A company registration number is the unique identifier assigned to a legal entity by the official government registry when it incorporates. It proves the company exists in law. Regulators, banks, tax authorities, and counterparties use it to verify a business is real.
Most compliance teams have built KYB workflows around a handful of jurisdictions they understand well. The risk lives in the long tail — the German HRB that's only unique when paired with the local court, the Indian CIN that encodes regulatory data inside a 21-character string, the US "registration number" that doesn't actually exist at the federal level. One mismatched format becomes a false positive in your screening, a failed onboarding, or a regulator's question you can't answer cleanly.
But formats are not standard across borders. The UK issues an 8-character CRN. India issues a 21-character CIN. Germany uses HRB or HRA numbers that are only unique when paired with the local court. The United States has no national register at all — every state keeps its own. For compliance teams running KYB checks, onboarding vendors, or screening partners in multiple countries, these differences are where verification breaks down.
This guide documents company registration number formats for over 150 countries. For each jurisdiction, you get the local name, the official format, a worked example, and the specific rules that trip up cross-border verification. Every entry has been verified against the country's official government registry in 2026. Where a registry is not accessible — due to sanctions, conflict, or operational disruption — we say so honestly rather than publish formats we cannot stand behind.
- Format, local name, and worked example for 162 jurisdictions
- Free format checker — paste any number to identify its country
- 2026 regulatory updates (UK ECCTA, EU 6AMLD, US CTA reversal)
- Restricted access jurisdictions where verification is operationally limited
The Problem: There Is No Global Standard
The UK issues an 8-character identifier. India issues a 21-character alphanumeric code encoding listing status, industry, state, year, and type. Germany does not issue a nationally unique number at all — the identifier is only unique when paired with the local court. The United States has no national register; incorporation happens state by state. For anyone building a compliance workflow that spans more than a handful of countries, these differences are where risk lives.
Each entry below documents the format used by that jurisdiction, the local-language name, a worked example, and the specific nuances that trip up cross-border verification.
Key distinction. A company registration number is not a tax ID. A registration number is issued by the business registry and proves legal existence. A tax ID (VAT, EIN, Steuernummer) is issued by the tax authority for fiscal purposes. In many jurisdictions, a company has both — and they are never the same number.
What's Changing in 2026: The Regulatory Landscape
Registration-number infrastructure is moving faster in 2026 than at any time in the last decade. Three parallel shifts — one in the UK, one in the EU, one in the US — are reshaping what "verified" means and how compliance teams get there. If your onboarding stack was built on assumptions that held in 2023, it needs a look.
ECCTA 2023 — Mandatory Companies House Identity Verification
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduced mandatory identity verification (IDV) for all UK company directors, PSCs, and LLP members. Compulsory from 18 November 2025, with a 12-month transition ending 18 November 2026. An estimated 6–7 million individuals must verify. From spring 2026, only verified individuals or Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) can file documents at Companies House. Non-compliance becomes a criminal offence post-transition, with fines up to £5,000 per individual and potential director disqualification.
6AMLD / BORIS — Beneficial Ownership Interconnection
The EU's Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive standardises beneficial ownership rules across Member States with directly applicable force, not via national transposition. Member States must complete operational compliance by July 2026. From November 2026, registers must respond to legitimate-interest requests within 12 working days. BORIS — the Beneficial Ownership Registers Interconnection System hosted on the e-Justice Portal — is live but partial: as of early 2026, only 17 of 30 EU/EEA countries are connected. The companion system BRIS (business registers, not UBO) has been live since 2017 and now covers all Member States. Read the full BORIS primer.
Corporate Transparency Act — Scope Drastically Narrowed
FinCEN's interim final rule of 26 March 2025 exempted all domestic US entities and their US beneficial owners from CTA reporting. Only companies formed under foreign law and registered to do business in the US remain in scope, and even those are not required to report US-person beneficial owners. This is a dramatic reversal of the position that was being enforced as recently as February 2025. Any KYB process still assuming a live US BOI register against domestic LLCs is out of date. Note: state-level regimes are a separate story — New York's LLC Transparency Act took effect 1 January 2026.
EBR Network Shutdown
The European Business Register network — operational since 1992, the predecessor to BRIS and BORIS — processes its final request at the end of March 2026. Any integration still routing through legacy EBR endpoints needs to migrate to BRIS or direct-registry connections.
