Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Companies Act 1993

Incorporation - Method of incorporation

14: Certificate of incorporation

You could also call this:

“Official document proving a company's legal existence”

When a company is created, it gets a special document called a certificate of incorporation. This certificate is very important because it proves two things:

Firstly, it shows that the company has followed all the rules in the law about setting up a new company. These rules are written in section 13 of the Companies Act.

Secondly, the certificate tells you the exact date when the company officially became a real company under the law. From that date onwards, the company exists as a legal entity.

You can trust this certificate completely. It’s the strongest proof that a company has been properly set up and is now operating under the Companies Act 1993.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM320113.

Topics:
Business > Starting a business
Business > Industry rules
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13: Registration, or

“How to officially create and register a new company”

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15: Separate legal personality, or

“Companies are separate legal entities from their owners”

Part 2 Incorporation
Method of incorporation

14Certificate of incorporation

  1. A certificate of incorporation of a company issued under section 13 is conclusive evidence that—

  2. all the requirements of this Act as to registration have been complied with; and
    1. on and from the date of incorporation stated in the certificate, the company is incorporated under this Act.