Hong Kong Business Registration Certificate in 2026: Fees, Levy and Renewal

Who must register for business registration in Hong Kong?

Every person carrying on a business in Hong Kong must register it with the IRD’s Business Registration Office within 1 month of the date the business commences, under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310). A business is any trade, commerce, craftsmanship, profession, calling or other activity carried on for gain, whether from premises or through the internet; holding an office or employment is not a business. Registration is not a licence to trade, so any sector licence is a separate matter.

The route depends on the legal form. A Hong Kong company is deemed to apply when it files its incorporation documents with the Companies Registry, and a non-Hong Kong company registering a place of business does the same with Form IRBR2. Sole proprietors and partnerships apply directly to the IRD, on paper or through eTAX; non-resident owners must also appoint a resident agent. Our guide to setting up a company in Hong Kong covers the incorporation steps.

• Charities, unless they carry on a trade or business whose profits are chargeable to profits tax.
• Agriculture, market gardening and fishing, except when carried on by a company under the Companies Ordinance.
• Bootblacks, licensed hawkers outside buildings and qualifying feed-in tariff businesses.

These are exemptions from registration itself. The low-turnover exemption below waives only the fee and levy.

Company, non-Hong Kong company, sole proprietor or partnership: how each registers

Companies and registered non-Hong Kong companies register through the Companies Registry as part of their own filing, while sole proprietors and partnerships apply to the IRD on Forms 1(a) and 1(c). The fee and levy are the same for every type of business; the route, the documents and access to the low-turnover exemption differ. An online incorporation normally produces both certificates, as PDFs, within 1 hour.

Paper Companies Registry filings cost HK$1,720. An overseas company trading in Hong Kong without registering under Part 16 of the Companies Ordinance applies to the IRD on Form 1(b).

Business registration fees and levy for certificates starting 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027

A 1-year Business Registration Certificate starting between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027 costs HK$2,350, and a 3-year certificate HK$6,170, according to the IRD’s fee and levy table. Each figure combines the registration fee with the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund levy of HK$150 a year. Each branch, including a business carried on under an additional business name, is registered on Form 1(d) and needs its own branch registration certificate.

The amount payable is fixed by the date the certificate commences, not the date you pay. For a new sole proprietorship, partnership or branch, the first certificate commences when business starts. For a local company, the first fee follows the date the incorporation application is delivered, and the certificate commences on the incorporation date. A 3-year certificate fixes the rate for its term, but nothing is refunded if the business closes early.

As at October 2026 the IRD had not published rates for certificates commencing on or after 1 April 2027.

Worked example: three 1-year certificates or one 3-year certificate, with one branch

At 2026–27 rates, a business with one branch pays HK$6,828 for a 3-year certificate and a 3-year branch certificate, against HK$7,740 for three successive 1-year certificates: a saving of HK$912. Take a trading company whose current certificate expires on 31 January 2027, with one branch registered on Form 1(d). To switch, it files Form IRBR 184 by 31 December 2026, at least 1 month before expiry, and the election covers the main business and its branch. The demand note arrives around mid-January 2027.

The 3-year route is cheaper and fixes the rate, but the HK$6,828 is paid up front and is not refunded if the business stops early. Had it closed after the first year, the 1-year route would have cost only HK$2,580 (HK$2,350 + HK$230). Years 2 and 3 of the 1-year route assume today’s rates continue, which is not guaranteed: the fee rose by HK$200 in 2024.

Government fees only, paid on time, with no low-turnover exemption. The 3-year figures are the 2026–27 rates because the new certificates commence before 31 March 2027.

How to renew a Hong Kong Business Registration Certificate: step by step

Renewal is started by the IRD, not by you: it issues a demand note around the middle of the month before the new certificate starts, and once paid, the receipted demand note becomes the new certificate. There is no renewal application to file. The same steps apply to companies, branches and unincorporated businesses, and a company secretary can handle them for several clients through the Tax Representative Portal under eTAX.

1. At least 1 month before expiry, decide between a 1-year and a 3-year certificate: file Form IRBR 184 to move to 3 years, or Form IRBR 199 to move back to 1 year.
2. Around the middle of the month before the new certificate starts, look out for the demand note; eTAX users can download it straight away.
3. If no demand note has arrived, tell the Commissioner in writing within 1 month of the current certificate’s expiry, or obtain a fresh demand note in person, by post or online.
4. Pay the full amount by the due date on the demand note, electronically or through the other channels on the IRD’s payment methods page; by post, send a crossed cheque with a photocopy of the old certificate.
5. Download the PDF certificate through eTAX from 10:00 a.m. on the calendar day after payment, within 2 months of payment, and print it on plain A4 paper.
6. Check the machine-printed line showing the payment date, receipt number and amount, then display the new certificate at each business address and diary the next expiry date.

Since 22 July 2025, eTAX business services have run through the Business Tax Portal; the Individual Tax Portal and the Tax Representative Portal launched the same day.

Display, changes and cessation: a compliance checklist

A valid certificate must be displayed in a conspicuous place at the address where the business is carried on, and produced for official inspection on demand. Certificates issued electronically under the one-stop incorporation service have the same legal effect as paper ones; companies must display a printed copy, which can come from their own printer on any colour of paper, provided it is legible. Any change in registered particulars, and any cessation, must be notified to the IRD within 1 month.