The practical reading. Compliance teams that built KYB workflows against a 2023 regulatory baseline are carrying stale assumptions in 2026. In the UK, director data now carries a verification timestamp that didn't exist 18 months ago. In the EU, UBO access is getting standardised but remains patchy. In the US, the federal BOI register is effectively dormant for domestic entities. These shifts change the scoring logic, not just the data feeds. Global Database tracks each of them at the registry level — our coverage reflects what is legally current, not what was legally current.
Europe
European registries are among the most accessible in the world. Most are digitised, most offer public lookup, and several — Denmark, Estonia, and the UK in particular — publish bulk data openly. The trade-off is fragmentation: each country has its own legal identifier, its own local-language name, and its own rules for when the number changes.
| Country | Number Name (Local) | Format | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Company Number (CRN) | 8 chars | 09410808, SC123456, NI123456, OC123456 | England & Wales: 8 digits. Scotland: SC. Northern Ireland: NI. LLPs: OC, SO, or NC. ECCTA IDV now mandatory for directors and PSCs. |
| Germany | Handelsregisternummer | HRA/HRB + digits | HRB 123456, Amtsgericht München | HRB = corporations (GmbH, AG). HRA = partnerships, sole traders. Only unique when paired with the issuing court. |
| France | SIREN / SIRET / RCS | 9 digits / 14 digits | 712 049 618, 712 049 618 00012 | SIREN = legal entity. SIRET = SIREN + 5-digit NIC per establishment. RCS = SIREN + city of commercial court. |
| Italy | Codice Fiscale / REA | 11 digits / Province + number | 01234567890, MI-1234567 | 11-digit fiscal code also serves as VAT. REA ties the company to the Chamber of Commerce. |
| Spain | NIF | 1 letter + 8 digits | A12345674, B12345678 | Letter indicates entity type (A = S.A., B = S.L., etc.). Replaced the older CIF in 2008. |
| Netherlands | KvK-nummer | 8 digits | 12345678 | Issued by the Kamer van Koophandel. Single national register. |
| Belgium | Ondernemingsnummer | 10 digits | 0123.456.789 | Displayed with dots. Also serves as the VAT number when prefixed with BE. |
| Ireland | Company Number | Up to 7 digits | 123456 | Issued by the Companies Registration Office (CRO). No prefix. |
| Denmark | CVR-nummer | 8 digits | 12345678 | Central Business Register. Open data — the full registry is freely downloadable. |
| Sweden | Organisationsnummer | 10 digits | 556677-8899 | Third digit is 5 or higher for limited companies. Includes a Luhn check digit. |
| Norway | Organisasjonsnummer | 9 digits | 987 654 321 | Issued by Brønnøysundregistrene. Includes a modulo-11 check digit. |
| Finland | Y-tunnus | 7 digits + check | 1234567-8 | Business ID used for all official filings and VAT (FI + Y-tunnus without hyphen). |
| Switzerland | UID | CHE-NNN.NNN.NNN | CHE-123.456.789 | Uniform national business ID across all federal registries since 2011. |
| Austria | Firmenbuchnummer | Digits + letter suffix | 123456a | Issued by the commercial court. Suffix letter is a check character. |
| Luxembourg | Numéro RCS | B + up to 6 digits | B123456 | Prefix B for commercial entities; other letters for associations and branches. |
| Poland | KRS / REGON / NIP | 10 / 9–14 / 10 digits | 0000123456 | KRS = registry. REGON = statistical. NIP = tax. All three commonly used. |
| Czech Republic | IČO | 8 digits | 12345678 | Issued by the commercial register. |
| Slovakia | IČO | 8 digits | 12345678 | Separate registry from Czech counterpart. Run through the Ministry of Justice. |
