- A company chop is an everyday rubber stamp, not a Companies Ordinance instrument. It carries the registered name, and the Companies Registry has no step where you register one.
- No Hong Kong company must keep or use one. What became optional on 3 March 2014 was the common seal. Rubber stamps were never on the mandatory list.
- Stamping does not make a document bind the company. That turns on who had authority to act, not on whether red ink is present.
- Invoices and receipts must state the registered name, which isn’t the same as stamping them. Printed letterhead satisfies the rule.
- A Hong Kong rubber stamp cannot serve as a Mainland official seal. Those follow Mainland filing rules for a Mainland legal person.
- What is a company chop? An everyday rubber stamp, usually carrying the company’s registered name.
- Is it legally required? No. There’s no government-issued company-chop register.
- Does stamping make a document binding? No. The authority of the person signing or acting for the company is what matters.
- Should you get one? It can be useful if a bank, landlord, supplier, or counterparty asks for it.
A company chop in Hong Kong isn’t a legal requirement for a company, and there’s no Companies Registry process for registering one. What often causes confusion is the difference between an everyday rubber stamp, the statutory common seal, and official seals used by companies in Mainland China.
A chop can still be useful in practice. Banks, landlords, suppliers, and Mainland counterparties may ask for one as part of their own paperwork processes. But stamping a document doesn’t, by itself, make it legally binding.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- What a company chop is and how it differs from a common seal
- Why stamping a document doesn’t make it binding
- When businesses may still ask for a chop
- Whether you need to register a chop with the government
- Whether a Hong Kong chop can satisfy a Mainland counterparty
- How company secretarial support fits into signing arrangements
What is a company chop in Hong Kong?
A company chop is an everyday rubber stamp used on company paperwork, usually bearing the registered name. Common uses include invoices, delivery notes, and internal approvals.
A chop can look like a company signature, but legally it isn’t. The stamp simply leaves an impression on the document; authority to act for the company belongs to the people authorised to do so.
A company chop also isn’t part of the company’s incorporation requirements. A Hong Kong company needs to complete its registration and maintain the required company secretary and other corporate records, but there’s no incorporation step for obtaining a rubber stamp.
How does a company chop differ from a common seal?
A company chop is an everyday rubber stamp. A common seal is a separate statutory instrument, usually a metal embosser. The two are often confused, but they serve different purposes.
Instrument | What it usually means | Legal status |
Company chop | Everyday rubber stamp for invoices, delivery notes, and internal approvals | Commercial practice; not required by the Companies Ordinance |
Common seal | Statutory execution instrument, typically a metal embosser | Keeping and use became optional from 3 March 2014 |
Steel seal | Colloquial term generally referring to the metal embosser | Not a synonym for an everyday company chop |
If a bank form or invoice asks for a rubber stamp, that’s a company-chop question. If someone asks for a common seal or for a document to be executed as a deed, that’s a different issue with different rules.
Does Hong Kong law require a company chop?
No. Hong Kong law doesn’t require every company to obtain or use a rubber chop, and the Companies Registry doesn’t maintain a register of them.
The 2014 reform that’s often associated with company stamps actually concerned the common seal. The Companies Ordinance made keeping and using a common seal optional with effect from 3 March 2014. Rubber company chops were never part of that mandatory requirement.
There is, however, a separate legal requirement concerning the company’s registered name. Under the Companies (Disclosure of Company Name and Liability Status) Regulation, a company must state its registered name in legible characters on specified communication documents and transaction instruments, including invoices and receipts.
The requirement is to state the registered name, not to stamp it. Printed letterhead or an electronic header can satisfy that requirement.
Does stamping a document make it legally binding?
No. A company chop doesn’t, by itself, make a document legally binding. Whether a document binds the company depends on the authority of the person acting for it and the applicable corporate and contractual rules.
For example:
- A properly authorised director can bind the company without using a stamp.
- An unauthorised employee doesn’t gain authority simply by stamping a document.
- The presence of red ink doesn’t establish who had authority to approve or sign the document.
The same applies to a digital image of a chop. Adding an image of a stamp to a PDF isn’t automatically equivalent to stamping the original document, and it isn’t automatically a valid electronic signature either. Acceptance depends on the circumstances and the other party’s requirements.
If the stamp lives in a drawer at reception, anyone walking past can put the company's name on a document. Who may stamp, which documents they may stamp, and whether a signature is still needed on top, belongs in a written internal process. Sorting that out afterwards, once a disputed document already carries your ink, is considerably harder.
Who still asks for a company chop in practice?
Some banks, landlords, suppliers, and Mainland counterparties may still ask for a company chop. This generally reflects their own procedures rather than a Companies Ordinance requirement.