• Display: the current certificate at the main address and each branch certificate at its branch.
• Change of business address: Form IRC 3111A or eTAX; a company filing Form NR1 can ask the Companies Registry to tell the IRD its business address has moved to the new registered office.
• Change of business name: Form IRC 3110A; a company name change registered at the Companies Registry reaches the IRD automatically.
• Change in nature of business: Form IRBR 193, companies included.
• Admission or retirement of partners: Form IRBR 64.
• New local company: business particulars on Form IRBR200 or by letter, within 1 month of starting business.
• Cessation: Form IRC 3113 or eTAX, within 1 month of ceasing.
• Liquidation: send the special resolution; fees are payable up to the year the winding up commenced.

A company stays registered, and keeps paying, until it is dissolved or deregistered; our guide to deregistration and winding up covers closing the company itself.

Can a small business have the fee and levy waived?

Yes, if it is not a company. A sole proprietorship, partnership or other unincorporated business can apply under section 9 of Cap. 310 when its average monthly sales or receipts do not exceed HK$10,000, for a business that mainly sells services, or HK$30,000 for any other business. Companies incorporated or required to be registered under the Companies Ordinance, re-domiciled companies, open-ended fund companies and limited partnership funds cannot apply. If the same proprietor or partners run two or more businesses, none of them qualifies.

The test uses the average over the 6 months before applying, or a new business’s estimate for its first 6 months. Apply on Form 3 (IRBR61) in person, by post or through GovHK. Existing businesses apply at least 1 month before expiry (1 week online); new businesses within 1 month after applying for registration (7 weeks online). An approved business still registers, receives an Exempt Business Registration Certificate valid for 1 year and reapplies each year. Until the result arrives, pay any demand note.

What changed for Hong Kong business registration in 2025–2026?

The main change is cost: the 2-year levy waiver ended on 31 March 2026, so a 1-year certificate rose from HK$2,200 to HK$2,350, and the 2026–27 Budget did not renew it. Online services moved to the new Business Tax Portal on 22 July 2025. The business registration number has been the Unique Business Identifier for companies since 27 December 2023, with no change recorded in 2025 or 2026.

Penalties for failing to register, renew or display a business registration certificate

Failing to apply for registration, to display a valid certificate or to notify a change or cessation is an offence under Cap. 310, punishable by a fine of up to HK$5,000 and imprisonment for up to 1 year. Making a false statement to the Commissioner, for example on an exemption application, is an offence under section 15(1)(i), punishable by a fine at level 2 (HK$5,000) or imprisonment for 1 year, or both.

Late registration also brings back fees. A business that applies more than 12 months after commencement pays the current year’s fee and levy plus those for the back years under section 7(3). In the IRD’s own example, a business that started in October 2021 and applied in March 2024 paid HK$2,550: HK$2,150 for the current year plus HK$250 and HK$150 for 2 back years in which only the levy was charged. The IRD may also impose penalties on overdue renewal demand notes.

Common business registration mistakes

Most problems come from treating business registration as automatic once the company exists. The certificate expires every 1 or 3 years, the duty to chase a missing demand note sits with the business, and the IRD learns of some changes only if you tell it. These are the mistakes that most often cause lapsed certificates, stale entries on the Business Register and avoidable back fees.

• Letting a dormant company’s certificate lapse: a company must renew until it is dissolved or deregistered, whether or not it trades.
• Assuming Form NNC1 tells the IRD what the company does: report the business particulars within 1 month of starting business.
• Waiting for a demand note that never came, instead of writing to the Commissioner within 1 month of expiry.
• Electing a 3-year certificate too late: Form IRBR 184 must reach the IRD at least 1 month before the current certificate expires.
• Applying for the low-turnover exemption for a company, or forgetting that an approved exemption must be renewed every year.
• Filing Form NR1 without asking for the business address to be updated as well.
• Budgeting at the waived 2024–26 rate of HK$2,200 instead of HK$2,350.

Hong Kong business registration terms explained

These terms appear on IRD and Companies Registry forms, demand notes, certificates and the eTAX portals. Knowing what each one means makes the renewal notice, the certificate and the change forms easier to read, and helps when a bank, landlord, auditor or counterparty asks for your business registration number or a copy of your current certificate during due diligence or onboarding.

• Business Registration Office: the IRD office that keeps the Business Register, at the Inland Revenue Centre in Kai Tak.
• Business registration number: the first 8 digits of the certificate number; since 27 December 2023 also the Unique Business Identifier for companies.
• Demand note: the renewal notice issued before each certificate period; once paid, it becomes the certificate.
• Levy: the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund levy collected with the fee, HK$150 a year from 1 April 2026.
• Branch registration certificate: the certificate for a branch registered on Form 1(d).
• Exempt Business Registration Certificate: the 1-year certificate issued when the low-turnover exemption is granted.
• One-stop service: the Companies Registry route that registers a company and its business at the same time.
• Resident agent: the Hong Kong representative a non-resident proprietor or partner appoints, on Form IRBR177 or by letter.