NZ Companies Office Search

Search the New Zealand Companies Register and NZBN Register via the official NZBN v5 API. Retrieve structured company data including company numbers, registered addresses, active directors, shareholders, trading names, industry classifications, and GST numbers -- all in a single automated run. Returns up to 100 results per execution with filtering by entity type and registration status.

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Why use NZ Companies Office?

Manually searching the NZ Companies Office website one entity at a time is tedious and does not scale. This actor automates the entire process -- enter a company name, NZBN, or keyword and receive up to 100 fully detailed company records in structured JSON, ready for export to CSV, Excel, or direct integration into your data pipeline.

The actor connects to the official NZBN v5 API maintained by the NZ Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE). This is the same authoritative government data source that powers the Companies Office website. Every record includes the company number, NZBN, directors, shareholders, registered address, trading names, industry classifications, and GST information -- data you would otherwise need to click through dozens of pages to collect.

Running on Apify gives you scheduling, webhooks, API access, and integrations with tools like Zapier, Make, and Google Sheets out of the box. You do not need to manage servers or worry about rate limits -- the actor handles pagination, throttling, and retries automatically.

The NZBN API key is completely free. Register at the NZ Business API portal, subscribe to the NZBN product, and you are ready to go. Combined with Apify's free tier, you can run hundreds of searches per month at zero cost.

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Key features

• Official government data -- queries the NZBN v5 API maintained by MBIE, the same source behind the Companies Office website
• Comprehensive entity records -- returns company number, NZBN, status, entity type, incorporation date, registered address, directors, shareholders, trading names, industry classifications, GST numbers, and annual return filing month
• Director and shareholder extraction -- automatically identifies active directors and shareholders (filters out historical roles with end dates) with full names and appointment dates
• Entity type filtering -- narrow results to NZ Limited Companies, Unlimited Companies, Co-operatives, Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trading Trusts, Charitable Trusts, Incorporated Societies, Limited Partnerships, or Overseas Companies
• Status filtering -- search only registered (active) entities or removed (deregistered) entities
• Automatic pagination -- seamlessly fetches multiple pages of search results, up to 100 entities per run
• Built-in rate limit handling -- detects HTTP 429 responses and automatically waits and retries, with 200ms delays between detail requests to stay within API limits
• Direct register links -- every result includes clickable URLs to both the Companies Office page and the NZBN Register entry
• Demo mode -- runs without an API key to show what to expect, with step-by-step instructions for obtaining a free key
• Structured export -- clean JSON output ready for CSV, Excel, Google Sheets, or downstream processing via the Apify API

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How to use

Using the Apify Console

1. Navigate to the NZ Companies Office Search actor page on Apify.
2. Click Start to open the input form.
3. Enter your search query -- a company name (e.g., "Air New Zealand"), NZBN number, or keyword.
4. Optionally select an Entity Type filter (e.g., "NZ Limited Company") and an Entity Status filter (e.g., "Registered").
5. Set the Max Results to control how many entities to return (1--100, default 25).
6. Paste your NZBN API Key into the API Key field. If you do not have one yet, visit portal.api.business.govt.nz to register for free.
7. Click Start and wait for the run to complete.
8. Download your results from the Dataset tab as JSON, CSV, or Excel.

Using the API

Call the actor programmatically using the Apify API. Replace YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN with your Apify API token and YOUR_NZBN_KEY with your NZBN subscription key:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/ryanclinton~nz-companies-search/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "Fisher Paykel",
    "entityType": "LTD",
    "entityStatus": "registered",
    "maxResults": 10,
    "apiKey": "YOUR_NZBN_KEY"
  }'

The response includes a defaultDatasetId you can use to retrieve results:

$curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/DATASET_ID/items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN&format=json"

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Input parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
query	String	Yes	--	Company name, NZBN number, or keyword to search for
entityType	String	No	All Types	Filter by entity type: LTD (Limited), ULTD (Unlimited), COOP (Co-operative), ASIC (Overseas ASIC), NON_ASIC (Overseas Non-ASIC), Sole_Trader, Partnership, Trading_Trust, T (Charitable Trust), I (Incorporated Society), Y (NZ Limited Partnership), Z (Overseas Limited Partnership)
entityStatus	String	No	All Statuses	Filter by registration status: registered or removed
maxResults	Integer	No	25	Maximum number of entities to return (1--100)
apiKey	String	No	--	NZBN API subscription key from the NZ Business API portal. Free to obtain. Without a key, the actor runs in demo mode.

