NN10 中文法團名稱交付時限

註冊非香港公司 NN10 中文法團名稱交付時限：核心答案

對於已在香港註冊的非香港公司而言，若其在註冊後才在香港採納一個中文法團名稱，必須在採納該中文名稱後的1 個月內，向公司註冊處處長交付表格 NN10，並連同所需文件及費用。這一個月期限，就是「註冊非香港公司 NN10 中文法團名稱交付時限」的核心所在。根據公司註冊處《常見問題 — 註冊非香港公司 — 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱》的說明，此項交付須附上該公司註冊證明書或更改名稱證明書（或同等文件）有關部分的經核證中文譯本；有關部分須述明該公司的本土名稱、該證明書的性質，以及該證明書的發出日期，而譯本須按照《公司條例》第 4 條的規定予以核證。

這裡所說的「本土名稱」，按《公司條例》第 774(1) 條的定義，是指非香港公司在它成立為法團所在地方註冊所用的一個或多於一個名稱。換言之，NN10 的交付時限並非由公司在香港的營運安排或內部決策日期起算，而是由公司「採納」該中文法團名稱之時起算。實務上，這意味著採納中文名稱的日期本身，就是整個時限的起點，公司應在作出該決定時同步記錄日期，以免日後難以證明是否仍在一個月之內。

本文聚焦一個具體而常被忽略的決策角度：當一家非香港公司選擇在註冊之後、而非在最初註冊時一併登記中文法團名稱，其 NN10 交付時限如何運作，以及哪些文件與核證要求會直接影響這一個月窗口的可行性。文章不重述一般註冊流程，而是圍繞「採納後 1 個月」這一時限，說明其觸發條件、所需交付內容，以及規劃時應預留的準備工作。若公司擬在最初註冊時同時登記英文本土名稱及一個中文法團名稱，則屬另一種情形，須交付公司註冊證明書有關部分的經核證中文譯本，而非以 NN10 處理。

理解這條時限的實際意義，在於它把「名稱決定」與「文件交付」壓縮在同一個短窗口內。公司註冊處的資料顯示，NN10 須連同經核證譯本及費用一併交付，而譯本須依《公司條例》第 4 條核證。因此，任何擬在註冊後採納中文法團名稱的非香港公司，都應在作出採納決定之前，先確認能否在一個月內備妥符合核證要求的譯本，否則時限本身就會成為規劃上的約束。

誰應及早考慮 NN10 中文法團名稱交付時限，以及隨之而來的規劃決定

並非每一家註冊非香港公司都需要處理 NN10。若公司自註冊以來一直沒有採納中文法團名稱，就不會觸發這個一個月期限。真正需要及早規劃的，是那些「註冊後才決定加入中文名稱」的群體。常見情況包括：集團在港已有英文名稱的註冊非香港公司，其後因品牌統一、投標文件、銀行開戶或本地客戶溝通需要，而決定採納一個中文法團名稱；跨司法管轄區集團在不同市場使用不同語言名稱，需要把其中文名稱與香港註冊記錄對齊；以及母公司名稱本身已更改，連帶需要更新在港名稱記錄的集團。這些情況的共同點，是「採納」這個動作往往在內部會議或品牌決策中完成，卻未必即時反映在合規日程上。

規劃上的第一個決定，是確認時限的起算點。根據公司註冊處《常見問題 — 註冊非香港公司 — 註冊》所載，非香港公司須在香港設立營業地點後的一個月內申請註冊，並交付表格 NN1 及相關文件；而 NN10 所處理的是註冊後採納中文法團名稱的交付，其時限由採納該名稱之時起算。因此，公司應在作出採納決定的同一時間記錄日期，而非等到準備文件時才回推。第二個決定，是同步準備經核證的中文譯本：該公司註冊證明書或更改名稱證明書有關部分的譯本，須述明公司的本土名稱、證明書的性質及發出日期，並按《公司條例》第 4 條核證。第三個決定，是分清哪些文件屬 NN1 註冊階段、哪些屬 NN10 後續交付，避免把兩者的時限與文件清單混為一談。

