NZ Companies Office and Trusts
If you or your family registers a company/business or a Trust in New Zealand with the New Zealand Companies Office, any information you supply about the entity is included in the New Zealand
Companies Register.
This is an electronic register where company information and related documents can be viewed online. This includes directors’ and shareholders’ names and addresses, the registered office of, and address for service of each company. Even when details are updated, previous details are still available for viewing within old paperwork which has been submitted and uploaded to the register.
This information is freely available on the Companies Register. Access to register details is also publicly available online www.companies.govt.nz/cms(external link)
The website allows people to search either for an individual or company name. The search result includes details of addresses given at time of registration. The website also holds information for old or disestablished companies.
If you are registering a business or Trust, you can ask the legal/accountancy firm that is involved in the setting up of the company if you can use their business address as the registered office of the company (instead of your own personal address).
If you have already set up a company or Trust with personal details recorded, you might want to consider changing, where possible, names or addresses. While the previous information will still be available, this historical information will be slightly harder to find if it is not on the front-facing information within the register.