| Slovenia | Matična številka | 10 digits | 1234567000 | Registration number from AJPES. Last three digits are branch digits. |
| Croatia | MBS / OIB | Court MBS / 11-digit OIB | 12345678, 12345678901 | MBS = court registration. OIB = tax ID used for most administration. |
| Bulgaria | EIK / BULSTAT | 9 or 13 digits | 123456789 | Unified Identification Code from the Trade Register. 13-digit format for branches. |
| Serbia | Matični broj / PIB | 8 digits / 9 digits | 12345678, 123456789 | Matični broj from SBRA. PIB is the separate tax ID. |
| Portugal | NIPC | 9 digits | 501234567 | Also serves as the VAT number (PT prefix). |
| Greece | AFM / GEMI | 9 / up to 12 digits | 123456789 | AFM = tax. GEMI = General Commercial Registry. |
| Romania | CUI | Up to 10 digits | RO12345678 | Issued by ONRC. RO prefix marks VAT registration. |
| Hungary | Cégjegyzékszám | NN-NN-NNNNNN | 01-09-123456 | County + entity type + sequential number. |
| Estonia | Registrikood | 8 digits | 10000001 | Fully digital registry. Real-time e-Business Register API access. |
| Latvia | Reģistrācijas numurs | 11 digits | 40003123456 | First digit indicates entity type. |
| Lithuania | Juridinio asmens kodas | 9 digits | 123456789 | Entity code from Registrų centras. |
| Moldova | IDNO | 13 digits | 1003600012345 | State ID from ASP. Encodes registration year in positions 2–5. |
| Ukraine | YeDRPOU | 8 digits | 12345678 | Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations of Ukraine. |
| Iceland | Kennitala | 10 digits | 440112-3450 | Issued by Registers Iceland. Used for individuals and entities. |
| Malta | Company Number | C + 5–6 digits | C12345 | Prefix indicates entity type (C = private limited, P = partnership). |
| Cyprus | Registration Number | HE + up to 6 digits | HE123456 | Issued by the Department of Registrar of Companies. HE for private limited. |
| Gibraltar | Company Number | Up to 6 digits | 123456 | Issued by Companies House Gibraltar. |
| Albania | NIPT / NUIS | Letter + 8 digits + letter | K12345678L | Unique Identification Number issued by QKB (National Business Center). First letter encodes registration decade. |
| Kosovo | Business Number | 9 digits | 810123456 | Issued by ARBK (Kosovo Business Registration Agency). |
| North Macedonia | Embs / EDB | 7 digits (Embs) / 13 digits (EDB) | 1234567, 4030999123456 | Embs = registration number from the Central Registry. EDB = tax number. |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | JIB / MBS | 13 digits (JIB) | 4200123456789 | JIB = unique identification number. MBS = court registration number, varies by entity type and court. |
| Montenegro | Registration Number / PIB | 8 digits | 12345678 | Issued by CRPS (Central Registry of Commercial Entities). PIB is the tax ID. |
| San Marino | COE | Up to 5 digits | 12345 | Codice Operatore Economico. Issued by the Ufficio Attività Economiche. |
| Andorra | NRT | Letter + 6 digits + letter | L-123456-A | Número de Registre Tributari. Prefix letter indicates entity type. |
| Russia | OGRN / INN | 13 digits (OGRN) / 10 digits (INN) | 1027700149124, 7740000076 | OGRN = Primary State Registration Number (from FTS). INN = taxpayer number, also used as VAT. Accessible via EGRUL. |
| Belarus | UNP | 9 digits | 100123456 | Account Number from the Unified State Register. First digit indicates region. |
Offshore & Crown Dependencies
Offshore financial centres are the jurisdictions KYB teams ask about most and verify least. Each has its own registry, its own access rules, and — crucially for compliance work — its own rules on what beneficial ownership information is public.
