Who can be a designated representative in Hong Kong

Who Can Be a Designated Representative

A designated representative is the point of contact for law enforcement inspections of a company’s Significant Controllers Register (SCR). The company appoints a natural person to this role. The individual must be a director, a company secretary, a member of the company, or an employee authorised by the board. Hong Kong residency is not a requirement.

Eligible Designated Representative Hong Kong

The Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) defines who is eligible. The person must be:

• A director of the company.
• A company secretary of the company.
• A member (shareholder) of the company.
• An employee of the company authorised in writing by the board of directors.

A body corporate cannot be appointed. Only a natural person may hold the role.

SCR Representative Eligibility

The SCR has been a statutory requirement for all Hong Kong companies since 1 March 2018. The designated representative must be someone law enforcement officers can reasonably contact during normal business hours to inspect the register. The company must ensure the representative is available at the prescribed place where the SCR is kept, which is usually the company's registered office.

Who Can Be Designated Representative SCR

The designated representative does not need to be a company officer. An employee who is not a director or secretary may be appointed, provided the board passes a resolution authorising them. Record the appointment in the company's internal records. No statutory form is filed with the Companies Registry for the appointment itself.

Designated Representative Requirements

Keep a copy of any written authorisation for an employee to act as the designated representative. If the representative is a director or company secretary, no separate authorisation is needed; their roles already carry the authority to handle statutory records.

The representative must be reachable at the prescribed place where the SCR is kept. The register must be kept at the company's registered office or at another prescribed place in Hong Kong, and the representative's contact details must be available for law enforcement.

If the designated representative resigns, leaves the company, or otherwise ceases to be eligible, appoint a replacement without delay. There is no grace period specified in the Companies Ordinance for a lapsed appointment.

The same natural person can hold the designated representative role alongside being director, company secretary, or another position. A single individual can hold all three roles, provided the company has at least two natural persons if the sole director also acts as the sole company secretary, which Cap. 622 does not permit. The designated representative role is separate from the company secretary role and can be held by the same person regardless of that restriction.