Example input:

{
    "query": "Air New Zealand",
    "entityType": "LTD",
    "entityStatus": "registered",
    "maxResults": 10,
    "apiKey": "your-nzbn-subscription-key"
}

Tips:

• Use specific company names for precise results -- "Fisher & Paykel Healthcare" returns more relevant matches than just "healthcare".
• Enter a 13-digit NZBN number directly as the query to look up a specific entity.
• Start with the default 25 results to test your query before scaling up to 100.

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Output

Each entity in the output dataset contains a detailed record. Here is a realistic example:

{
    "companyNumber": "118533",
    "nzbn": "9429039098788",
    "companyName": "AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED",
    "tradingNames": ["Air NZ", "Air New Zealand"],
    "status": "Registered",
    "statusCode": "50",
    "entityType": "NZ Limited Company",
    "entityTypeCode": "LTD",
    "incorporationDate": "1940-04-26",
    "address": "185 Fanshawe Street, Auckland Central, Auckland, 1010",
    "registeredAddress": {
        "careOf": "",
        "line1": "185 Fanshawe Street",
        "line2": "Auckland Central",
        "line3": "Auckland",
        "line4": "",
        "postCode": "1010",
        "countryCode": "NZ"
    },
    "directors": [
        {
            "name": "Greg Foran",
            "role": "Director",
            "startDate": "2020-01-01"
        },
        {
            "name": "Therese Walsh",
            "role": "Director",
            "startDate": "2016-10-01"
        }
    ],
    "shareholders": [
        {
            "name": "NZ GOVERNMENT",
            "role": "Shareholder",
            "startDate": "1989-04-01"
        }
    ],
    "industryClassification": "Air and Space Transport",
    "industryClassifications": [
        {
            "code": "4900",
            "description": "Air and Space Transport"
        }
    ],
    "annualReturnFilingMonth": 6,
    "gstNumber": "52-108-789",
    "companiesOfficeUrl": "https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/118533",
    "nzbnRegisterUrl": "https://www.nzbn.govt.nz/mynzbn/nzbndetails/9429039098788",
    "extractedAt": "2025-01-15T08:30:00.000Z"
}

Field	Type	Description
companyNumber	String	NZ Companies Office registration number (sourceRegisterUniqueIdentifier)
nzbn	String	13-digit New Zealand Business Number
companyName	String	Official registered entity name
tradingNames	String[]	List of active trading names (historical names with end dates are excluded)
status	String	Human-readable registration status (e.g., "Registered", "Removed")
statusCode	String	NZBN status code
entityType	String	Human-readable entity type (e.g., "NZ Limited Company", "Sole Trader")
entityTypeCode	String	NZBN entity type code (e.g., "LTD", "Sole_Trader")
incorporationDate	String	Date the entity was registered (ISO format)
address	String	Formatted registered address as a single string
registeredAddress	Object	Structured address with careOf, line1--line4, postCode, and countryCode
directors	Object[]	Active directors with name, role, and startDate (historical directors excluded)
shareholders	Object[]	Active shareholders with name, role, and startDate (historical shareholders excluded)
industryClassification	String	Combined industry classification descriptions
industryClassifications	Object[]	Array of industry codes and descriptions from the ANZSIC classification
annualReturnFilingMonth	Number	Month number for annual return filing (1--12), or null if not set
gstNumber	String	GST registration number, or empty string if not registered
companiesOfficeUrl	String	Direct URL to the entity's page on the NZ Companies Office website
nzbnRegisterUrl	String	Direct URL to the entity's page on the NZBN Register
extractedAt	String	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the data was extracted

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Use cases

• Due diligence -- verify a company's registration status, directors, shareholders, and registered address before entering a business relationship
• Lead generation -- build targeted lists of NZ companies by industry, entity type, or keyword for B2B outreach campaigns
• KYC and compliance -- confirm company details, director names, and GST registration numbers as part of Know Your Customer processes
• Competitor monitoring -- search for companies in your industry and track new registrations or deregistrations over time with scheduled runs
• Corporate research -- map out ownership structures by examining shareholder records across multiple related entities
• Accounting and tax -- retrieve GST numbers, annual return filing months, and company numbers for client verification and tax preparation
• Trans-Tasman business intelligence -- combine with the Australia ABN Lookup actor to research companies operating across both New Zealand and Australia
• Legal and regulatory -- obtain official company data for litigation preparation, regulatory filings, or corporate governance reviews
• Data enrichment -- feed company records into CRM systems, spreadsheets, or databases to enrich existing business contact lists with official register data