| Country | Number Name (Local) | Format | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey | Company Number | Up to 6 digits | 123456 | Issued by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Public search available. |
| Guernsey | Company Number | Up to 5 digits | 12345 | Issued by the Guernsey Registry. Public basic search; full filings paid. |
| Isle of Man | Company Number | Up to 6 digits + letter | 123456C | Suffix indicates the Companies Act (C = 1931, V = 2006). |
| Cayman Islands | Company Number | Up to 6 digits | 123456 | Issued by the General Registry. Public search limited; most info paid. |
| British Virgin Islands | BVI Company Number | Up to 7 digits | 1234567 | Issued by the BVI FSC. UBO data in BOSS system, accessible only to UK/BVI authorities. |
| Bermuda | Registration Number | Up to 5 digits | 12345 | Issued by the Registrar of Companies. Searchable online via the ROC portal. |
| Liechtenstein | Firmennummer | FL- + up to 10 digits | FL-0002.123.456-7 | Issued by the Office of Justice. Digital commercial register. |
| Monaco | Numéro RCI | NN S NNNNN | 12 S 12345 | Year + entity code + sequential. |
| Panama | Ficha Mercantil | Sequential number | 155612345 | Issued by the Public Registry. Critical jurisdiction for UBO tracing. |
| Mauritius | BRN — Business Registration Number | Letter + 9 digits | C12345678 | Issued by CBRD via the CBRIS portal. First character indicates entity type. Note: Company/Partnership No (file no) differs from BRN. |
| Seychelles | IBC Number | Sequential numeric | 123456 | Issued by Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA). Separate registries for IBCs, CSLs, and domestic companies. |
| Bahamas | Company Number | Sequential numeric | 123456 B | Issued by the Registrar General's Department. Not strictly unique — early company numbers are frequently duplicated across company types. |
| Barbados | Company Number | Sequential numeric | 12345 | Issued by the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO). |
| Anguilla | Company Number | Up to 7 digits | 1234567 | Issued by the Commercial Registry, Anguilla Financial Services Commission. |
| Turks & Caicos | Company Number | Sequential numeric | 123456 | Issued by the Companies Registry, Financial Services Commission. |
| Curaçao | CRIB / KvK Number | Digits (varies) | 123456 | KvK number from the Chamber of Commerce; CRIB is the tax number. |
| Dominica | IBC Number | Sequential numeric | 12345 | Issued by the Companies & Intellectual Properties Office (CIPO). |
| Saint Kitts & Nevis | Company Number | Sequential numeric | C12345 | Issued by the Registrar of Companies. Nevis operates a separate registry for Nevis Business Corporations. |
| Saint Lucia | Company Number | Sequential numeric | 2020-00012 | Issued by the Registry of Companies and Intellectual Property. |
| Saint Vincent & Grenadines | Company Number | Sequential numeric | 25123 | Issued by the Commerce and Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). |
| Belize | IBC Number | Sequential numeric | 123456 | Issued by the Belize Companies Registry. Major offshore IBC jurisdiction. |
Offshore caveat. Registration number formats in offshore jurisdictions are straightforward. The challenge is access to the filings behind them — shareholder records, officer data, and beneficial ownership. Access rules differ sharply between jurisdictions and are changing quickly in response to FATF pressure and EU sanctions enforcement. Always verify the legal basis under which you're requesting UBO data.
North America
North America is the jurisdiction compliance teams most frequently get wrong. The United States has no national company register and no national registration number. Incorporation happens at the state level, which means that "Delaware corporation" and "New York corporation" involve two different registries, two different formats, and two different public lookup mechanisms. The EIN is a federal tax ID, not a legal entity identifier.
| Country | Number Name (Local) | Format | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | State File Number / EIN | Varies / NN-NNNNNNN | 7654321 (DE), 12-3456789 (EIN) | No national register. State file number is the legal identity. EIN is a 9-digit federal tax ID. |
| Canada (Federal) | Corporation Number / BN | 7 digits / 9 digits + suffix | 1234567, 123456789RC0001 | Corporations Canada issues the 7-digit number. CRA Business Number used for tax. |
| Canada (Provincial) | Varies by province | Varies | Ontario BIN: 9 digits | Each province runs its own register. Federal and provincial are separate. |
| Mexico | RFC | 12 chars | ABC090625XYZ | 3 letters + 6-digit date + 3-char homoclave. |
US watch-out (updated 2026). If a counterparty provides only an EIN for KYB, that is not proof of incorporation — it is proof of IRS tax registration. Always verify against the relevant Secretary of State registry. Note: FinCEN's March 2025 interim final rule exempted all domestic US entities from federal Corporate Transparency Act beneficial ownership reporting. UBO discovery for US companies now relies on state-level regimes (e.g. New York's LLC Transparency Act) and voluntary disclosure.
