Businesses operating with expired registered names risk legal sanctions and cancellation if they fail to regularise their registrations by January 17, 2027, the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) has warned.
The Registrar said businesses whose names are not renewed by the deadline will be removed from the official register, effectively ending their legal recognition as registered business names.
In a public notice, the ORC reminded business owners that registered business names are subject to annual renewal upon the expiration of their registration.
However, it said several businesses had failed to meet the renewal requirement, prompting the directive for all affected owners to regularise their registrations before the January deadline.
The Registrar cautioned that businesses that continue operating under cancelled names would be acting contrary to the law and could face the applicable sanctions.
To avoid cancellation, business owners with expired registrations or renewals falling due have been urged to complete the process at any ORC office or through the USSD short code *222#.
The ORC also directed business owners to settle all outstanding renewal fees and update their business information, particularly changes to registered addresses and the nature of their operations.
The directive forms part of efforts to ensure that the official register reflects businesses that have complied with the statutory requirements for maintaining their registrations.
