Getting your address off New Zealand's public registers

Several New Zealand public registers publish names and home addresses by law, for good reasons like transparency and contactability. Between them, they publish more home addresses than any data broker. Each has a way to reduce what’s published, and most people never use it.

Some remedies are open to anyone, and some need a safety reason. Each section below says which.

The rates database: anyone can ask

What it shows: Councils keep a rating information database and must make owners’ names and postal addresses available for public inspection. Many publish it online, searchable by street address.

What you can do: Under section 28C of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, any owner can ask their council in writing to withhold their name, their postal address, or both. You don’t have to give a reason. It’s free, and councils are required to remind owners of this right every year.

Search your council’s website for “withhold name rating information database” or call its rates team. At several councils, one owner’s request removes all owners’ details for that property. It doesn’t change your record of title held by Land Information New Zealand. Read our step-by-step post.

The electoral roll: for people at risk

What it shows: The printed electoral roll lists your name, address and occupation, and can be inspected publicly.

What you can do: Under section 115 of the Electoral Act 1993, the Electoral Commission can put you on the confidential unpublished roll if publishing your details would prejudice your safety or your family’s. You need to show why. Supporting information can include a protection order, or a letter from Police or a support agency. Once accepted, your details aren’t printed, and you cast a special vote. How it works, with the 2026 election dates.

Don’t stop voting to stay off the roll. Enrolment is compulsory, and the unpublished roll exists so you don’t have to choose.

The Companies Register: changing on 18 November 2026

What it shows: Every director’s name and residential address, and shareholders’ names and addresses. Old documents stay searchable, so an address you lived at years ago may still be there.

What you can do now: Until 18 November 2026, the only way to hide a director’s address is with a protection order.

What changes: From 18 November 2026, a director or prospective director can apply to replace their residential address with an alternative address, with a statutory declaration that publishing their home address is likely to cause physical or mental harm to them or someone they live with. The alternative must be a physical New Zealand address where documents can be served, such as a lawyer’s or accountant’s office. It can’t be the company’s registered office or address for service. Former directorships aren’t covered. Prepare now.

Land titles: no opt-out

Records of title name the owners, and anyone can buy a copy. There’s no general way to suppress your name. For future purchases, a lawyer can advise whether a different ownership structure suits your safety needs.

The Personal Property Securities Register

When you buy a car on finance or borrow against property, the lender may register a financing statement. The register can be searched by first and last name for a small fee, with a declaration of a legitimate reason. Search your own name occasionally. Registrations you don’t recognise can be an early sign of identity fraud.

If you have a protection order

A protection order can open doors that are otherwise closed. It supports applications to the unpublished roll and, until November 2026, the only route to suppress a director’s address. Some councils also accept protected-person directions for their public registers. Ask each agency what it can do and tell them you’re a protected person.

After the registers

Public registers are the biggest single source, but not the only one. Work through the personal exposure audit for your social media, photos, fitness apps and the accounts around you.