Asia-Pacific
APAC contains some of the most structured identifiers in the world (Singapore UEN, India CIN) and some of the hardest to verify at scale (China, Indonesia). The two trends to watch: national identifier consolidation (Singapore merged multiple IDs into UEN in 2009; Australia rolled out the ABN), and rising enforcement on beneficial ownership disclosure across the region.
| Country | Number Name (Local) | Format | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | CIN | 21 chars alphanumeric | L17110MH1973PLC019786 | Encodes listing status, industry, state, year, type, and ROC number. LLPs use 7-digit LLPIN. |
| China | Unified Social Credit Code | 18 chars alphanumeric | 91310000123456789X | Replaced business licence numbers in 2015. Final character is a check digit. |
| Japan | Corporate Number | 13 digits | 1234567890123 | Issued by the National Tax Agency. Public lookup via NTA portal. |
| Singapore | UEN | 9 or 10 chars | 201712177T, 53480099U | Post-2009: YYYYNNNNNX. Pre-2009: NNNNNNNNX. Foreign: TyyPQnnnnX. |
| Hong Kong | Company Number / BRN | 7 digits / 8+3 | 1234567 | CR number is legal identity. BRN from Inland Revenue. |
| Australia | ACN / ABN | 9 digits / 11 digits | 123 456 789, 12 123 456 789 | ACN from ASIC. ABN from ATO; ABN = 2 prefix digits + ACN. |
| New Zealand | Company Number / NZBN | Up to 7 digits / 13 digits | 1234567, 9429000000000 | NZBN is GLN-compatible. Covers all business types. |
| Malaysia | Company Registration Number | 12 digits (new) / NNNNNN-X (legacy) | 202001012345, 123456-X | SSM introduced 12-digit format in 2019. |
| Indonesia | NIB | 13 digits | 1234567890123 | Via OSS system. Replaced SIUP and TDP. |
| Thailand | Juristic Person ID | 13 digits | 0105561123456 | From DBD. Encodes registration province and type. |
| Vietnam | Enterprise Code | 10 digits | 0123456789 | Also acts as the tax code. |
| Philippines | SEC Registration Number | Alphanumeric | CS201812345 | Format varies by entity type and year. |
| South Korea | Corporate Registration Number | 13 digits | 110111-1234567 | From the Supreme Court. Tax BRN is a separate 10-digit number. |
| Taiwan | Unified Business Number | 8 digits | 12345678 | Serves as both company ID and VAT number. |
| Pakistan | Incorporation Number | Alphanumeric | 0012345 | From SECP. NTN is a separate identifier. |
| Bangladesh | Incorporation Number | Alphanumeric | C-123456/2020 | From RJSC. Often includes entity-type prefix. |
| Sri Lanka | Company Number | PV / PB + digits | PV12345 | PV = private limited. PB = public limited. |
| Kazakhstan | BIN — Business Identification Number | 12 digits | 171140003030 | Encodes YY + MM + entity type (1 digit) + region (1 digit) + serial (5 digits) + check (1 digit). Issued by the State Revenue Committee. |
| Uzbekistan | INN / STIR | 9 digits | 301234567 | Taxpayer Identification Number issued by the State Tax Committee. |
| Armenia | TIN / State Registration Number | 8 digits | 02614785 | Issued by the State Register of Legal Entities, Ministry of Justice. |
| Azerbaijan | VÖEN / TIN | 10 digits | 1234567891 | Issued by the Ministry of Taxes. Legal entities' VÖEN starts with specific prefix digits. |
| Georgia | Identification Number | 9 digits | 204123456 | Issued by the National Agency of Public Registry. Starting digits indicate entity type and region. |
| Kyrgyzstan | OKPO | 8 digits | 12345678 | All-Classifier of Enterprises and Organisations code. |
| Mongolia | Register Number | 7 digits | 2089152 | Issued by the General Department of Taxation and the State Registration Office. |
| Cambodia | Business Registration Number | Prefix + digits | 00001234 | Issued by the Ministry of Commerce via the online business registration portal. |
| Laos | Enterprise Registration Certificate No. | Sequential alphanumeric | 01-12345 | Issued by the Department of Enterprise Registration and Management (DERM). |
| Myanmar | Company Registration Number | Digits | 123456789 | Issued by DICA (Directorate of Investment and Company Administration) via MyCO portal. |
| Nepal | Registration Number | Sequential numeric | 123456 | Issued by the Office of the Company Registrar. |
