NZBN and the Companies Register

What’s the New Zealand Business Number (NZBN)?

A New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) is a globally unique identifier, available to all Kiwi businesses. Registered companies have been allocated NZBNs and are automatically included on the NZBN Register. You can find your NZBN on the Companies Register or by searching at nzbn.govt.nz.

Your company’s NZBN links to the information you’re most often asked to share when doing business — like addresses and trading name. Others you work with can find your business details on the NZBN Register, meaning you don’t have to repeat the same information multiple times.

It’s for every Kiwi business

While only companies have a company number, any business in New Zealand can get an NZBN — including sole traders, partnerships and trusts. If your company interacts with other entity types, like sole traders, you can ask for their NZBN and access their information on the NZBN Register.

Having one unique way to identify businesses across sectors and industries will make it easier to do business in New Zealand, and reduce the amount of time we spend repeating information. On the Companies Register, you can search by company name, company number or NZBN.

Companies Register information that’s shared with the NZBN Register

Some information held on the Companies Register appears automatically on the NZBN Register, such as your company name and directors. You can choose to provide other information, like your trading name, website address and other contact details. The more information you make available on the NZBN Register, the easier it will be for other businesses to connect and transact with you.

You can provide additional NZBN information any time you need to update details for your company.

Keeping your company information up-to-date

It’s essential to keep your company details up-to-date. When something changes, the Companies Register should be the first place you update your information. This will also automatically update your NZBN records.

Find out more

The NZBN website provides information about the NZBN and how to use it and the primary business data associated with an NZBN. You can also search the NZBN Register.

Other guides in

Getting support to use the Companies Register

• Uploading documents to the Companies Register
• Filing documents with electronic signatures
• Forgotten your RealMe® username or password
• Searching the Companies Register
• Searching the PPSR from the Companies Register
• Searching using other applications
• Suppressing a residential address on the register

Other help topics