Applying to remove your society from the register
How to apply to remove your incorporated society from the register
An incorporated society may reach a point where it is no longer active. Perhaps because membership numbers have dropped, or its purpose has been achieved.
If your society is no longer operating, it can submit a request to the Registrar asking to be removed from the register.
In this guide
Grounds for applying for removal
You can apply if your society has ceased to operate and:
- paid in full its debts and liabilities to all its known creditors (see note), and
- distributed its surplus assets as set out in your constitution, and in line with the 2022 Act (see note).
How to request removal of an incorporated society
Who can apply
Your society must pass a resolution authorising one of its members to make a request for removal from the register.
There are specific requirements in the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (2022 Act) around the resolutions needed to support a request for removal. Please refer to sections 227 – 230 of the 2022 Act for full details.
How to apply
If you have been authorised to request removal of your society, apply using our online service. To use our online services, you must have:
- a RealMe® login
- an online account with us
- authority to update information on the register for the society.
Step by step
- Log in.
- From 'My Businesses' section of your dashboard, select the society that you’re asking to be removed.
- On the 'View Details' page go to the ‘Maintain Incorporated Society’ menu and select ‘Request to Remove’.
- Confirm that you are authorised by the society to apply for its removal.
- Confirm which grounds for removal apply (as above).
- Complete the ‘Signatory Details’ section and select 'Submit'.
What happens next
We will give public notice of intention to remove a society
The Registrar is required to:
- give public notice of the intended removal, and
- provide a period of 20 working days for any objections to be made by the public.
The notice is published on the Incorporated Societies Register website and the New Zealand Gazette.
News and
We will send the applicant an email confirming the date the Registrar will give public notice of their intention to remove the society from the register.
Wait 20 working days to allow for any objections
Once the notice has been published, the public has 20 working days to object to the removal of the society.
People can object during this time, but only if their objection is for a reason defined under section 178 of the Incorporated Societies Act 2022.
Remove the society from the register
If we have received no objection after 20 working days, the society will be removed from the register (generally the next working day).
Deregistering with other government organisations
If your society is a registered charity you may also need to apply to be removed from the Charities Register.
If your society has an IRD number there are things you will need to do with Inland Revenue if your society is being removed from the Incorporated Societies Register.