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API & integration

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

run_input = {
    "query": "Fonterra",
    "entityType": "LTD",
    "entityStatus": "registered",
    "maxResults": 10,
    "apiKey": "YOUR_NZBN_KEY",
}

run = client.actor("ryanclinton/nz-companies-search").call(run_input=run_input)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{item['companyName']} - {item['nzbn']} - Directors: {len(item['directors'])}")

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('ryanclinton/nz-companies-search').call({
    query: 'Xero',
    entityType: 'LTD',
    entityStatus: 'registered',
    maxResults: 5,
    apiKey: 'YOUR_NZBN_KEY',
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.log(`${item.companyName} | ${item.nzbn} | ${item.address}`);
});

cURL

# Start the actor run
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/ryanclinton~nz-companies-search/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "Rocket Lab",
    "entityType": "LTD",
    "maxResults": 5,
    "apiKey": "YOUR_NZBN_KEY"
  }'

# Retrieve results (replace DATASET_ID from the run response)
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/DATASET_ID/items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN&format=json"

# Or download as CSV
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/DATASET_ID/items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN&format=csv"

This actor also integrates with Zapier, Make (Integromat), Google Sheets, Slack, and any platform that supports REST APIs or webhooks. Use Apify's built-in integrations to trigger runs on a schedule or forward results to downstream systems automatically.

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How it works

1. Input validation -- the actor checks that a search query is provided. If no NZBN API key is supplied, it runs in demo mode and returns instructions for obtaining a free key.
2. Search request -- the actor sends a paginated search request to the NZBN v5 API at https://api.business.govt.nz/gateway/nzbn/v5/entities with your query, optional entity type and status filters, and a page size of up to 50 results per page.
3. Detail enrichment -- for each entity returned by the search, the actor makes an additional API call to the /entities/{nzbn} detail endpoint to retrieve the full record including directors, shareholders, addresses, trading names, industry classifications, and GST numbers.
4. Data transformation -- raw API responses are transformed into clean, consistent output records. Active addresses (no end date, preferring REGISTERED type) are extracted. Only current directors and shareholders (no end date) are included. Trading names are filtered to active ones only.
5. Pagination and throttling -- the actor continues fetching pages until it reaches your maxResults limit or runs out of search results. A 200ms delay is applied between detail requests, and HTTP 429 rate limit responses trigger an automatic 5-second wait before retry.
6. Output -- all transformed records are pushed to the Apify dataset, where they can be downloaded as JSON, CSV, Excel, or accessed via the Apify API.

+------------------+     +-------------------+     +-------------------+
|   Search Query   | --> | NZBN v5 Search    | --> | Paginated Results |
|   + Filters      |     | /entities?search  |     | (50 per page)     |
+------------------+     +-------------------+     +-------------------+
                                                           |
                                                           v
                                                   +-------------------+
                                                   | For each entity:  |
                                                   | GET /entities/{n} |
                                                   | (200ms delay)     |
                                                   +-------------------+
                                                           |
                                                           v
                                                   +-------------------+
                                                   | Transform:        |
                                                   | - Active addrs    |
                                                   | - Directors       |
                                                   | - Shareholders    |
                                                   | - Trading names   |
                                                   | - GST numbers     |
                                                   +-------------------+
                                                           |
                                                           v
                                                   +-------------------+
                                                   | Apify Dataset     |
                                                   | JSON/CSV/Excel    |
                                                   +-------------------+

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Performance & cost

Metric	Details
Memory	256 MB (lightweight API-only actor, no browser required)
Speed	~25 entities in 15--30 seconds (depends on API response times and detail enrichment)
Max results per run	100 entities
Cost per run	Approximately $0.001--$0.005 on Apify's platform for a typical 25-entity run
NZBN API cost	Free -- the NZ Government provides the API at no charge
Rate limiting	Handled automatically -- 200ms delay between detail calls, 5-second wait on HTTP 429

The actor is efficient enough to run on Apify's free tier. The $5 monthly credit included with the free plan supports hundreds of runs. Even at the maximum of 100 entities per run with daily scheduling, monthly costs remain well under $1.

