Which form you actually need
Societies removed because they never reregistered under the 2022 Act apply on Form IS22-RES08 — "Application to restore a 1908 Act society to the register" — emailed to compliance@companiesoffice.govt.nz or posted to the Companies Office in Auckland. A society that did reregister and was removed later takes a different path: an officer applies online through the register, or on Form IS22-RES. Older guidance and some law-firm articles still refer to a Form IS6; check the register itself before you lodge anything, because the form determines where it goes.
Who can sign
The applicant must have been an officer or a member of the society at the time it was removed. Someone who joined afterwards cannot apply, which is why reconstructing a membership list as it stood in early 2026 matters.
What you need to assemble
- Evidence that the applicant was an officer or member on the date of removal.
- The society name and registration number exactly as they appear on the register.
- A constitution that complies with the 2022 Act, since restoration puts you under the new Act.
- Details of at least 10 members and a contact person, as the 2022 Act requires.
- An explanation of why the society did not reregister in time.
The objection period nobody budgets for
Once the Registrar is satisfied with the application, the restoration is publicly notified and the public has 20 working days to object. That is roughly four weeks that runs no matter how clean your paperwork is, and it sits between lodging and getting your bank account back. Plan the timeline around it rather than being surprised by it.
The part most societies get wrong
Restoration is not a matter of turning the old registration back on. The 2022 Act sets mandatory content for a constitution that the vast majority of 1908-era rulebooks do not contain. If your constitution is not brought up to standard, the application stalls.
Common questions
Is there a fee?
Yes. Restoration costs NZ$177.78 plus GST, paid to the Companies Office. That is the government fee only — it does not cover drafting a compliant constitution or reconstructing a membership list, which is where most of the real cost sits.
How long does restoration take?
It depends almost entirely on whether the constitution and membership evidence are right first time. Applications that arrive incomplete get requisitioned and can drag on for months. Even a perfect application carries the 20-working-day objection period after public notice.
Societies this applies to
Real entries from the register, all removed without ever reregistering: