Register a Limited Partnership

Registering a Limited Partnership is as simple as completing the application form which includes certification by the General Partner or their Agent that the partnership agreement complies with the legislation and paying a registration fee.

Application for registration

Apply to register a Limited Partnership by completing the prescribed form (Form LP1) and sending it to:

Companies Office
Private Bag 92061
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142

• Download Form LP1 Application for Registration of a Limited Partnership [173 KB PDF]
  Updated 1 July 2017

The application form requires the following information to be given:

• The proposed name of the Limited Partnership
• The certification from a general partner/agent that the partnership agreement complies with the Limited Partnerships Act
• Details of its registered office, address for service, postal address and email address
• Details of the General Partners, one of whom must live in New Zealand or Australia. Directors who live in Australia must also be a director of an Australian company.
• Details of the Limited Partners
• Full name, postal address, email address, telephone number and facsimile of the presenter.

Note | Limited Partners details will not be made publicly available on the Limited Partnerships Register.

Each application must also be accompanied by:

• A prescribed form of consent signed by every General Partner or that person’s agent authorised to do so in writing, consenting to be a General Partner
• A fee of $267.25 (Your payment options are outlined on the form).

• Download Form LP5 Consent form for General Partner [65 KB PDF]
  Updated 1 September 2014

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What you need to include in your application

The information below explains more about what you will need to supply to register a Limited Partnership. 

Proposed name

The name of the Limited Partnership must include the words 'Limited Partnership' or the abbreviation 'LP' or 'L.P.' at the end of the name.

The Registrar must not register a Limited Partnership with a name –

1. the use of which would contravene an enactment; or
2. that is identical to, or almost identical to, the name of a company registered under the Companies Act 1993 or another Limited Partnership or an Overseas Limited Partnership registered under this Act; or
3. that, in the Registrar’s opinion, is offensive

Before you lodge your application for registration the Registrar strongly recommends that you conduct a free search to ensure that your chosen name is not identical or almost identical to the name of a company, Limited Partnership or Overseas Limited Partnership that already exists on the Register.  This will avoid delays in registration.

How do you check that a name is not already being used?

• Search the ‘Companies Register’
• Search the ‘Other Registers’

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Certification by General Partner/Agent

The General Partner/Agent must certify that the proposed partners of the Limited Partnership have entered into a partnership agreement and that it complies with the Limited Partnership Act 2008.

Limited Partnership addresses

A Limited Partnership must have:

• a registered office address,
• an address for service,
• a postal address, and
• an email address.

All of these address types are mandatory.

The registered office address and address for service must be physical addresses in New Zealand ie they cannot be a Private Bag, DX or a 'virtual office' (that is a mail/message collection point).  If the registered office and address for service is at the offices of any firm of chartered accountants or lawyers, or at the offices of any other person then full particulars are required eg name of firm including any particulars of the location in any building, etc.

The postal address may be either a postal address or residential address.

Note | The registered office address and the address for service may be the same address.

Certificate of Registration

The Registrar must issue a Certificate of Registration to the presenter of the application confirming that the Limited Partnership has been registered.