Common situations include:
- Banking: account-opening forms or changes to authorised signatories
- Leases: older forms that still include a space for a stamp
- Mainland transactions: counterparties accustomed to using company seals
There isn’t a reliable figure for how many organisations require chops, so quoted percentages should be treated cautiously.
If a counterparty does require one, have the stamp made using the company’s registered name and confirm which authorised signatories also need to sign. If you’re opening a business bank account, it’s worth asking the bank in advance whether it wants a rubber stamp or a common seal.
Do you register a company chop with the government?
No. You normally order a company chop from a commercial stamp or print shop, and there’s no government registration process for it.
There’s also no prescribed statutory size, colour, diameter, or shape for an everyday company chop. Those details are generally determined by the supplier.
The important point is that the stamp should carry the company’s correct registered name. A business registration number doesn’t have to appear on the chop.
What if the chop is lost?
There’s no Companies Registry form for reporting a lost company chop because the chop isn’t registered there. Practical steps include stopping use of the old impression, notifying your bank and relevant counterparties, replacing the stamp, and reviewing who has access to it.
There's no Companies Registry form for reporting a lost chop, because there's nothing on file to amend. If one goes missing: stop using the old impression, tell your bank and your regular counterparties, have a replacement carved with the same registered name, and change who holds it. Don't wait for a government process that doesn't exist.
Can a Hong Kong rubber stamp replace a Mainland official seal?
No. A Hong Kong company chop isn’t the same thing as a Mainland Chinese company’s official seal. A Mainland official seal follows Mainland filing and regulatory requirements and belongs to a Mainland legal entity.
If a Mainland counterparty asks for a company seal, first establish exactly what it needs. It may accept a Hong Kong company’s chop together with a director’s signature, or it may be asking for something that requires a Mainland entity.
A different stamp won’t solve an underlying question about which legal entity should be contracting.
What mistakes do first-time company-chop users make?
The most common mistakes involve confusing the instrument, the effect of stamping, or the jurisdiction.
Confusing a company chop with a common seal
If a counterparty asks for a common seal and you use an ordinary rubber stamp instead, the document may not meet its requirements. Ask which instrument is actually required before stamping.
Assuming a stamped contract is automatically binding
A stamp doesn’t establish an offer, acceptance, or authority. The relevant question is whether the person signing or acting for the company had the necessary authority.
Treating a Hong Kong chop as a Mainland seal
A Hong Kong rubber stamp doesn’t become a Mainland official seal simply because a Mainland counterparty asks for one. If a filing or official seal is required, the issue may concern the legal entity and applicable Mainland requirements rather than the stamp itself.
How Sleek helps with signing arrangements
The rubber stamp itself is a commercial item; the more important corporate issue is who’s authorised to act for the company and how that authority is documented.
Depending on the service scope, Sleek can support areas such as:
- Identifying the right instrument: distinguishing an everyday rubber stamp from a common seal or other execution requirement
- Maintaining signing records: documenting resolutions and authorised signatories in line with the company’s corporate records
- Keeping the registered name consistent: ensuring the company name used on documents and the stamp matches the registered name
- Separating Hong Kong and Mainland requirements: treating company stamping and Mainland entity requirements as separate issues
Sleek doesn’t manufacture or order the company chop itself.
450,000
businesses worldwide.
from 4,100+ reviews.
satisfaction rate from
16,000 surveyed clients.
FAQs about company chops in Hong Kong
Use the company’s registered name. A company may have an English name, a Chinese name, or both, and where both are registered, the Companies Registry confirms that either may be stated on its documents.
Not as the company’s chop. A limited company is a separate legal person with its own registered name, so a stamp carrying the former business name won’t match the company’s registration details.
You should stop using it and replace it with one showing the current registered name. The same update should be made to letterhead and other templates used for company documents.
No. Electronic filings are made through the specified forms and authorised filing process. Adding a chop impression to a PDF doesn’t substitute for the required electronic filing.
Ask the bank whether it means a rubber stamp or a common seal, and confirm which authorised signatories must sign. Some banks may accept alternative documentation or signatures; others may require their prescribed form to be followed.
View more
No. Hong Kong doesn’t have a government registration system for everyday company chops, so there’s no corresponding Hong Kong filing certificate. If the client requires a filed Mainland official seal, that’s a Mainland entity and regulatory question rather than a stamping issue.
A chop still isn’t a substitute for authorised signing. If staff members are allowed to use the stamp, the company should clearly define which documents they can stamp and who has authority to approve or sign them.
No. A stamp shop can manufacture the stamp without a company secretary. The company secretary’s role concerns corporate administration, statutory records, and related compliance — not the manufacture of the rubber stamp.
