- Most corporate training businesses in Hong Kong set up as a private limited company.
- Teaching 20+ people a day or 8+ at once can meet the Education Ordinance school test.
- Check with the Education Bureau before you open a venue or run public classes.
- Government fees to incorporate online start at HK$3,895, including business registration.
Forming the company is the easy part when you set up a training centre in Hong Kong. The rule that catches trainers out is the Education Ordinance: teach 20 people in a day, or 8 at once, and your courses can count as a school.
Most founders incorporate their training company as a private limited company, then check with the Education Bureau (EDB) before they sign a lease or run public classes. This guide is for founders who sell training, not for companies hiring a trainer.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- How your training model changes what you need to check
- When the Education Ordinance’s school rules apply
- Which structure and address to use
- What it costs to start
- How to hire trainers and win your first clients
How do you set up a corporate training company in Hong Kong?
Five steps. Do them in this order, because how you teach decides whether school registration applies, and that can affect where you can operate.
- Decide how you’ll teach: at clients’ offices, in your own venue, online, or through accredited courses.
- Check whether you need school registration: ask the Education Bureau (EDB) whether your courses count as a school before you sign a lease. If they do, your premises must also meet the EDB’s requirements.
- Choose a structure: a sole proprietorship, or a private limited company if you want to limit your personal liability or contract with larger clients.
- Sort out your address and venue: a registered office address for the company, plus a physical space if you teach in person.
- Register and set up: incorporate the company, get a business registration certificate, and set up bookkeeping, plus payroll once you hire.
Which kind of training business are you starting?
How you deliver training decides what you need to set up. Many businesses mix models, so read each one that applies.
In-house training at client offices
- Premises: none of your own.
- School registration: unclear for sessions at client sites; ask the EDB.
- Also sort out: training contracts, professional indemnity insurance, clients’ vendor onboarding.
Public classes at your own venue
- Premises: a venue that works as a classroom.
- School registration: most likely to apply, so check before you sign a lease.
- Also sort out: public liability insurance, booking and refund terms for learners.
Online-only courses
- Premises: none needed.
- School registration: not automatically excluded; the definition covers courses “by any means”.
- Also sort out: platform and payments, and handling learners’ data under the PDPO.
Accredited or government-funded courses
- Premises and registration: as for your delivery model above.
- Also sort out: the accrediting or funding body’s approval, which can take months.
Courses leading to an overseas qualification
- Premises and registration: as for your delivery model above.
- Also sort out: registration or exemption under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493).
A guide to what to check, not a legal answer. The EDB hasn’t published how the school definition applies to each model.
Do you need to register with the Education Bureau?
Possibly. If you teach 20 or more people in a day, or 8 or more at any one time, your training can count as a school under the Education Ordinance and need registering with the Education Bureau (EDB), unless the EDB exempts you. For a training company, the licence question is really a school registration question.
What counts as a school?
Section 3(1) of the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279) defines a school as:
“an institution, organization or establishment which provides for 20 or more persons during any one day or 8 or more persons at any one time”
- Any kind of education counts: including “any other educational course by any means”.
- Registration is required: section 10(1) says every school “shall be registered or provisionally registered”.
- No carve-out for corporate training: neither the Ordinance nor the EDB’s definition of a school (revised 17 July 2026) excludes training businesses as a category.
Can you be exempted?
- By written order: under section 9(5), the Permanent Secretary for Education may exempt a school that provides only a series of lectures, a course in one subject, or less than 10 hours of academic instruction a week. It isn’t automatic; you have to ask the EDB.
- Lighter rules, not no rules: since 1 July 2004, an exemption order for non-formal curriculum schools relaxes some requirements, such as those on fees and hours of instruction, for private schools that meet its conditions. These schools still have to register.
How does school registration work?
Several departments check your application, and most of the work is about the premises, according to the EDB’s registration FAQ:
- Site suitability: the Planning Department and Lands Department confirm the premises don’t breach town planning or lease conditions.
- Safety: the Fire Services Department and Buildings Department inspect the premises and issue certificates once their requirements are met.
- The school itself: you file forms for the school, its managers and fee collection, and the EDB approves once all the documents are in order.
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Departments send their initial requirements | 20 to 22 working days |
| Re-inspection after you comply | 14 to 22 working days |
| EDB issues provisional registration | Within 10 working days of receiving everything |
Your fit-out time comes on top of these, and usually decides the real timeline.
What should you do before you open?
- Know the stakes: the owner, manager or a teacher of an unregistered school can face a fine of HK$250,000 and two years’ imprisonment, and the EDB can close the premises, according to its guidelines for registering a new school.
- Ask the EDB first: describe your courses, class sizes and venue, and ask whether registration or an exemption applies.
