<PAGE>

   As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 5, 2000



                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              WASHINGTON D.C. 20549
                ------------------------------------------------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                ------------------------------------------------

                        AQUIS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.

           DELAWARE                                              22-3281446
   (State or jurisdiction of                                  (I.R.S. Employer
 incorporation or organization)                              Identification No.)

                            1719A ROUTE 10, SUITE 300
                              PARSIPPANY, NJ 07504
                    (Address of principal executive offices)
                   -------------------------------------------



           JOHN B. FREILING                        COPIES OF COMMUNICATIONS TO:
               PRESIDENT                             Joseph P. Galda, Esquire
       1719A ROUTE 10, SUITE 300                       Buchanan Ingersoll
         PARSIPPANY, NJ 07054                        Professional Corporation
(Name and address of agent for service)                 Eleven Penn Center
            (973) 560-8001                        1835 Market Street, 14th Floor
(Telephone number of agent for service)               Philadelphia, PA 19103
                                                           (215) 665-3879


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
==========================================================================================================
                                   CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
==========================================================================================================
                                               PROPOSED MAXIMUM       PROPOSED MAXIMUM       AMOUNT OF
    TITLE OF SECURITIES      AMOUNT TO BE     OFFERING PRICE PER     AGGREGATE OFFERING   REGISTRATION FEE
      TO BE REGISTERED        REGISTERED           SHARE(1)                PRICE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                          <C>              <C>                    <C>                  <C>
       Common Stock
(par value $.01 per share)    300,000(2)           $0.7969                $239,055            $63.11
==========================================================================================================
</TABLE>


(1)  Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant
     to Rule 457(h). In accordance with Rule 457(h), the maximum offering price
     is the average of the high and low sale prices for the Common Stock as
     quoted on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market on October 4, 2000.

(2)  Represents options granted to an employee, Nick T. Catania on January 4,
     2000 pursuant to a written compensation agreement.

                            -----------------------


                                       1
<PAGE>

     The documents containing the information specified in Part I of this
Registration Statement will be sent or given to the employee as specified by
Rule 428(b)(1). Such documents are not required to be and are not filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") either as a part of this
Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to
Rule 424. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this
Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Form S-8, taken
together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a)
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.



                                       2
<PAGE>

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

     This Registration Statement relates to common stock of Aquis Communications
Group, Inc. (the "Company") issuable upon the exercise of options granted to
Nick T. Catania, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, pursuant
to an option agreement dated January 4, 2000. The Company. is incorporated in
the State of Delaware.

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

     The following documents filed with the Commission by the Company are
incorporated herein by reference:

     (a) The annual report of the Company filed on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1999;

     (b) The quarterly reports of the Company filed on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended March 31, 2000 and June 30, 2000;

     (c) All other reports, if any, filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of
the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Company's
report referred to in (a) above; and

     (d) The description of the Company's Common Stock, par value $.01 per
share, as set forth in the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as filed with the Commission on
April 12, 1994, Commission File Number 33-76744.

     All documents subsequently filed by the Company with the Commission
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to
the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement, which
indicate that all securities offered have been sold or which deregister all
securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference
in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing
of such documents.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

     Not applicable.

ITEM 5.  INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

     Not Applicable.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

     Not applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS

     The following is a list of exhibits filed as part of this Registration
Statement, which are incorporated herein:


EXHIBIT NO.    DESCRIPTION OF EXHIBIT
-----------    ----------------------

   4.01        Option Agreement dated as of January 4, 2000 between the Company
               and Nick T. Catania (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30
               to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
               December 31, 1999).

   5.01        Opinion of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (filed
               herewith).

   23.01       Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (filed herewith).

   23.02       Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP (filed herewith).



                                       3
<PAGE>

   23.03       Consent of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (contained
               in opinion filed as Exhibit 5.01).

