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Searches Overview

www.societies.govt.nz contains information relating to documents filed for incorporated societies and charitable trusts.

For information about New Zealand or Overseas Companies, or Industrial and Provident Societies, visit www.companies.govt.nz

Note: Information on incorporated societies and charitable trusts is duplicated in the Companies Office Site. If you are checking to see if a name is available for your use, use the Companies Office site.

You can search for information on an entity by its current name or number Register Search or by a name it was previously registered under Previous Name Search. Once you have located the relevant incorporated society or charitable trust, you can view its details free of charge.

• If you know the organisation's current name, use the Quick Search option.

• If you are not sure of the current name, but know the relevant organisation number, use the Standard Search option.

• If you do not know the full name, but know some of the words in the name, use a Keyword Search.

• If you do not locate the organisation using the Quick Search try the Keyword Search.

• If you still don't get a result, use the Previous Name Search option, (the organisation may have changed it's name).

Quick Search

This search is an 'exact match' search. It will not return results for name(s) an organisation was previously registered under (Use the Previous Name Search option for this). The name must be entered exactly as it is recorded on the register. For example, if the registered name is "The Society Incorporated", you must include the word "The" in the search.
To carry out a quick search:

1. Select Search The Register - Register Search from the left hand menu.

2. Enter at least the first three characters of the name in the Quick Search field. A list of organisations starting with the characters you type will be displayed in the Results List.

3. Scroll the Results List, or type more characters in the Quick Search field until the name you want appears in the Results List.

4. Double-click on the relevant name to display a page listing details and documents for the selected incorporated society or charitable trust.

Standard Search

This facility searches the register for the current names of incorporated societies and charitable trusts that are currently registered, or for the last registered name of an incorporated society or charitable trust that has been struck off. It will not return results for name(s) that an organisation was previously registered under. To do this, use the Previous Name Search option.

To carry out a standard search:

1. Select Search The Register - Register Search from the left hand menu.

2. Using the Standard Search fields, either
   

   • Enter the relevant number (without the alpha district prefix), or

   • Enter the first few characters of the name (the more characters entered the more focused the search results)

3. Click on the Submit Search button to display a list of search results.

4. The search results are displayed in lists of 10 results per page. Use the Next 10 and Previous 10 buttons to scroll in the list until you find the entity you want.

5. Click on the relevant name to display a page listing details and documents for the selected incorporated society or charitable trust.

Keyword Search

This facility searches the register for the current names of incorporated societies and charitable trusts that are currently registered, or for the last registered name of an incorporated society or charitable trust that has been struck off. It will not return results for name(s) that an organisation was previously registered under. To do this, use the Previous Name Search option.

To carry out a keyword search:

Follow the process as set out for Standard Search (above) but enter keywords for the name. (Note: Certain words cannot be used as keywords, for example "The" "Trust" or "Incorporated")

Previous Name Search

This facility searches the register for names that have previously been the registered names of incorporated societies and charitable trusts.

To carry out a previous name search:

1. Select Search The Register - Previous Name Search from the left hand menu.

2. Either enter the relevant number (without the alpha district prefix), or enter the first few characters of the previous name (the more characters entered the more focused the search results), or enter keywords from the previous name in the relevant box.

3. Click on the Submit Search button to display a list of search results. The results display the previous name and the organisation's current registered name.

4. The search results are displayed in lists of 10 results. Use the Next 10 and Previous 10 buttons to scroll in the list until you find the name you want.

5. Click on either the previous name or the current name to display a page listing details and documents for the Incorporated Society or Charitable Trust.

Search Result Details

After carrying out a quick, standard or previous name search, details and documents for the selected incorporated society or charitable trust can be viewed for free on a single scrollable page.

A certificate of incorporation can be viewed and printed using the View Certificate of Incorporation link at the top of the page. Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer is required to view and print the certificate. It can be downloaded for free from this site via the Site information - Site Software left hand menu option.

Accessing Documents

There are three ways that a document relating to an organisation can be accessed - PDF images, html text boxes and archived paper documents.

PDF Images

When a document is underlined, hyperlinked and has a PDF symbol alongside, it will be a scanned paper document that can be viewed online. To access the document you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC. If you have Adobe Acrobat installed, click on the document title link to access the image. To print the document, use the Acrobat Reader Print icon in the pop up window.

HTML Text Boxes

Where a document is underlined and hyperlinked, but does not have a PDF symbol beside it, it will be displayed in an html text box that can be viewed online. To access the text box, just click on the document title link. To print the document displayed, select the [Ctrl] and [P] keys at the same time.

Archived Paper Documents

Copies of the archived company documents can be ordered from our website by clicking on the Order Archived Documents button in the documents list and following the instructions on screen.

• Searches for Incorporated Societies and Charitable Trusts are free. The fees for the Companies Office to provide this service are set out in Schedule 2 of the Companies Act Regulations 1994. A $10.00 search fee (per file request) and a $1.00 per page cost will apply to other entities registered with the Companies Office.

• Delivery Timeframes - The standard delivery turnaround time will be 10 working days per request.

Until 3 July 2006 Searchlink Limited were contracted to the Companies Office to provide copies of archived documents for companies, incorporated societies and charitable trusts. These searches are now completed by Companies Office staff.

Should you need to contact Searchlink regarding any searches requested prior to 3 July 2006 their contact details are:

Website: www.searchlink.co.nz
Email: info@searchlink.co.nz

Telephone +64 4 568 7810
Facsimile +64 4 568 7870

Address Search

An address search allows you to search on words that make up a registered office address, address for communication or an address for premises. In an address search, the results of your search are faxed or emailed to you and are not displayed on your screen.

To view results sent via email, a PDF viewer is required. Adobe Acrobat Reader is free to download from the Site Information - Site Software option from the menu on the left hand side of the page.

1. Select Search The Register - Address Search from the menu on the left to display an Address Search screen.

2. Specify one or more search criteria by specifying the nature of the criteria (e.g. contains the word) and entering one word that is part of the address in the field to the right.
   Note: You can further customise your search by using the Address Type Selection, Body Type Selection and Entity Status Selection buttons at the bottom of the screen.

3. Select the Continue button from the Address Search screen, then choose your delivery method (e.g. email or fax).

4. Select the Continue button to enter/confirm your delivery details (i.e. email address or, fax number).

5. Select the Continue button to display a Search Confirmation screen. The results will be emailed or faxed to you.

Related Resources

• Pamphlet - Societies Online (pdf)  | File size 162Kb
• Fact Sheet - How to find information about an Incorporated Society

Find out more about Incorporated Societies

In our Information Library we have gathered together a range of resources to help you use our societies services. You will find answers to common questions, forms and fact sheets that step you through our online services.

Use our Contact Us service to look through these resources and we hope that your question will be answered there. If not, you will be given the opportunity to email us direct.

Alternatively, call us during business hours (8.30am-5pm weekdays) on Freephone 0508 SOCIETIES 0508 762 438 (Overseas callers call +64 3 962 2602).

Keep up to date with news and developments for the Companies Office and other business units and subscribe to the Business Update, our regular online newsletter. Sign up on line to receive your copy of the Business Update at http://news.business.govt.nz/bulletin/.

Updated 3 July 2006