How to get an ASIC company extract for your loan application (and which version to buy)

Your lender has asked for “a company extract” and you’d like to get it right the first time. Here’s the short version: go to ASIC’s registers, search for your company, and buy the current company extract as a PDF. That’s the document most lenders mean. Only buy the “current and historical” one if they name it. The free search is worth a look first, because it shows whether your details are in order before you pay for anything.

It’s a ten-minute job when your records are tidy, and a slow one when they’re not. So this guide covers both: how to get it, and what to check so it doesn’t come back with surprises.

What is an ASIC company extract, and why does a lender want one?

It’s a snapshot of what ASIC, the corporate regulator, holds on your company. It’s the official answer to “who is this company, and who runs it?”

A lender wants it for a few plain reasons:

• To confirm the company exists and is registered, not deregistered or in the wrong status.
• To see who the directors are, so they know whose ID to collect and who needs to sign.
• To see the shareholders, which tells them who owns the business and, for some loans, who might be asked to guarantee it.
• To match the details against your application, ABN and bank statements.

If any of those don’t line up, a lender stops and asks. That’s the hassle we’re trying to avoid. Our guide on company and trust documents covers the wider set of papers that go with it.

What can I see for free, and what do I pay for?

You can search without paying anything. According to ASIC’s registers page, the free result gives you the identity of the company (its name, type, ABN and ACN), its registration and review dates, a suburb-level registered office, and an index of lodged documents. It’s enough to sanity-check your own record in a minute.

The paid extracts sit below the free information in the results and add the company’s officeholders. In short: free for a quick self-check, paid for the formal document a lender can rely on.

Here’s how the options compare:

	Free search	Current extract	Current and historical extract
Cost	Nothing	About $10	About $20
Company status and registration dates	Yes	Yes	Yes
Officeholders and shareholders	No	Current	Current and former
Past names and addresses	No	No	Yes
Good for	A quick self-check	Most lender requests	Buying a business, deeper checks

Those prices are what ASIC listed when we checked. ASIC adjusts its fees each 1 July, so treat the price at checkout as the final word.

Do I need the current or the historical extract?

For most business loans, current. A lender is checking today’s facts: who the directors and shareholders are right now.

Step up to current and historical and you also get the company’s paper trail: people who used to be directors, earlier registered offices and old company names, each with dates. Buy that one when:

• a lender or solicitor names it in their request;
• you’re buying a company, or a business that trades through one, and want to see its history;
• you want to check that the record clearly shows a director leaving.

If you’re not sure, ask whoever requested it. A single line, “Is the current extract enough, or do you need current and historical?”, saves buying twice.

How do I get an ASIC company extract, step by step?

1. Open ASIC’s register search. From ASIC’s registers page, choose the company and organisation search.
2. Pick “Organisation & Business names” in the search-within box.
3. Enter your company name or ACN. The ACN is quickest because it can’t be confused with a similar name. A business name that your company holds works too.
4. Check the free information first. Is the company status right? Is the registered office suburb right? When is the next review?
5. Choose the paid extract shown below the free details: current, or current and historical.
6. Pay and download the PDF. Save it with your other business records, and note the date. Lenders generally want a recent one, so you’ll order a fresh copy if the application drags on.

ASIC has also been trialling a new company search service, which for now offers free information only, with paid information expected later. If the screens look a little different from this list, the idea is the same: look up the company, then choose the extract.

Not sure which documents the lender will want next? You can ask what’s possible here and a real person will tell you. There’s no credit check to ask.

Why doesn’t my extract show my home address?

If you’ve bought an extract before, you may notice something missing. ASIC announced that extracts bought through its website “will no longer contain the residential addresses of company officeholders.” It made the change because of privacy and safety concerns and to reduce identity theft risk.

Three things worth knowing, from ASIC:

• The address isn’t gone from ASIC’s records. Directors must still provide it, and some government and regulatory bodies can still access it.
• A lender doesn’t need your home address from the extract. They use your photo ID and application to check who you are. Our page on ID for a business loan explains what that involves.
• If your safety is at risk, you can ask ASIC to hide your residential address on the register altogether. ASIC has a page on how.

So a blank where the address used to be is normal, and it won’t count against you.

What should I fix before I order the extract?

This is where the time is saved. Open the free search and check these four things:

• Status. It should read as registered. If it says anything else, stop and find out why before applying anywhere.
• Directors. Is every current director listed, and has everyone who left been removed? Companies need to tell ASIC about changes to officeholders within 28 days, so a director who left a year ago and still appears is an overdue update.
• Registered office. If you’ve moved premises, the registered office suburb needs to match where you now operate, or lenders will wonder.
• Review date. An overdue annual review can show up as a problem. If yours has passed, deal with it first.

Then compare the company’s name and ACN with your ABN details. You can look up your ABN for free on ABN Lookup. The entity name, GST status and business location on ABN Lookup should tell the same story as the ASIC record. If your ABN has lapsed, our guide to what happens when an ABN is cancelled explains the fix.

Directors changing is also a good moment to check each person has their director ID, which our director ID guide covers.

Illustrative example: the extract that didn’t match

Illustrative only; no real person or business described.

A landscaping company in Perth applies for equipment finance. The owner buys an extract and sends it off, only to be called back. The extract lists two directors. The second is the owner’s former business partner, who left over a year ago, and the registered office is the old yard.

Nothing is wrong with the business. But the lender can’t verify who’s in charge or where the company operates, so they ask for corrected details. The owner’s accountant lodges the updates through ASIC. The owner then buys a fresh extract and sends it.

The lesson: ten minutes with the free search, before paying and sending, would have caught both problems.

How do I avoid paying more than I need to?

Searching “ASIC extract” brings up plenty of private companies selling the same ASIC document with an extra fee and a nicer website. They’re legal, and some add useful services, but they aren’t ASIC. If all you want is the standard extract:

• Start at asic.gov.au and follow the links to the registers, rather than clicking an ad.
• Look at the checkout price and compare it with ASIC’s own list.
• Never share your myID or any passwords to “unlock” a company document. You don’t need to log in to buy a basic extract.
• Be wary of anyone who offers to “fix” your ASIC record for a fee before you’ve looked at the free search. Most corrections are routine updates you or your accountant can lodge directly.

Our guide to business loan scams lists the other red flags.

Your quick checklist

• Search your company on ASIC and read the free details.
• Confirm status, directors, registered office and review date.
• Fix anything out of date with ASIC.
• Buy the current extract (or the historical one if asked by name).
• Save the PDF with the date ordered.
• Check your ABN details match.

Want the full list of documents? Our paperwork checklist builder makes a tailored one in a couple of minutes, and our guide to what paperwork you need explains each item.

With the company records sorted, see what’s possible

Getting your company details straight is one of those jobs that feels dull and then makes everything after it smoother. Once the record says who you are and who runs the business, the next question is the interesting one: what could the company borrow?

Asking is easy. The enquiry takes about 60 seconds, and your credit file isn’t touched just for asking, so there’s no credit check when you enquire. Your details aren’t sent to a pile of lenders, which means no spray and pray and no phone buzzing all afternoon. A real person reads your situation, calls you and talks it through in plain English.

One small favour: please fill in the form accurately, including your company name, ACN and who the directors are. It lets us match you to the right option first time.

Find out where your company stands →