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS

     (a) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes:

         (1)  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
              made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
              (i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
              Securities Act; (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or
              events, arising after the effective date of the Registration
              Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof)
              which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
              change in the information set forth in the Registration
              Statement; (iii) to include any material information with respect
              to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this
              Registration Statement or any material change to such information
              in this Registration Statement; provided however, that subclauses
              (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required
              to be included in a post-effective amendment by the foregoing
              clause is contained in periodic reports filed by the Company
              pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that
              are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement;

         (2)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be
              deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
              securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
              at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
              thereof; and

         (3)  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
              amendment any of the securities being registered which remain
              unsold at the termination of the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Company's
annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act
(and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report
pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference
in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration
statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such
securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Company pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6 of this Registration
Statement, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company
of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
Company in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted
by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the
securities being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its
counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court
of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it
is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed
by the final adjudication of such issue.


                                       4
<PAGE>

                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Parsippany, State of New Jersey, on the 5th day of
October 2000.

                                               AQUIS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.


                                               By: /s/ JOHN B. FRIELING
                                                   -----------------------------
                                                   John B. Frieling
                                                   Chief Executive Officer



                                       5
<PAGE>



     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.

    SIGNATURE                           TITLE                        DATE

/s/ Patrick M. Egan          Chairman and Director            October 5, 2000
------------------------
Patrick M. Egan

/s/ John Frieling            Chief Executive Officer          October 5, 2000
------------------------     and Director
John Frieling

/s/ Michael Salerno          Director                         October 5, 2000
------------------------
Michael Salerno

/s/ D. Brian Plunkett        Vice President Finance           October 5, 2000
------------------------     and Chief Accounting Officer
D. Brian Plunkett



                                       6
<PAGE>

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX



EXHIBIT NO.                            DESCRIPTION

   4.01        Option Agreement dated as of January 4, 2000 between the Company
               and Nick T. Catania (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30
               to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
               December 31, 1999).

   5.01        Opinion of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (filed
               herewith).

   23.01       Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (filed herewith).

   23.02       Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP (filed herewith).

   23.03       Consent of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (contained
               in opinion filed as Exhibit 5.01).
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "filename": "a2026799zs-8.txt", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 13129}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "AQUIS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP INC", "cik": "0000920854", "assigned-sic": "4812", "irs-number": "223281446", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-47438", "film-number": "735591"}, "business-address": {"street1": "11719A ROUTE 10", "street2": "SUITE 300", "city": "PARSIPPANY", "state": "NJ", "zip": "07054", "phone": "9735608000"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "11719A ROUTE 10 SUITE 300", "street2": "4249 ROUTE 9 NORTH BLDG 2", "city": "PARSIPPANY", "state": "NJ", "zip": "07054"}, "former-company": {"former-conformed-name": "PAGING PARTNERS CORP", "date-changed": "19940324"}}
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 5, 2000

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              WASHINGTON D.C. 20549
                ------------------------------------------------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                ------------------------------------------------

                        AQUIS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.

           DELAWARE                                              22-3281446
   (State or jurisdiction of                                  (I.R.S. Employer
 incorporation or organization)                              Identification No.)

                            1719A ROUTE 10, SUITE 300
                              PARSIPPANY, NJ 07504
                    (Address of principal executive offices)
                   -------------------------------------------

           JOHN B. FREILING                        COPIES OF COMMUNICATIONS TO:
               PRESIDENT                             Joseph P. Galda, Esquire
       1719A ROUTE 10, SUITE 300                       Buchanan Ingersoll
         PARSIPPANY, NJ 07054                        Professional Corporation
(Name and address of agent for service)                 Eleven Penn Center
            (973) 560-8001                        1835 Market Street, 14th Floor
(Telephone number of agent for service)               Philadelphia, PA 19103
                                                           (215) 665-3879
==========================================================================================================
                                   CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
==========================================================================================================
                                               PROPOSED MAXIMUM       PROPOSED MAXIMUM       AMOUNT OF
    TITLE OF SECURITIES      AMOUNT TO BE     OFFERING PRICE PER     AGGREGATE OFFERING   REGISTRATION FEE
      TO BE REGISTERED        REGISTERED           SHARE(1)                PRICE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock
(par value $.01 per share)    300,000(2)           $0.7969                $239,055            $63.11
==========================================================================================================
(1)  Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant
     to Rule 457(h). In accordance with Rule 457(h), the maximum offering price
     is the average of the high and low sale prices for the Common Stock as
     quoted on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market on October 4, 2000.

