Kia Orana

The Ministry of Justice is pleased to announce the commencement of the new Cook Islands Companies Act 2017 together with this online registry. The new Companies Act is part of a package of legislative reforms aimed at improving the business environment in the Cook Islands. The Personal Property Securities Act 2017 (PPSA) will help increase access to credit by making it easier to pledge movable assets to stand good for a loan. An extensive amendment to the Incorporated Societies Act 1994 will provide more transparency around our local societies. Additionally, there was a short 2021 amendment to the Companies Act.  All the new laws (plus the 2021 amendment) and regulations are available under the Law and Regulations tab.

All Cook Islands companies and overseas companies doing business in the Cook Islands were required to re-register under the new Act. The time to re-register has passed, and all companies that failed to re-register have been removed from active status in the register. Information about the consequences for failing to re-register and how you may bring your company back into compliance can be found on the Company Registry landing page.

All pre-existing transactions in which personal property stands good for a loan were required to be filed into the PPSA registry within the transition period, or August 6, 2020. Please visit the Personal Property Securities Registry for more information.