- Check before you sign a lease: if registration applies, the premises are part of the application. Premises not built as a school need extra documents.
- Get legal advice if you’re unsure: this section summarises the Ordinance and isn’t legal advice.
The test is headcount, not the label. Calling your courses "workshops" or "corporate training" doesn't take them outside the school definition if you teach 20 people in a day or 8 at once.
Do courses leading to overseas qualifications need separate registration?
Usually, yes, if you teach them in Hong Kong. A course in Hong Kong that leads to a non-local degree or professional qualification must be registered or exempted under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493). That covers a common training model: teaching towards an overseas professional body’s certificate.
| Your course | Under Cap. 493 |
|---|---|
| Taught in Hong Kong, leading to a non-local degree or professional qualification | Must be registered |
| Run with one of 11 specified local universities or institutions | Can be exempt, if the institution’s head certifies it meets the registration criteria |
| Purely distance learning | Not required to register (voluntary registration is encouraged), but the advertising rules still apply |
If your course needs registering
- Where to apply: the EDB’s Non-local Courses Registry. The Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) assesses the course and recommends a decision to the Registrar.
- When: at least four months before the course starts, and longer if the application is complex.
- Each year: file an annual return.
- When things change: tell the Registrar and your students in writing within one month of changes to the operator, course content or fees.
- Exempt courses too: exempt courses still file annual reports and follow the rules on advertising, refunds and premises safety.
- Penalty: running a regulated course without registration or exemption is an offence, with a fine at level 4 (HK$25,000) and up to two years’ imprisonment.
How this fits with school registration: a centre that runs only Cap. 493 courses can be exempt from school registration under section 9(1) of the Education Ordinance. Add your own courses and both regimes can apply.
Which company structure should a training business use?
A private limited company usually suits a corporate training business, because corporate clients often prefer to contract with a company. A sole proprietorship is quicker and cheaper to start, but you’re personally liable for everything the business owes.
| Sole proprietorship | Private limited company | |
|---|---|---|
| To start | Business registration only | Incorporation, plus business registration |
| Your liability | Unlimited: your personal assets cover the business’s debts and claims | Generally limited to what you put into the company |
| Yearly duties | Business registration renewal and a tax return | Annual return, audited accounts, profits tax return, a company secretary and a registered office |
| With corporate clients | Fine for small or one-off work | Often expected in procurement and vendor onboarding |
Liability is the main reason to decide before you sign corporate clients; compare sole proprietorship vs limited company in full. Either way, you’ll need a business registration certificate from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
Where will your company be registered, and where will you teach?
They don’t have to be the same place. A limited company needs a registered office address in Hong Kong for official letters. Your training venue can be somewhere else, or you may not need one at first.
- Registered office: the company’s official address, needed from incorporation. It can be a registered office service, even before you have a venue; see registered address vs business address for the difference.
- Training venue: a physical space for in-person classes. Choose it only after the EDB check, because if school registration applies, the premises are part of the application.
- No venue yet: if you teach at clients’ offices or online, you may not need one at the start.
What to look for in a training venue
- Permitted use: before you sign, check that the lease, the building’s occupation permit and its deed of mutual covenant allow training classes.
- Class size: plan capacity with the school definition in mind. Teaching 8 or more people at once, or 20 or more in a day, is what can bring school registration into play.
- Fire and building safety: if registration applies, the Fire Services Department and Buildings Department will inspect, so budget for fit-out to meet their requirements.
- Location: near an MTR station and business districts, so corporate participants can get there easily.
- Flexible rooms: layouts you can change for lectures, workshops and group work.
- Equipment: projectors or screens, sound, reliable Wi-Fi and enough power points.
- Try before you lease: hiring rooms by the session lets you test demand before committing to a long lease. Ask the EDB whether your set-up affects registration.
A registered office is the Hong Kong address on the Companies Registry's records where official letters and legal documents are sent. It doesn't have to be where you teach.
How much does it cost to start a training company?
Government fees to set up a limited company online come to HK$3,895: HK$1,545 to the Companies Registry and HK$2,350 for a one-year business registration certificate. After that, government fees run to about HK$2,455 a year. Your other costs depend on how you teach, so get quotes rather than relying on averages.
Government fees
| Fee | When | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Company incorporation, filed online | Once | HK$1,545 |
| Business registration certificate, one year | Every year | HK$2,350, including the levy |
| Annual return | Every year, from the first anniversary | HK$105 if filed on time |
Sources: Companies Registry fee schedule; IRD business registration fee table for certificates from 1 April 2026. Checked on 22 October 2026.