(2)  Represents options granted to an employee, Nick T. Catania on January 4,
     2000 pursuant to a written compensation agreement.

                            -----------------------

                                       1
The documents containing the information specified in Part I of this
Registration Statement will be sent or given to the employee as specified by
Rule 428(b)(1). Such documents are not required to be and are not filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") either as a part of this
Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to
Rule 424. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this
Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Form S-8, taken
together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a)
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

                                       2
PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

     This Registration Statement relates to common stock of Aquis Communications
Group, Inc. (the "Company") issuable upon the exercise of options granted to
Nick T. Catania, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, pursuant
to an option agreement dated January 4, 2000. The Company. is incorporated in
the State of Delaware.

ITEM 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

     The following documents filed with the Commission by the Company are
incorporated herein by reference:

     (a) The annual report of the Company filed on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1999;

     (b) The quarterly reports of the Company filed on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended March 31, 2000 and June 30, 2000;

     (c) All other reports, if any, filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of
the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Company's
report referred to in (a) above; and

     (d) The description of the Company's Common Stock, par value $.01 per
share, as set forth in the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as filed with the Commission on
April 12, 1994, Commission File Number 33-76744.

     All documents subsequently filed by the Company with the Commission
pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to
the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement, which
indicate that all securities offered have been sold or which deregister all
securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference
in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing
of such documents.

ITEM 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

     Not applicable.

ITEM 5.  INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

     Not Applicable.

ITEM 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

     Not applicable.

ITEM 8.  EXHIBITS

     The following is a list of exhibits filed as part of this Registration
Statement, which are incorporated herein:

EXHIBIT NO.    DESCRIPTION OF EXHIBIT
-----------    ----------------------

   4.01        Option Agreement dated as of January 4, 2000 between the Company
               and Nick T. Catania (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30
               to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
               December 31, 1999).

   5.01        Opinion of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (filed
               herewith).

   23.01       Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (filed herewith).

   23.02       Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP (filed herewith).

                                       3
23.03       Consent of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (contained
               in opinion filed as Exhibit 5.01).

ITEM 9.  UNDERTAKINGS

     (a) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes:

         (1)  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
              made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
              (i) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
              Securities Act; (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or
              events, arising after the effective date of the Registration
              Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof)
              which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental
              change in the information set forth in the Registration
              Statement; (iii) to include any material information with respect
              to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this
              Registration Statement or any material change to such information
              in this Registration Statement; provided however, that subclauses
              (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required
              to be included in a post-effective amendment by the foregoing
              clause is contained in periodic reports filed by the Company
              pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that
              are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement;

         (2)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
              Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be
              deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
              securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
              at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
              thereof; and

         (3)  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
              amendment any of the securities being registered which remain
              unsold at the termination of the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Company's
annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act
(and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report
pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference
in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration
statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such
securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Company pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6 of this Registration
Statement, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the
Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company
of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
Company in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted
by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the
securities being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its
counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court
of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it
is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed
by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                       4
SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Parsippany, State of New Jersey, on the 5th day of
October 2000.

                                               AQUIS COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.

                                               By: /s/ JOHN B. FRIELING
                                                   -----------------------------
                                                   John B. Frieling
                                                   Chief Executive Officer

                                       5
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.

    SIGNATURE                           TITLE                        DATE

/s/ Patrick M. Egan          Chairman and Director            October 5, 2000
------------------------
Patrick M. Egan

/s/ John Frieling            Chief Executive Officer          October 5, 2000
------------------------     and Director
John Frieling

/s/ Michael Salerno          Director                         October 5, 2000
------------------------
Michael Salerno

/s/ D. Brian Plunkett        Vice President Finance           October 5, 2000
------------------------     and Chief Accounting Officer
D. Brian Plunkett

                                       6
EXHIBIT INDEX

EXHIBIT NO.                            DESCRIPTION

   4.01        Option Agreement dated as of January 4, 2000 between the Company
               and Nick T. Catania (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30
               to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
               December 31, 1999).

   5.01        Opinion of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (filed
               herewith).

   23.01       Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (filed herewith).

   23.02       Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP (filed herewith).

   23.03       Consent of Buchanan Ingersoll Professional Corporation (contained
               in opinion filed as Exhibit 5.01).