🇭🇰How to verify a supplier in Hong Kong
To verify a supplier in Hong Kong, look the company up for free in the official Companies Registry Cyber Search Centre (ICRIS) for the company register, with the Inland Revenue Department's free Business Registration Number enquiry as the open identity check and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns the GovHK enquiry takes the full business name in English or Chinese plus its location (Hong Kong, Kowloon or New Territories) and returns the Business Registration Number registered with the Business Registration Office, so a buyer can confirm the number a supplier quotes belongs to that exact name.
The official registry
- Registry
- Companies Registry Cyber Search Centre (ICRIS) for the company register, with the Inland Revenue Department's free Business Registration Number enquiry as the open identity check
- Company ID
- Business Registration Number (8 digits plus a 3-digit branch suffix) and, for incorporated companies, a Companies Registry company number
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- A Hong Kong business must hold a valid Business Registration Certificate, renewed annually, and an incorporated company must file an annual return; ask for the current certificate and match its number, name and expiry against the enquiry result.
- The company register itself is the Cyber Search Centre of the Companies Registry at https://www.icris.cr.gov.hk/ (checked live, 200). It is a browser application rather than an open lookup, and document copies are charged, so it is a human check, not a free machine-readable source.
- Hong Kong has no VAT, so there is no VAT number to validate: the Business Registration Number is the identifier a buyer should ask for and check.
- A Hong Kong trading company is very often not the maker. Ask where the goods are produced and verify the factory in its own country's register, because a valid Hong Kong BRN proves the trading entity exists, not that a factory exists.
Before you sign: five asks no registry can answer
The register proves the company exists and who signs. It says nothing about whether the supplier survives a bad quarter, a fire or a key person leaving. Serious suppliers answer these five asks without friction; hesitation on any of them is information too.
- Business continuity: what happens to your order if their plant loses power, a strike hits or their systems go down? Ask for the plan, not a reassurance.
- Liability insurance: is product or professional liability insured, with which insurer and to what ceiling? A certificate of insurance is a one-page email for a real firm.
- Exit terms: how do you terminate if it goes wrong, what notice and fees apply, and how do you get your tooling, molds or data back?
- Support in numbers: ask for response and resolution times as figures, not adjectives. A supplier who commits to hours in writing has a support process; one who writes fast support does not.
- Named people: who exactly runs production and who owns your account? Continuity of a named team matters more than a polished sales deck, and employee-review sites often show whether that team stays.
General commercial hygiene, not legal advice.
Verify it in four steps
- 1
Open the Companies Registry Cyber Search Centre (ICRIS) for the company register, with the Inland Revenue Department's free Business Registration Number enquiry as the open identity check
Companies Registry Cyber Search Centre (ICRIS) for the company register, with the Inland Revenue Department's free Business Registration Number enquiry as the open identity check is the official government record of companies in Hong Kong. Basic name or number search is free.
- 2
Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its Business Registration Number (8 digits plus a 3-digit branch suffix) and, for incorporated companies, a Companies Registry company number. If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
- 3
Confirm it is active, not struck off
A Hong Kong business must hold a valid Business Registration Certificate, renewed annually, and an incorporated company must file an annual return; ask for the current certificate and match its number, name and expiry against the enquiry result.
- 4
Check it makes what it sells
A real factory carries a manufacturing activity code and a consistent trade history; a middleman reselling everything is the most common mismatch.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
We do this check for you
On every Hong Kong company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine Hong Kong suppliers, not just the loudest.
Hong Kong suppliers by sector
Every company on these pages shows what the open record says about it, each fact linked to its free public source.
Related guides
Questions
Is checking a Hong Kong supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Companies Registry Cyber Search Centre (ICRIS) for the company register, with the Inland Revenue Department's free Business Registration Number enquiry as the open identity check is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a Hong Kong company have?
Its Business Registration Number (8 digits plus a 3-digit branch suffix) and, for incorporated companies, a Companies Registry company number. Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Companies Registry Cyber Search Centre (ICRIS) for the company register, with the Inland Revenue Department's free Business Registration Number enquiry as the open identity check and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a Hong Kong supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the tell: a manufacturing code means a real maker, a wholesale or retail code means a trader. The company register itself is the Cyber Search Centre of the Companies Registry at https://www.icris.cr.gov.hk/ (checked live, 200). It is a browser application rather than an open lookup, and document copies are charged, so it is a human check, not a free machine-readable source.