Certificate of Incorporation NZ

A certificate of incorporation is the official document issued when a company is incorporated under the Companies Act 1993. It confirms that the company legally exists as a separate entity from its owners.

The certificate typically shows:

• The company's full registered name
• Its company number
• The date of incorporation
• Confirmation that the company was incorporated under the Companies Act 1993

A certificate of incorporation is commonly requested when a company needs to prove it exists as a legal entity. Typical situations include:

• Opening a business bank account
• Applying for finance or credit
• Tendering for contracts, especially with government or large organisations
• Registering with overseas authorities or business partners
• Legal and conveyancing processes that require proof of incorporation

In most cases the requesting organisation wants the official certificate itself, not a summary of register information.

Certificates of incorporation are issued by the New Zealand Companies Office. When a company is first incorporated, the certificate is provided as part of the incorporation process. Replacement or duplicate certificates can generally be requested from the Companies Office.

Company Search New Zealand does not currently sell certificates of incorporation. If you need an official certificate, you should obtain it from the Companies Office.

Our reports are not certificates and are not official extracts from the register. What they provide is a clear, convenient summary of publicly available register information about a company — its status, directors, shareholders and filing details — generated fresh from the live registers when you order.

If your goal is to check a company before dealing with it, a report is usually what you need. If your goal is to prove your own company's incorporation to a bank or authority, you need the official certificate from the Companies Office.