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Limitations

• API key required -- a free NZBN API subscription key is mandatory for real searches. Without one, the actor only returns demo mode instructions.
• Maximum 100 results per run -- the actor caps output at 100 entities per execution. For larger datasets, run multiple searches with different queries or filters.
• NZBN API rate limits -- the government API enforces rate limits. While the actor handles retries automatically, very large or rapid successive runs may experience delays.
• Data freshness depends on the register -- the actor returns real-time data from the NZBN API, but the underlying register data is only as current as company filings submitted to the Companies Office.
• Search is keyword-based -- the NZBN API performs keyword matching, not fuzzy or semantic search. Misspelled company names may return no results.
• Director and shareholder data availability -- not all entity types (e.g., Sole Traders, some Trusts) have director or shareholder records in the register.
• No historical data -- the actor filters to active (current) addresses, directors, shareholders, and trading names only. Historical records with end dates are excluded from the output.

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Responsible use

• Respect the NZBN API terms of service -- the API is provided free by the NZ Government for legitimate use. Do not use it for excessive automated scraping beyond reasonable research and business needs.
• Comply with the NZ Privacy Act 2020 -- company register data may include personal information (director names and addresses). Handle this data in accordance with New Zealand privacy law and your own jurisdiction's data protection regulations.
• Use reasonable request volumes -- the actor includes built-in rate limiting (200ms delays between requests), but avoid scheduling unnecessarily frequent runs that could burden the government API.
• Do not redistribute raw register data commercially -- while the data is publicly accessible, bulk redistribution may be subject to the NZBN API's terms of use. Check the portal's terms before publishing extracted data.
• Attribute the data source -- when presenting NZ company data in reports or applications, credit the NZ Companies Office and NZBN Register as the authoritative source.

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FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key to use this actor? A: Yes, a free NZBN API subscription key is required for live searches. Without one, the actor runs in demo mode and provides step-by-step instructions for registering at portal.api.business.govt.nz.

Q: Is the NZBN API free? A: Yes. The NZ Government provides the NZBN API at no cost. You only need to create an account on the API portal and subscribe to the NZBN product to receive your subscription key.

Q: How do I get an NZBN API key? A: Visit portal.api.business.govt.nz, create an account, log in, subscribe to the NZBN API (free tier), and copy the Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key value from your subscription details. Paste it into the actor's API Key field.

Q: What entity types can I search for? A: The actor supports all entity types in the NZBN Register: NZ Limited Companies (LTD), Unlimited Companies (ULTD), Co-operative Companies (COOP), Overseas ASIC Companies, Overseas Non-ASIC Companies, Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trading Trusts, Charitable Trusts, Incorporated Societies, NZ Limited Partnerships, and Overseas Limited Partnerships.

Q: Can I search by NZBN number directly? A: Yes. Enter a 13-digit NZBN number (e.g., "9429039098788") as the search query to look up a specific entity.

Q: How current is the data? A: The data is fetched in real time from the NZBN API. It reflects the latest information filed with the NZ Companies Office at the time of your search.

Q: What happens if the API rate limits my requests? A: The actor handles rate limiting automatically. When it receives an HTTP 429 response, it waits 5 seconds before retrying. It also applies a 200ms delay between individual entity detail requests to minimize the chance of hitting rate limits.

Q: Does the actor return historical directors and shareholders? A: No. The actor filters to active roles only -- directors and shareholders whose records have no end date. Historical appointments that have been terminated are excluded from the output.

Q: Can I export the results as CSV or Excel? A: Yes. After the run completes, go to the Dataset tab and click Export to download results in JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS format. You can also retrieve any format via the API by appending &format=csv or &format=xlsx to the dataset items endpoint.

Q: How do I schedule recurring searches? A: On the actor's page in the Apify Console, click the Schedules tab and create a new schedule. Set your desired frequency (daily, weekly, hourly) and the input parameters. The actor will run automatically and you can set up webhooks or integrations to be notified when new data is available.

Q: What is the difference between the Companies Office number and the NZBN? A: The company number (e.g., "118533") is the registration number assigned by the NZ Companies Office. The NZBN (e.g., "9429039098788") is the 13-digit New Zealand Business Number assigned to all registered business entities. Both are included in every output record along with direct links to their respective register pages.

Q: Can I use this actor with other Apify actors in a pipeline? A: Yes. You can chain this actor with other actors using Apify webhooks, the Apify API, or orchestration tools like Zapier and Make. For example, use this actor to find NZ companies, then feed the results into a website contact scraper or email finder for lead generation.

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Related actors

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Canada Corporation Search	Search the Canadian federal corporations database by name or corporation number	ryanclinton/canada-corporation-search
OpenCorporates Search	Search the world's largest open database of companies across 140+ jurisdictions	ryanclinton/opencorporates-search
GLEIF LEI Lookup	Look up Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) for global entity identification and verification	ryanclinton/gleif-lei-lookup