對集團而言，還有一項常被忽略的決定：中文名稱的採用是否需要與其他市場的名稱變更同步，以免同一集團在不同註冊地出現名稱不一致。這屬於內部治理安排，並非《公司條例》的強制要求，但會影響文件準備的次序。若你正評估這類安排，可先整理採納日期、證明書文本及譯本核證基礎三項資料，再決定交付次序。

準備階段：在交付 NN10 前應先蒐集哪些資料

NN10 中文法團名稱交付時限的起算點是「採納」中文名稱之日，因此準備工作的重點，不是等到填表時才臨時找文件，而是把「採納決定」與「文件蒐集」放在同一條時間線上。公司註冊處《常見問題 — 註冊非香港公司 — 註冊》指出，非香港公司須在香港設立營業地點後的一個月內申請註冊，並交付表格 NN1 及相關文件；NN10 處理的則是註冊後採納中文法團名稱的交付，其時限由採納該名稱之時起算。兩者起算點不同，卻同樣以一個月為期，實務上宜分別記錄日期，避免混淆。

第一組：證明「採納日期」的內部記錄

由於時限由採納之日起算，最能保護公司的做法，是在董事會決議、品牌決策紀錄或集團名稱統一文件中，清楚載明採納中文法團名稱的日期。這類內部記錄並非公司註冊處表格的一部分，但當公司需要說明是否仍在一個月之內時，它是唯一能還原起算點的文件。建議同時保存決策當日的中文名稱定稿，以免日後出現「名稱曾修改」而難以對應的問題。

第二組：公司註冊證明書或更改名稱證明書的相關部分

根據公司註冊處《常見問題 — 註冊非香港公司 — 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱》，交付 NN10 時須附上該公司註冊證明書或更改名稱證明書（或同等文件）有關部分的經核證中文譯本；有關部分須述明該公司的本土名稱、該證明書的性質，以及該證明書的發出日期。這裡的「本土名稱」，按《公司條例》第 774(1) 條的定義，是指非香港公司在它成立為法團所在地方註冊所用的一個或多於一個名稱。因此，準備階段應先確認手上文件是否已包含上述三項要素，若缺少其中一項，譯本亦難以完整對應。

第三組：譯本核證安排

譯本須按照《公司條例》第 4 條的規定予以核證。這意味著準備工作應預留時間安排核證，而不是在期限臨近時才處理。公司宜先確認由誰負責核證、需要提供哪些文件正本或副本，以及譯本與原文的對應方式，再決定何時交付 NN10。把這三組資料在採納名稱的同一週內備妥，通常比在期限最後階段補救更為穩妥。

Step-by-Step: How the NN10 Delivery Window Is Managed in Practice

Once the adoption date and supporting documents are in hand, the remaining work is procedural. The steps below describe a practical sequence for managing the one-month window for delivering Form NN10 in respect of a Chinese corporate name adopted after registration. They do not replace the Registrar’s published guidance, and any step that depends on the particular facts of a company should be confirmed against that guidance or with a professional adviser.

Step 1: Fix the adoption date in writing

Because the window runs from the date the company adopts the Chinese corporate name, the first step is to record that date in an internal document — a board resolution, a brand decision record, or a group naming instruction. This record is not part of the form, but it is the reference point for judging whether delivery remains within the one-month period.

Step 2: Confirm the certified translation is in place

According to the Companies Registry’s FAQ on the corporate names of registered non-Hong Kong companies, the delivery must be accompanied by a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of the company’s certificate of incorporation or certificate of change of name (or equivalent document). That part must state the company’s home name, the nature of the certificate, and its date of issue, and the translation must be certified in accordance with section 4 of the Companies Ordinance. The “home name” is defined in section 774(1) of the Companies Ordinance as the name or names under which the non-Hong Kong company is registered in its place of incorporation.

