Hong Kong Company Search: Checking a Company by Its BRN

RU Статья пока только на английском.

SEONGWOO GLOBAL Published 2026-10-28

Contents · 6 sections

The short answer
The record: SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED
BRN and CR number: what changed in December 2023
The process: a Hong Kong company search in three steps
The result: what to compare after the search
What a company search cannot tell you

A Hong Kong company search is done on the Companies Registry’s e-Services Portal¹ and does not need an account: the company name search is free and shows the date of incorporation, the company’s status (live or dissolved) and its name history.

For directors, the registered office and share capital you can buy a Company Particulars Report. One change trips up many guides: since 27 December 2023 Hong Kong uses the Business Registration Number (BRN) as every company’s identifier, so companies formed after that date are searched by BRN rather than a separate CR number.

This case uses SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED (盛裕全球貿易有限公司), our Hong Kong company, to show what to collect, how to search and what to compare.

The short answer

If a Hong Kong company search shows that the company name, BRN and incorporation date all match what the supplier told you, and the status is live, you have confirmed a company that was validly incorporated in Hong Kong and still exists.

The record: SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED

Item	Registered details
English name	SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED
Chinese name	盛裕全球貿易有限公司
Business Registration Number (BRN)	81375387
Date of incorporation	13 October 2026
Registered office	Unit A56, 29/F, Legend Tower, 7 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

A registered office is the statutory address for official correspondence, not a warehouse or showroom. The name, address and BR number also appear in the footer of every page on this site.

BRN and CR number: what changed in December 2023

Older articles explain that a Hong Kong company has two numbers: a Business Registration Number from the Inland Revenue Department and a company registration (CR) number from the Companies Registry. That is still true of older companies, but not of newer ones.

According to the Companies Registry’s External Circular No. 3/2023 (PDF)², the government adopted the BRN, meaning the first eight digits of the Business Registration Certificate number, as the Unique Business Identifier (UBI) for companies. It took effect with the launch of the revamped registry system on 27 December 2023. From that date:

the BRN is the “No.” printed on Certificates of Incorporation, Registration and Change of Name issued by the Registry;
the BRN, not the CR number, must be quoted on specified forms delivered to the Registry;
the BRN is the key number for searching and identifying a company across the Registry’s services.

Companies formed earlier keep their old CR number on existing certificates, and the Registry’s “CR No. / BRN Mapping” search converts between the two (details³). SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED was incorporated in 2026, after the change, so you search it simply by BRN 81375387.

The process: a Hong Kong company search in three steps

Step 1, free company name search. In the e-Search services on the portal, choose a company name search. Left-partial and exact-name searches are both free of charge.

The Registry’s description of its search services (PDF)⁴ says the result includes dates of incorporation, registration and dissolution, name history, company status and winding-up mode. In this example you would enter SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED and check that the date of incorporation reads 13 October 2026.

Step 2, buy the Company Particulars Report if you need more. It adds the current directors, company secretary, registered office address and share capital. The Registry’s e-Search FAQ⁵ lists the fee as HKD 22 per report and confirms that unregistered online users can buy it.

Step 3, check the business register at the Inland Revenue Department. The Companies Registry proves the company exists; the IRD business register records the business name, business address and nature of business.

Since 4 September 2023 the IRD accepts applications for business register extracts online only⁶, with immediate PDF download, and its list of current charges⁷ shows HKD 27 per extract.

The result: what to compare after the search

Check	If it matches	If it does not
Company name (English and Chinese)	Same as on the contract and invoice	Ask whether it is a different entity or was renamed
BRN	Same as on the BR certificate and invoice	Ask for a copy of the BR certificate
Incorporation date	Consistent with what the supplier told you	Be wary of overstated years in business
Status	Live	Dissolved or in liquidation: put the deal on hold

Anyone can search SEONGWOO GLOBAL LIMITED the same way. We have not printed a screenshot because status and director details can change; a search you run yourself just before ordering is the reliable version.

What a company search cannot tell you

A Hong Kong company search proves legal existence. It does not show where the goods come from, whether they are genuine or how large the business is. A recently incorporated company, ours included, is not a problem in itself, but it is sensible to check the parent or related company too.

Our Seoul company’s Korean business registration number, 791-03-02920, can be checked on the National Tax Service’s Hometax business status page. For how supply channels differ, see parallel import vs authorized distributor.

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