This is the final step. A company may be formally removed or "struck off" the New Zealand Company Register or it can occur as a result of liquidation, non-filing of returns or amalgamation. (Removal from the official register should not be confused with delisting from the NZX.) 

The Registrar of Companies has to be satisfied that the company should be removed and gives notice of that intention. After a 20 day notice period, and providing there are no objections to removal, the company is removed from the company register (or “struck off”) and its legal status is extinguished.

Note that a company may subsequently be restored by application to the Registrar of Companies and be deemed at that point to have always remained on the register.

Finding your company

If your company has been delisted or is suspended from quotation it may well be in administration. There are three ways of finding a company that is in administration:

• Search by code (see box above right)
• Search by company name (see box above left)
• Click on the appropriate letter of the alphabet (see the alpha index above)

If you are unable to find your company or the information is incomplete or incomprehensible we recommend you send us a message and we will try to assist. Please bear in mind we are unable to help with private companies, public companies that have never been listed or with companies domiciled outside New Zealand or Australia. The NZ Companies Office on 0508 266 726 or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 1300 300 630 may be able to assist you with other companies.

You can search on companies, previous names, directors, shareholders, etc, at the NZ Companies Office here.

FURTHER READING

Part 17 of the Companies Act dealing with Removal