OVERSEAS COMPANIES REGISTRY

How an International Registry Search Works

Searching an overseas company starts with the jurisdiction where the entity was legally incorporated, not merely the country where it trades. The official corporate register is normally the strongest primary source, while international directories can help identify the correct authority when the local system is unfamiliar. GLEIF provides a worldwide starting point.

There Is No Single Worldwide Companies Register

No government operates one universal database containing every incorporated company. Registration systems are national, federal, regional or territorial. Some jurisdictions provide free public searches, others charge for extracts, and certain offshore centres restrict public access to particular documents, directors or beneficial ownership information.

GLEIF Helps Locate the Correct Authority

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation publishes a Registration Authorities List containing more than 1,050 business registers and validation authorities across 232 jurisdictions. Its directory is particularly useful when the company’s home registry is difficult to identify, uses a local language or is divided between several authorities.

The LEI Can Add a Second Verification Layer

For companies participating in financial markets, the Legal Entity Identifier can provide another identity check. The GLEIF Global LEI Index links an LEI to reference data and, where available, the underlying registration authority, helping users compare the entity’s official name and jurisdiction with national registry information.

Searching Companies in the European Union

The European Union offers a major cross-border search tool through the Business Registers Interconnection System, known as BRIS. The European e-Justice portal allows users to search companies registered in EU member states and also provides access concerning Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through connected national registers.

France Uses the National Business Register

In France, DATA INPI provides company information drawn from the Registre national des entreprises. A search can be made using a company name, SIREN number or other criteria. The platform is useful for checking legal identity, registration data and public corporate information before relying on commercial databases.

Germany Uses the Unternehmensregister

Germany’s Unternehmensregister describes itself as the central platform for company data. It brings together corporate publications and register information, while the Handelsregister remains important for formal commercial-register entries. Searching both sources can help confirm the legal entity and examine filings made by German companies.

Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

Belgium provides company searches through the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, commonly called the BCE or KBO. Luxembourg uses Luxembourg Business Registers, while the Netherlands relies on the KVK. Each system offers different levels of free information, extracts and filed documents.

Nordic and Baltic Company Registers

Denmark uses the CVR business register, Sweden uses Bolagsverket, Finland uses the Finnish Business Information System, and Norway relies on the Brønnøysund Registers. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania maintain separate national company systems, while BRIS provides an additional cross-border entry point for participating European jurisdictions.

Central and Eastern European Registers

Poland uses the National Court Register, the Czech Republic maintains its public register through the Ministry of Justice, Slovakia provides the Commercial Register, and Hungary operates its electronic company register. Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia also maintain national registries connected to the European BRIS framework.

The United Kingdom and Overseas Companies

The United Kingdom creates an important distinction between a foreign company and an overseas company registered at Companies House. A company incorporated abroad generally must register there if it establishes a UK place of business or usually carries on business from a physical establishment in the United Kingdom. Companies House guidance explains the process.

Companies House Provides the UK Search

Companies House provides a public search service for companies registered under UK requirements, including qualifying overseas companies with UK establishments. Users can inspect available company details and filing histories. However, a Companies House record should not replace checking the company’s original register in its home jurisdiction.

The Register of Overseas Entities Is Different

The UK Register of Overseas Entities is a separate transparency regime for overseas entities that own, buy, sell or transfer qualifying UK land or property. Registration requires relevant information about registrable beneficial owners or managing officers, making this register useful for property-related due diligence rather than ordinary incorporation searches.

Searching Companies in the United States

The United States has no single federal incorporation registry covering every ordinary company. Corporations and limited liability companies are generally created under state law, so searches usually begin with the Secretary of State or equivalent business authority in the state where the entity says it is incorporated. UK government overseas-registry guidance also explains this structure.

State Registers Are the Primary Corporate Source

A Delaware company should normally be checked with Delaware’s corporate authority, while a California entity should be checked through California’s registry. The same principle applies across other states. A trading address in New York does not prove that New York is the company’s jurisdiction of incorporation.

SEC EDGAR Covers Reporting Issuers

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR system is a separate federal source for companies and securities issuers required to make SEC filings. EDGAR can be searched by company name, ticker or CIK number and is especially useful for public companies and foreign private issuers accessing United States capital markets.

Canada Uses Federal and Provincial Registers

Canada combines federal, provincial and territorial corporate registration. Canada’s Business Registries provides a government search gateway across participating jurisdictions, while Corporations Canada confirms corporations created under federal corporate law. A complete check should identify whether the business is federally incorporated or registered under a province or territory.

Australia Provides ASIC Registers

In Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission provides company and organisation searches by name, business name or identifiers such as an ACN. ASIC states that some register information is free, while additional extracts and documents may require payment, making it suitable for both basic and detailed verification.

New Zealand Includes Overseas Companies

New Zealand’s Companies Register can be searched for locally incorporated companies and overseas companies registered to do business there. The Companies Office explains that searches may reveal addresses, directors and shareholding information, allowing users to distinguish a New Zealand company from a foreign entity registered locally.

Singapore Uses ACRA Bizfile

Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority operates Bizfile, its digital portal for business registration, filings and company information. Free search functions can show basic information such as entity status and registered address, while Business Profiles and other information products can be purchased when more formal evidence is required.