Step 3: Assemble the form and fee, then deliver

With the adoption date recorded and the certified translation prepared, the company completes Form NN10 and delivers it to the Registrar together with the required documents and the correct fee. The Companies Registry’s guidance on registering a local limited company illustrates the Registry’s general acceptance of both electronic submission through its e-Services website and paper submission at the Revenue Collection counter, and the same delivery channels are relevant context when planning how Form NN10 will be filed.

Step 4: Keep the delivery record with the adoption record

After delivery, the company should retain the submission record alongside the internal adoption record. If a question later arises about whether the one-month window was observed, these two documents together allow the company to reconstruct the timeline without relying on memory.

For a fuller checklist covering the documents and decisions that feed into these steps, see our related resource on preparing for a non-Hong Kong company filing.

Document and Evidence Checklist for the NN10 Chinese Corporate Name Delivery Window

Because the one-month period for delivering Form NN10 runs from the date the company adopts a Chinese corporate name, the practical question is not only what to file, but what to keep. The checklist below groups the documents and records that support a defensible delivery position. It is a planning aid, not a substitute for the Registrar’s published guidance.

1. Evidence of the adoption date

This is the anchor document. Board minutes, a written resolution, a brand decision record or a group naming instruction that states the date the Chinese corporate name was adopted allows the company to reconstruct the start of the one-month window. Without it, the company may be unable to show whether delivery remains within time. Keep the finalised Chinese name alongside the record, so that later edits do not obscure which name was adopted and when.

2. The certificate of incorporation or change of name certificate

According to the Companies Registry’s Frequently Asked Questions — Registration of Non-Hong Kong Companies — Corporate Name of a Registered Non-Hong Kong Company, delivery of Form NN10 must be accompanied by a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of the company’s certificate of incorporation or change of name certificate (or equivalent document). That part must state the company’s corporate name, the nature of the certificate and its date of issue. Confirm early that the certificate on hand is the current one, since a superseded certificate will not describe the name the company now uses.

3. The certified Chinese translation

The translation is a separate deliverable with its own lead time. It must be certified in accordance with section 4 of the Companies Ordinance. Treat translation as a task on the critical path rather than an afterthought, because a delay here consumes the same one-month window as the filing itself.

4. Internal cross-references

Bank mandates, tender documents, signage and customer-facing materials that already use the Chinese name can corroborate the adoption date and the name adopted. They are supporting evidence, not filing documents, but they help align the compliance record with operational reality.

Why the categories matter

Category 1 fixes the deadline; categories 2 and 3 supply what the Registrar requires to be delivered; category 4 shows consistency. Together they turn a time-sensitive filing into a documented sequence rather than a scramble.

Realistic Scenarios That Test the NN10 Chinese Corporate Name Delivery Window

The one-month period for delivering Form NN10 is easiest to manage when the adoption of a Chinese corporate name is a single, clearly dated event. In practice, it rarely is. The scenarios below show where the delivery window is most often strained, and which decision points deserve attention before the clock is treated as settled.

Scenario 1: The name is adopted in a group branding decision

A regional group decides that its Hong Kong-registered non-Hong Kong company should carry a Chinese corporate name to match sister entities elsewhere. The decision is recorded in a branding paper, not a board minute. The adoption date is therefore arguable. The practical decision point is to fix one internal record as the adoption date and treat it consistently, rather than allowing several possible dates to circulate.

Scenario 2: The name changes after adoption but before delivery

If the Chinese name is revised during drafting, the company should decide which version it is adopting and when. A revised name adopted later may start a fresh one-month period, but only if the earlier adoption is properly documented. Without that record, the company cannot show which window applies.

Scenario 3: The certificate needs a certified Chinese translation

Where the company adopts both an English name and a Chinese corporate name, the Registrar’s guidance in 公司註冊處 — 常見問題 — 註冊非香港公司 — 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱 requires a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of the certificate of incorporation or change of name certificate, stating the company’s corporate name, the nature of the certificate and its date of issue, certified under section 4 of the Companies Ordinance. Translation lead time is a real constraint on the one-month window, so the decision point is whether to begin translation at the moment of adoption rather than after the name is finalised internally.

