Business names still unrenewed on 17 January 2027 will be removed from the register. The yearly fee on the ORC schedule is GH¢70.

Published 5 Nov 2026, 19:25 GMT

4 min read

Registrar of Companies, Maame Samma Peprah

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The Office of the Registrar of Companies will remove every business name that is still unrenewed on Sunday, January 17, 2027.

The notice, issued on Wednesday, November 4, applies to registrations governed by the Registration of Business Names Act, 1962 (Act 151). Owners must renew business names annually as each registration expires.

Who has to renew

You are affected if you trade under a registered business name, which the ORC also calls a sole proprietorship, and the renewal is due or has already expired.

According to the Registrar, some business owners have failed to renew their registered names as required. The notice includes no list for owners to consult, unlike the gazette used for the company strike-offs.

If you no longer want the name, you do not renew. You write to the Registrar and ask for it to be taken off the register.

A company limited by shares files an annual return rather than renewing under this notice. Our guide to registering a side business explains the steps for both.

How to renew, and what it costs

The notice gives two ways to renew. Go to any ORC office, or dial *222#.

It does not send you to a website form. On November 5 the "E-Portal" link on the ORC homepage did not open a renewal page.

The ORC's own renewal guide, set out in that side-business explainer, says to dial *222#, choose option 4 and enter your business-name number. A payment link then arrives by text.

You must pay every renewal fee that is still outstanding, and update changes such as your address or the nature of the business.

The notice does not say that several missed years are simply GH¢70 multiplied by the number of years, so ask the counter what you owe if you have fallen behind.

The same schedule lists GH¢70 to file a change in particulars, and GH¢75 where the change is of ownership or of the business name itself. Those are separate from the renewal.

ORC offices are open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. January 17 is a Sunday, so a counter renewal cannot be left until the final day.

The notice also gives *222# as a route. It does not say whether that short code works on a Sunday.

For help, call the ORC on 0308249841 or contact it through WhatsApp or Telegram on 0599525774. Its social media name is @ORC GHANA.

What happens after January 17

"NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that all business names which are not renewed on or before 17th January, 2027 shall be deemed lapsed and shall accordingly be removed from the Register maintained by the Office," the notice says.

A cancelled name no longer counts as a registered business name. The Registrar's notice warns that continuing to trade under it breaks the law and attracts sanctions, but gives no specific penalty.

The 2026 fee schedule lists GH¢100 for restoring a firm to the register. The cancellation notice does not say a lapsed name can be bought back, so check with the ORC before you assume the GH¢100 fee will recover yours.

Pay the outstanding fees, file the renewal, and correct your particulars before Sunday, January 17. If the business has closed, write to the Registrar and ask for the name to be removed.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Renew your business name by January 17 or the ORC will cancel it

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