Hong Kong Has an Electronic Companies Register

Hong Kong’s Companies Registry provides electronic searches of current registered-company data and images of filed documents. Users can also order certified copies, search reports and certain certificates. This makes the official registry more useful for legal verification than relying only on a company website or commercial directory.

India Uses the Ministry of Corporate Affairs

In India, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs maintains the MCA corporate-data environment and the MCA21 filing system. Companies submit incorporation, compliance and annual information electronically. The ministry’s Corporate Data Management portal also publishes structured company information, supporting checks of status and corporate records for Indian entities.

East Asian Registries Require Local Sources

China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan each maintain their own company-registration systems rather than sharing one regional register. Search methods, available fields and language support differ substantially. GLEIF’s Registration Authorities List can help identify the recognised authority before ordering a certificate or relying on translated third-party information.

Company Searches in the Gulf

Gulf countries maintain separate commercial registration systems. Saudi Arabia provides an electronic Ministry of Commerce service for commercial-register data, while the United Arab Emirates combines federal, emirate and free-zone licensing structures. The correct search therefore depends on where and under which authority the business was licensed.

Dubai Has an Official Licence Search

Dubai’s Invest in Dubai portal provides a government licence search by licence number, Dubai Unified Licence number, English business name or Arabic business name. This is useful for mainland Dubai businesses, although free-zone companies may also need verification with the authority responsible for the relevant free zone.

The UAE National Economic Register

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy oversees development and regulation of the National Economic Register. Its online services include economic-licence enquiries and business-related searches. Because licensing can originate from different emirates and free zones, the national layer should be combined with the issuing authority where necessary.

Saudi Arabia Provides Commercial Register Data

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce provides an electronic service for querying commercial registration data. The government portal describes searches using an establishment name or unified national number. For due diligence, the retrieved registration data should be compared with invoices, contracts and banking details supplied by the business.

African Company Registries

Africa does not have one continental company register. Each country maintains its own system, with public access ranging from comprehensive online searches to more limited administrative requests. GLEIF’s registry directory can identify the responsible authority where local search portals are difficult to locate or require domestic credentials.

South Africa Uses the CIPC

South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission maintains the national corporate register. CIPC’s services allow enterprise searches using names, enterprise numbers and certain director identifiers, although current search access may require login through BizPortal. Registry information should be supplemented with financial and regulatory checks when risk is material.

North African Registers

France-facing businesses often need to verify companies in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia or Egypt. These countries maintain their own company-registration systems rather than one North African database. The correct authority, registry language, search method and availability of certified extracts should be confirmed before accepting any unofficial company report. GLEIF helps identify the relevant authority.

West and East African Searches

Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and neighbouring countries use distinct national or regional administrative systems for business registration. Online access varies considerably. Where a public company search is incomplete, users should obtain an official extract, certificate or confirmation directly from the competent registry or authorised channel.

Offshore and International Business Registries

Offshore jurisdictions require special care because incorporation, financial licensing and beneficial ownership may be handled by different authorities. A company certificate can prove legal existence without proving that the entity is licensed to provide investments, banking, insurance or lending services. Corporate and regulatory registers should therefore be checked separately.

British Virgin Islands Public Search

The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission operates the Registry of Corporate Affairs. Its public search framework allows information requests concerning BVI business companies, limited partnerships and registered foreign companies, with applicable fees for some records. The FSC also maintains separate information on regulated financial-services entities.

Cayman Islands Registry Checks

The Cayman Islands General Registry maintains corporate records and provides online registry services. Certificates issued by the Registrar of Companies can be validated online using the entity file number and authorisation code. For regulated funds or financial firms, the corporate check should be combined with the appropriate supervisory register.

What an Overseas Company Search Should Confirm

A basic overseas registry check should confirm the exact legal name, registration number, jurisdiction, incorporation date, legal form, current status and registered office. Where available, it should also examine directors, officers, filing history, share capital, accounts, charges and previous names before a contract or payment is approved.

Match the Registration Number Exactly

Company names can be translated, abbreviated or reused by unrelated businesses, so the registration number is usually a stronger identifier. Compare it across the registry, invoices, website terms, contracts, bank instructions and tax documents. A mismatch between legal name, number and payment beneficiary deserves further investigation before proceeding.

Check Directors and Beneficial Ownership Carefully

Director and beneficial ownership information is not equally public everywhere. Some registers display directors freely, others charge, and certain jurisdictions restrict beneficial-owner access. Where ownership data matters, use the legally authorised source and distinguish a director, shareholder, beneficial owner, nominee and registered agent rather than treating them as interchangeable.

Add Financial, Insolvency and Regulatory Checks

Corporate registration proves that an entity exists; it does not prove solvency, regulatory authorisation or commercial reliability. Important due diligence can therefore include filed accounts, insolvency registers, securities regulators, financial-services licences, sanctions screening and the GLEIF Global LEI Index, depending on the transaction and jurisdiction involved.

Author and Update

This guide was written and updated on 12 August 2026 by Nabil Frik for BilanDeSociete.com. Overseas registry access, disclosure rules, fees and government portals can change, so users should verify current information with the relevant national registry, European e-Justice portal and GLEIF before making a commercial decision.