Correspondence Address Service

According to section 54 of the new Ordinance, a director's usual residential address and any person's full identification number ('protected information') will not be made available for public inspection.

For directors, the new Ordinance requires providing both a usual residential address and a correspondence address. Only the director's correspondence address will appear on the company register.

For personal identification numbers, certain digits will be masked, with only part of the identification number (e.g. A123***(*)) appearing on the company register for public inspection.

Given the large volume of existing records containing usual residential addresses and identification numbers, section 49 of the new Ordinance provides that information already on the company register will only be withheld from public inspection after the relevant person makes an application and pays a fee.

If a person's usual residential address is withheld from public inspection, the correspondence address provided by that person will replace the withheld address on the company register for public inspection.

According to sections 55 and 56 of the new Ordinance, if a director cannot be contacted at their correspondence address, the Registrar of Companies ('the Registrar') may, after considering representations from the relevant director and company, put the director's usual residential address on the company register as their correspondence address for public inspection. The Registrar's decision to put a director's usual residential address on the company register is valid for five years.

In addition, under sections 52 and 59, a creditor of the relevant company or any other person who has a sufficient interest may apply to the court for an order directing the Registrar to disclose withheld information or protected information to access the relevant information.