Company chop maker for Hong Kong

Hong Kong made the common seal optional under the Companies Ordinance in 2014, but the everyday company chop carrying the name and CR number remains standard on commercial paperwork.

Open the stamp maker

Hong Kong separates the formal seal from the everyday chop, and only the first one changed. The Companies Ordinance made the common seal optional in 2014, so a company can execute documents by director signature. The rubber company chop, used on invoices, letters and forms, was never a legal requirement and is as common as ever.

What a company stamp in Hong Kong usually carries

Why make it digitally

Questions

Does a Hong Kong company need a common seal?

No. The Companies Ordinance made it optional in 2014, and a company may execute documents by the signature of two directors, or a director and the company secretary, or a sole director. Check the articles, which may still provide for a seal.

What is the difference between a chop and a common seal?

The common seal is the formal instrument for executing documents. The company chop is the everyday inked mark identifying the company on invoices, letters and forms, and it carries no execution effect.

Should it be bilingual?

Usually. Hong Kong companies commonly register both an English and a Chinese name, and a chop carrying both saves keeping two.

This describes common commercial practice rather than giving legal advice, and practice changes. Where a specific document matters, check the requirement with the body receiving it.

Other countries