How do I search the Companies Office for a builder?
Short answer
Go to companiesregister.companiesoffice.govt.nz and search by company name or NZBN. The results show registration status, incorporation date, directors, shareholders, registered office, annual return status, and any documents filed. For a builder, you're looking for an active 'Registered' status, directors with a clean history, and recent filings up to date.
Source: Companies Office — companiesregister.companiesoffice.govt.nz. Updated May 2026.
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Check a builderKey facts
- Free, instant, no login required
- Search by name or 13-digit NZBN
- Status field is the headline indicator (Registered / In Liquidation / Removed)
- Click a director's name to see all their other companies
- Annual return filings show whether the company is being kept current
What 'Registered' means and doesn't mean
'Registered' means the company exists and is up to date with its filings. It doesn't mean the company has any work, money, or competence. Plenty of dormant companies are 'Registered'.
Look at the incorporation date. A six-month-old company asking for a $50k deposit warrants more questions than a 15-year-old one.
Reading the directors page
Each director's profile lists every NZ company they've ever been a director of, with the status of each. This is the single most useful page on the site.
What you're looking for: a stable history, ideally in the same industry. What you're worried about: multiple companies in liquidation, particularly in the same industry, especially if recent.
What's not on Companies Office
Convictions, court judgments, MBIE complaints, leaky-home claims — none of these show up on the company record. They're separate registers (insolvency.govt.nz, justice.govt.nz, lbp.govt.nz). A complete check requires all four.
That fragmentation is the gap CheckMyBuilder fills — we pull all four into one report.
Knowing the rules is half the job. The other half is knowing who you're hiring. Check any NZ builder against the public record: company status, licensing and insolvency notices, from the official NZ sources.
Related questions
Sources: Companies Office — companiesregister.companiesoffice.govt.nz; Companies Act 1993. General information for NZ homeowners, not legal advice. Building rules change and vary by council, so confirm critical details on the official source before acting. Last updated 2026-05.