NZBN Register goes live

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NZBN Register goes live

The New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) Register is now live. Use the NZBN Register to search for a New Zealand company.

The New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) Register pulls authenticated business information from other sources into a central place. Anyone can use the NZBN Register to search for information about a business in New Zealand.

The Register currently contains information relating to all companies registered in New Zealand. By 2017 all businesses in New Zealand should be able to have NZBNs. This includes state sector entities, incorporated societies, charitable trusts and limited partnerships. If enabling legislation is passed, unincorporated entities will be added which includes sole traders, other partnerships and trusts.

Eventually, using a NZBN means that when businesses update their core business information (for example on the Companies Register if a registered company, in the NZBN Register, or with a government agency such as ACC or Inland Revenue), it will automatically update everywhere. Business owners don’t have to remember where the information is held or where to do it, just ‘do it once’. That means less admin and more business, enabling businesses to spend more time and effort on growing their business, and less effort on administration

Going live is the beginning of a new way for businesses to interact with government and it will provide opportunities for businesses to interact with each other in new innovative ways.

NZBN is a key initiative of the Better for Business programme, which focuses on reducing the costs to businesses of dealing with the government. Providing each business entity with a unique identifier for business-to-business and business-to-government transactions will make it easier to share information and develop new services focused on business needs rather than government functions.

The NZBN website will be updated over coming months to include further functionality such as the ability to update primary business data, watch list functionality and web services (also know as public applications programming interfaces or APIs).

For more information on the Bill you can view it on the New Zealand Legislation website.