Running costs
Government fees are only part of the cost of registering a company in Hong Kong. Every limited company also needs a company secretary, a registered office address and audited accounts each year, so budget for these from the start, along with the costs of how you teach:
| Cost | When | What sets the price |
|---|---|---|
| Company secretary and registered office address | Every year | The provider |
| Accounting and audit | Every year | The provider, and how many transactions you have |
| Training venue: rent, deposit and fit-out | Monthly, plus upfront | The landlord, and any fit-out needed for school registration |
| Equipment and software (AV, learning platform, booking) | Upfront, plus subscriptions | The vendor |
| Trainers and admin staff | Monthly or per session | The role, and whether they’re employees or contractors |
| Staff on-costs: MPF and employees’ compensation insurance | Monthly and yearly | Required by law once you employ staff |
| Public liability and professional indemnity insurance | Every year | An insurer’s quote |
| School registration or Cap. 493 course registration, if they apply | Upfront, then yearly duties | The EDB’s prescribed fees, plus your compliance time |
How do you hire trainers and win your first clients?
Start with a small core team, add contract trainers course by course, and win your first clients with results you can show.
Employees or contract trainers?
| Employed trainers | Contract trainers | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Regular, core courses you run all year | Specialist topics and one-off programmes |
| Your duties | Employees’ compensation insurance, MPF and IRD reporting (below) | Report their fees to the IRD if you pay them over the threshold (below) |
| Watch out for | Fixed cost when bookings are quiet | A “freelance” label doesn’t make them self-employed |
Contract trainers’ status: the contract alone doesn’t settle it. The Labour Department weighs control, tools, who bears profit and loss and other factors together. A trainer you direct like staff, on your schedule and with your materials, may legally be an employee.
What do you need to do when you pay trainers?
Before your first employee starts (see hiring your first employee):
- Employees’ compensation insurance: take out a policy before they start work.
- MPF: enrol them in a scheme within the first 60 days of employment.
- Tell the IRD: file form IR56E within three months of their start date, if they’re likely to be chargeable to salaries tax.
For contract trainers: if you pay a local freelance trainer who doesn’t trade through a limited company more than HK$25,000 in a year, report it on form IR56M, under the IRD’s IR56M rules.
Setting up payroll for your trainers early keeps both on track.
How do you win your first clients?
Corporate demand is growing. Hong Kong employees averaged 19.4 training hours in 2025, up from 18.1 in 2024, according to the HKIHRM Training and Development Needs Survey (3 July 2026).
- Start where demand is: leadership development (50%) and generative AI (49%, up from 23%) were employers’ top training priorities for 2026. Launch a few programmes with clear learning outcomes, ideally in one of these areas.
- Offer in-house versions: corporate clients often prefer training run for their own teams.
- Go to the buyer: reach HR and learning and development teams directly.
- Lead with proof: case studies, feedback scores and referrals win more work than broad marketing.
Running your courses
- Bookings and enrolment: an online booking system saves admin time as courses grow.
- Learning platform: a learning management system helps if you add online or blended modules.
- Feedback: collect it after every session and use it to update courses and win repeat bookings.
Your own business may also qualify for some Hong Kong grants, separate from any funding for the courses you sell.
How can Sleek help you set up your training company?
Sleek handles the company admin, so you can spend your time on courses and clients. Once the EDB question is settled, the company itself shouldn’t slow you down.
With Sleek, you can:
- Incorporate online: set up your Hong Kong company from Hong Kong or from overseas.
- Use a registered address: keep official mail separate from your training venue.
- Cover the company secretary role: meet the statutory requirement from day one.
- Run payroll and accounts: pay trainers and keep your books and filings on time.
If you’re not sure which set-up fits your training business, talk to our team before you sign a lease.
450,000
businesses worldwide.
from 4,100+ reviews.
satisfaction rate from
16,000 surveyed clients.
FAQs about setting up a training centre in Hong Kong
What qualifications do trainers need in Hong Kong?
It depends on the course. Accredited courses set their own trainer requirements, and clients often ask for relevant experience and professional certificates. If your centre is registered as a private school offering non-formal curriculum, the EDB’s 2004 exemption order relaxes the rules on teachers’ qualifications, subject to its conditions.
Can I offer accredited or government-funded courses?
Yes, but only through the body that accredits or funds them. For example, providers apply to have courses accepted for the Continuing Education Fund through the Labour and Welfare Bureau’s e-Platform. Check each body’s rules before you market a course as accredited or reimbursable.
Can I set up a training company in Hong Kong from overseas?
Yes. A non-Hong Kong resident can be a director of a Hong Kong company, according to the Companies Registry, and you can incorporate from overseas online. You’ll still need a registered office address and a company secretary in Hong Kong.
