How to open an employment agency: HK licence application × Macau licence × the compliance systems checklist (2026)

Step one: decide which jurisdiction you are opening in

"Opening an employment agency" means three different paths: in mainland China, a human resources company (Human Resources Service Licence, plus the Outbound Labour Cooperation qualification for overseas dispatch); in Macau, a DSAL employment agency licence; in Hong Kong, a Labour Department employment agency licence. Settle where you operate and what you sell, then work through the matching checklist.

Hong Kong: applying for the agency licence

Hong Kong agency licences are approved by the Labour Department. Prepare per the Guide to Applying for an Employment Agency Licence (form EA-LD184S): the application form plus proof of premises and business particulars; on approval, pay the HK$2,000 licence fee, plus HK$385 per duplicate licence where applicable.

Three numbers to remember: a licence runs one year and renewal must be filed at least 2 months before expiry; commission charged to job seekers is capped at 10% of first-month wages earned after successful placement; unlicensed operation carries a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and 3 years' imprisonment.

From opening day, operate per the Code of Practice: display the fee schedule, issue receipts for fees charged, keep proper records of job seekers and employers; for foreign domestic helper business, service agreements must state category-by-category fees and refund arrangements per the May 2024 revision.

Macau: applying for the employment agency licence

Macau agency licences are issued by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) under Law 16/2020; the DSAL employment agency portal publishes the application, renewal and amendment guides with downloadable forms, and the licencee list is online.

Budget two amounts: the guarantee — a MOP 300,000 bank guarantee in favour of DSAL for fee-charging agencies; and the fees — licence issue MOP 30,000, renewal MOP 10,000, amendment/replacement MOP 1,000 each; branch licences MOP 15,000/5,000/1,000/1,000. Official publications prevail.

Staffing: fee-charging agencies must employ a licensed employment service director — Macau resident, senior-secondary education or above, passing the DSAL skills test, among other requirements (Article 36; government page PS-2119). The licence renewal window is likewise 45–90 days before expiry, with a doubled renewal fee inside 45 days.

Fee rules: two hard lines

Hong Kong: commission charged to job seekers is capped at 10% of first-month wages earned after successful placement; overcharging is a criminal offence. The fee schedule must be displayed at the premises and fees receipted (Employment Agency Regulations and Code of Practice).

Macau: Law 16/2020 tightened the fee regime — fees must be receipted as the law requires; specific fee arrangements follow the law and DSAL guidance.

Mainland: outbound labour cooperation enterprises must not charge workers deposits (Regulation on Outbound Labour Cooperation); service fees follow the contract and commerce-department rules — see our guide on fees and rights for HK/Macau work.

The new-agency systems checklist: four kinds of records from day one

Whichever jurisdiction you open in, the records start on day one: candidate profiles and documents, employer and job ledgers, every recommendation and match record, contracts and fee receipts. All three regimes land on these records — the Hong Kong Code requires job-seeker/employer records and receipts, Macau's Law 16/2020 regulates records and fees, and mainland outbound cooperation requires contract and payment-voucher retention.

ZJ.SUO is built around the agency workflow: Talent Radar parses multi-channel resumes into one database; Career Compass generates match records with reasons; Talent Harbor compounds your private talent pool; Employer Insights tracks demand; contract and fee records stay structured and retrievable. Running the system from day one beats reconstructing ledgers later by an order of magnitude.

Five things new agencies most often get wrong

From the official requirements above, self-check before opening:

• Fee schedule not displayed at the premises, or fees charged without receipts (explicit Hong Kong Code requirements)
• Foreign-domestic-helper service agreements missing the category-by-category fees and refund terms required by the May 2024 revision
• Missing Macau's renewal window (45–90 days before expiry; doubled fee inside 45 days)
• Candidate and match records scattered across personal WeChat and Excel, impossible to produce on demand
• Mainland agencies taking overseas dispatch orders with only the HR Service Licence (no Outbound Labour Cooperation qualification)