Scenario 4: The company also changes its registered English or Chinese translation name

The same Registrar guidance notes that where a company changes only its registered English or Chinese translation name, Form NN10 must be delivered within one month of the change, with a certified translation in the same language as the translation name. Groups coordinating names across jurisdictions should separate this trigger from the adoption trigger, because the two can run in parallel and each has its own one-month period.

Each scenario points to the same discipline: identify the event that starts the clock, record it, and align document preparation to that date.

Common Mistakes, Risk Controls and Practical Next Steps Around the NN10 Chinese Corporate Name Delivery Window

Most difficulties with the one-month period for delivering Form NN10 do not arise from the rule itself. They arise from how companies treat the adoption of a Chinese corporate name as a branding event rather than a dated compliance event. The Companies Registry FAQ 註冊非香港公司 – 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱 states that where a company adopts a Chinese corporate name after registration, it must deliver Form NN10 to the Registrar within one month of adoption, together with a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of its certificate of incorporation or change of name certificate, and the required fee. The following mistakes and controls follow from that structure.

Mistake 1: Treating the adoption date as informal

If the adoption date is not recorded, the start of the one-month period becomes a matter of reconstruction. Control: minute the adoption decision, or otherwise date the internal record on which the Chinese name is formally taken up, and keep the finalised Chinese name with it.

Mistake 2: Confusing the NN10 window with the registration window

The Companies Registry FAQ 註冊非香港公司 – 註冊 describes the one-month period for applying for registration after establishing a place of business in Hong Kong and delivering Form NN1. The NN10 period runs from adoption of the Chinese name. Control: keep two separate dated records rather than one combined compliance calendar entry.

Mistake 3: Leaving the certified translation to the end

The translation must cover the part of the certificate stating the company’s corporate name, the nature of the certificate and its date of issue, and must be certified in accordance with section 4 of the Companies Ordinance. Control: begin the translation at the same time as the adoption decision, not after the form is prepared.

Practical next steps

Confirm whether a Chinese corporate name has in fact been adopted; fix and document the adoption date; commission the certified translation; and prepare Form NN10 with the required fee for delivery within the month. Where the facts are unclear, verify them against the Registrar’s published guidance or take professional advice before relying on an assumed deadline.

Closing Perspective: Treating the NN10 Delivery Window as a Dated Compliance Event

The one-month period for delivering Form NN10 is short, but it is not unpredictable. The Companies Registry FAQ 註冊非香港公司 – 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱 anchors the clock to a single act: adopting a Chinese corporate name after registration in Hong Kong. Everything else — the certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of the certificate of incorporation or change of name certificate, the covering documents, the fee — is preparation that can be done in parallel once that date is recorded.

The practical discipline is therefore simple to state and easy to neglect: when a group decides on a Chinese corporate name for its Hong Kong-registered non-Hong Kong company, that decision should be logged the same day, with the finalised Chinese name attached. Companies that treat adoption as a branding milestone rather than a compliance trigger tend to discover the window only when they begin assembling documents, by which point the start date may be difficult to evidence. Companies that log the date first give themselves the full month to certify, translate and deliver.

Where the adoption date, the certified translation and the filing are managed on one timeline, the NN10 delivery window stops being a deadline to survive and becomes an ordinary administrative step. Where they are managed separately, the same one month becomes a source of avoidable pressure. The difference lies almost entirely in when the adoption date is written down.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the one-month NN10 delivery period actually begin?

It runs from the date the non-Hong Kong company adopts the Chinese corporate name in Hong Kong after registration, not from the date documents are prepared or the form is signed. Recording the adoption date at the time of the decision is the simplest way to show the window was respected.

What must accompany Form NN10 when a Chinese corporate name is adopted after registration?

According to the Companies Registry FAQ 註冊非香港公司 – 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱, the company must deliver Form NN10 with the required fee and a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of its certificate of incorporation or change of name certificate. That part must state the company’s local name, the nature of the certificate, and its date of issue, and the translation must be certified in accordance with section 4 of the Companies Ordinance.

