Where stamps fit in the HK incorporation flow

The HK incorporation flow at a glance

Setting up a private limited company in Hong Kong, in chronological order:

1. Pick a company name in English (and optionally Chinese) — must not be identical or too similar to a registered company.
2. Prepare the Articles of Association and director / shareholder details.
3. File the incorporation form with the Companies Registry — NNC1 for a company limited by shares, NNC1G for a company not limited by shares, plus the Notice to Business Registration Office IRBR1.
4. One-stop registration: the Companies Registry and IRD treat every incorporation application as a simultaneous business registration application; the Registrar issues the Business Registration Certificate on behalf of the IRD alongside the Certificate of Incorporation.
5. Receive the Certificate of Incorporation and the Business Registration Certificate.
6. Order company chops.
7. Open a bank account.
8. Within 60 days of hiring an employee, enrol them in an MPF scheme via the eMPF Platform.

Sources: Companies Registry — How to register a new company; one-stop registration FAQ: e-Services FAQ.

Electronic vs. hard-copy filing

• Electronic — submit through the e-Services Portal. When approved, the Certificates are issued electronically (PDF) typically within about 1 hour after submission. Electronic certificates are stored in the user's e-Services account for 6 months — download promptly.
• Hard copy — submit at the Shroff on the 14th floor of Queensway Government Offices. Certificates for companies limited by shares are normally issued within 4 working days. The presentor receives an email / fax notification and collects in person with identification.

Refer to the Companies Registry website for the latest fees and form versions.

When should you order chops?

This is what most founders ask first. Recommended timing:

• Before filing NNC1 / NNC1G: don't. The English name you applied for might be rejected by the Registrar (e.g. too close to an existing name), in which case any chop you ordered would have a name that doesn't match your eventual Certificate of Incorporation.
• After receiving the Certificate of Incorporation and BR Certificate: this is the right moment. The English / Chinese name, BR number and registered address are all final, and you can order the round seal, sign chop and address chop in one go.
• Before bank account opening: the chops must be ready before account opening because most local and virtual banks ask for a chop specimen at onboarding (see ourHK bank stamp guide).

Note: chops aren't a legal requirement per se — section 124(1) of Cap. 622 made the Common Seal optional — but you'll almost certainly use one in commercial practice. See ourlegal status guide.

How chops are used at each step

Companies Registry & Business Registration

When filing NNC1 / NNC1G electronically through e-Services, you do not submit a chop — applicants authenticate with an e-Cert digital certificate or via their Companies Registry account. For hard-copy filings, the form needs only the directors' / shareholders' handwritten signatures, not a company chop (the company doesn't formally exist yet, so there's no chop to apply).

Bank account opening

This is where the chop first formally appears. At SME account opening, local and virtual banks routinely ask for a chop specimen as the future verification reference. See ourHK bank stamp guidefor the bank list and general process.

Inland Revenue Department (IRD)

The Business Registration Certificate is issued by the Companies Registry on behalf of IRD via the one-stop process, so no extra IRD chop submission is required at incorporation. Subsequent IRD correspondence — tax returns, employer's returns (IR56 series), Business Registration change notices (IRBR) — usually carries the company chop plus an authorised signature in practice, but it's a customary rather than statutory requirement.

Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)

After hiring an employee, an employer must enrol them in an MPF scheme via the eMPF Platform within 60 days of employment. Failure to do so attracts a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and 3 years' imprisonment (source: MPFA enrolment guidance). eMPF is fully electronic; the enrolment itself doesn't require a physical chop, though correspondence with trustees and internal approval paperwork are usually still chopped.

Industry licences

Some industries need separate licences from the relevant regulator, for example:

• Money Lender licence: Companies Registry — Money Lender
• F&B licences (general / light refreshment): Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
• Liquor licence: Liquor Licensing Board
• Securities & Futures licences: SFC

The exact paperwork, chop expectations and turnaround for each licence are governed by the relevant regulator's own pages.

Recommended chop set for a new HK SME

A typical HK SME orders three to four chops:

1. Round company seal — for everyday contracts, bank specimen and receipts. The most common.
2. Sign chop (For and on behalf of) — for contracts, cheques and payment instructions.
3. Address chop / cheque chop — for invoices, receipts and letterhead.
4. (Optional) Common Seal steel die — recommended if the company will execute deeds or regularly deal with mainland or overseas counterparties.

Related resources

To design your chops, use theround seal·sign chop·oval stamp·name chopgenerators. For the legal background see thelegal status guide; for bank specimen requirements see theHK bank stamp guide.