How to search the Incorporated Societies Register
Information about incorporated societies, and how to find it
New legislation for incorporated societies
You can search the register free of charge for information about incorporated societies and their status.
What you can search for
Information available on the register for an incorporated society includes its:
- name
- incorporation number
- New Zealand Business Number
- status — Either ‘Registered’, ‘External Administration’ (for example, if a society is in liquidation), or ‘Dissolved/Removed’
- date of incorporation
- date of reregistration – but only if it has reregistered under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022
- registered office address
- officer details (where recorded)
- If a society is registered under the 2022 Act it must record the details of every officer and you will be able to see their names and start dates (when they were either elected or appointed as an officer). You will also see details of former officers.
- For societies registered under the 1908 Act it is optional to record officer details on the register.
- constitution or rules
- annual financial statements and annual returns (for societies that not registered as charities)
- certificates of incorporation and amalgamation.
You can check which Act a society is registered under
It is quick and easy to check which Act a society is currently registered under. Simply carry out a free search and look for the ‘Incorporated Societies Act’ marker on the ‘General Details’ screen. We will display ‘2022’ for any society that’s registered under the 2022 Act and ‘1908’ for all societies that are still registered under the old 1908 Act.
Searching the register
To conduct a search, enter a society’s name, incorporation number or New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) into the search bar on the register’s homepage.
A ‘quick-search’ list of results will appear immediately, providing basic information for societies matching your search criteria, including society name, incorporation number, NZBN and current status and the Act they're registered under.
For a more detailed list of results, which includes addresses and incorporation date, click on ‘All results’ at the top right-hand corner of the page, or the ‘View more detailed results’ link at the bottom of the quick-search list of results.
Search for societiesViewing a society’s information
To view the publicly available information we hold for an incorporated society, click on its name in the search results list.
Access to a society’s documents
All public documents filed with us are available free of charge. These include:
- a copy of the society’s rules or constitution
- copies of the annual financial statements and annual returns
- change of address forms (if any)
- certificate of incorporation (includes reregistration date) and amalgamation (if applicable).
To access a society’s documents
- Search for the incorporated society, as described above.
- Click on the society’s name.
- On the ‘View Details’ screen, click on the ‘Filings’ tab.
- Choose from the list of documents by clicking the link.
- Click on the document number to view, or export the document as a PDF.
Archived documents
All documents filed since April 2002 are available electronically. Prior to 2002, the last complete set of amended rules or trust deed variations are also available electronically.
Archived documents for incorporated societies that were declared dissolved prior to 31 Dec 2002 are available from Archives New Zealand. A search for any archived document can be made on the Archives New Zealand website.
If the records are not available electronically or through Archives New Zealand, the society should be approached directly for a copy.
