider’s TCSP licence on the Companies Registry public register before paying them.
- Re-check the fees around each Budget, as they move most years.
Incorporating in Hong Kong is genuinely quick and cheap. Staying compliant afterwards is the part that needs attention, and the two annual renewals are where most first-time founders slip. Government fee figures in this guide were verified in September 2026 against the Companies Registry and the Inland Revenue Department, and they change with the annual Budget.
If you would rather not do it yourself, compare company formation services in our directory, or browse business services across Hong Kong. Run a corporate services firm? List it on advertise.hk. This guide is general information rather than legal or tax advice, so take professional advice on your own situation.