Does the NN10 window apply to every registered non-Hong Kong company?

No. It is triggered only where a company adopts a Chinese corporate name after registration. A company that has never adopted one has no NN10 delivery obligation on that basis.

What happens if the company later changes only its registered English or Chinese name in Hong Kong?

The same FAQ states that where a company changes only its registered English or Chinese name, Form NN10 must be delivered within one month of the change, together with a certified translation in the same language as the changed name.

Where can the underlying requirements be verified?

The Companies Registry FAQ pages on registered non-Hong Kong companies and their corporate names set out the delivery requirements and the certification basis. Because filing practice and forms can be updated, confirm the current position against the Registry’s published guidance before relying on it.

Implementation Questions When the NN10 Clock and the NN1 Clock Run Together

Many non-Hong Kong companies do not adopt a Chinese corporate name in isolation. They register in Hong Kong, and at or around the same time they decide to use both an English name and a Chinese corporate name. That combination creates two distinct delivery obligations with two distinct starting points, and confusing them is one of the more practical ways a company loses track of the NN10 window.

Two obligations, two trigger dates

The Companies Registry FAQ 註冊非香港公司 – 註冊 states that under section 776 of the Companies Ordinance, a non-Hong Kong company must apply for registration as a registered non-Hong Kong company within one month after establishing a place of business in Hong Kong, delivering Form NN1 together with the specified documents. Separately, the FAQ 註冊非香港公司 – 註冊非香港公司的法團名稱 states that where a company intends to register an English name and a Chinese corporate name, it must deliver to the Registrar a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of its certificate of incorporation or equivalent document, in addition to the registration documents and fee. Where a company instead adopts a Chinese corporate name after registration, it must deliver Form NN10 within one month after adopting that name.

The decision angle here is simple: the NN1 one-month period runs from establishing a place of business, while the NN10 one-month period runs from adoption of the Chinese corporate name. A company that registers with both names at the outset is dealing with the translation requirement as part of registration, not with a later NN10 adoption. A company that registers with an English name only, and later adds a Chinese name, is squarely within the NN10 window. Recording which of these two situations applies is the first implementation question, because the answer determines which clock is running.

What the certified translation must show

For the adoption route, the FAQ describes the accompanying document as a certified Chinese translation of the relevant part of the company’s certificate of incorporation or certificate of change of name, or equivalent document. That relevant part must state the company’s corporate name, the nature of the certificate, and the date of issue of the certificate. The translation must be certified in accordance with section 4 of the Companies Ordinance. The same FAQ defines “corporate name” under section 774(1) as the name or names under which the non-Hong Kong company is registered in its place of incorporation.

Implementation-wise, this means the translation is not a free rendering of the whole certificate. It is a targeted translation of the part that carries those three elements. Companies that prepare a full-document translation without isolating the relevant part may still need to confirm that the required particulars are clearly identifiable within it.

Where the adoption date should be recorded

Because the NN10 period is measured from adoption, the internal record of that date carries more weight than it might appear. A board minute, a group naming decision, or a brand approval document that states the date on which the Chinese corporate name was adopted gives the company a defensible starting point. Without such a record, reconstructing the adoption date later is difficult, and the one-month window becomes hard to demonstrate.

This part does not restate the preparation checklist already covered earlier in the article. The narrower point is that the adoption date and the place-of-business date should be recorded separately, in the same compliance file, so that the NN1 and NN10 timelines are never merged into a single assumed deadline.

Choosing the next action

If the company has not yet adopted a Chinese corporate name, no NN10 obligation has been triggered, and the practical step is to decide whether a Chinese name is needed at all. If it has been adopted, the next action is to confirm the adoption date, confirm that the certified Chinese translation covers the required particulars, and prepare Form NN10 with the required documents and fee for delivery within one month. Where the facts are unclear, confirming the position against the Registrar’s published guidance, or with a professional adviser, is the safer course before treating the deadline as settled.