| Brunei | ROC Number | Sequential numeric | RC00001234 | Issued by the Registry of Companies and Business Names (ROCBN). |
| Macau | Commercial Registration Number | Sequential numeric | 12345(SO) | Issued by the Commercial and Movable Property Registry Office (CRCBM). |
| Maldives | Registration Number | Alphanumeric | C-1234/2020 | Issued by the Ministry of Economic Development. Different formats for partnerships, companies, and cooperatives. |
Latin America
| Country | Number Name (Local) | Format | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | CNPJ | 14 digits | 12.345.678/0001-95 | First 8 digits = entity root. Next 4 = branch. Last 2 = check digits. |
| Mexico | RFC | 12 chars | ABC090625XYZ | 3 letters + 6-digit date + 3-char homoclave. |
| Argentina | CUIT | 11 digits | 30-12345678-9 | 30 = legal entity. 20/27 = individuals. Includes a check digit. |
| Chile | RUT | Up to 9 digits + check | 76.123.456-7 | Same format for individuals and entities; context distinguishes. |
| Colombia | NIT | 9–10 digits + check | 900123456-7 | Registered with DIAN and the Chamber of Commerce. |
| Peru | RUC | 11 digits | 20123456789 | Legal entities start with 20. |
| Ecuador | RUC | 13 digits | 1790123456001 | Last three digits are the establishment code. |
| Uruguay | RUT | 12 digits | 210123450017 | Issued by the DGI. Different from the Chilean RUT. |
| Costa Rica | Cédula Jurídica | 10 digits | 3101123456 | Starts with 3 for legal entities. |
| Venezuela | RIF | J/G/V + 8 digits + check | J-12345678-9 | J prefix = private companies. |
| Bolivia | NIT | 10–13 digits | 1020304050 | Número de Identificación Tributaria issued by Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN). |
| Paraguay | RUC | 6–8 digits + check | 80012345-6 | Registro Único de Contribuyentes. Issued by DNIT (formerly SET). |
| Dominican Republic | RNC | 9 digits | 101234567 | Registro Nacional de Contribuyentes. Issued by DGII. |
| Guatemala | NIT | Up to 8 digits + check | 1234567-8 | Issued by SAT. Companies register via the Registro Mercantil then assigned NIT. |
| El Salvador | NIT | 14 digits | 0614-010106-101-5 | Registered with Ministerio de Hacienda. Encodes municipality, date, and sequential. |
| Honduras | RTN | 14 digits | 08019999123456 | Registro Tributario Nacional. Issued by SAR (Servicio de Administración de Rentas). |
| Nicaragua | RUC | 14 digits | J0310000012345 | Registro Único de Contribuyentes. Issued by DGI. Starts with J for legal entities. |
| Jamaica | Company Number | Sequential alphanumeric | 012345 | Issued by the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ). Separate TRN (Taxpayer Registration Number) issued by TAJ. |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Company Number | Sequential numeric | T123456789 | Issued by the Companies Registry. BIR number is the separate tax ID. |
| Cuba | REEUP / NIT | Sequential numeric | 12345.6 | State enterprise register. Private enterprise registration is limited. Verification is operationally restricted under US sanctions. |
Middle East & Africa
| Country | Number Name (Local) | Format | Example | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | Commercial Licence Number | Varies by emirate | Dubai DED: CN-1234567 | No federal register. Each emirate and free zone issues its own. |
| Saudi Arabia | Commercial Registration | 10 digits | 1010123456 | First 4 digits indicate the issuing city. |
| Qatar | Commercial Registration | Up to 6 digits | 12345 | Issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. |
| Bahrain | CR Number | Up to 6 digits + suffix | 12345-1 | Suffix indicates branch. |
| Kuwait | Commercial Licence | Sequential | 123456 | Issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. |
| Israel | Company Number | 9 digits | 512345678 | 51 = private. 52 = public. 57 = cooperative. |
| Turkey | MERSİS Numarası | 16 digits | 1234567890123456 | Central Registry System. Tax number is a separate 10-digit ID. |
| South Africa | Company Registration Number | YYYY/NNNNNN/NN | 2015/123456/07 | From CIPC. Encodes year, sequence, and entity type. |
| Nigeria | RC Number | Up to 7 digits | RC 1234567 | From CAC. BN prefix for business names. |
| Kenya | Company Number | Alphanumeric | CPR/2019/123456 | From BRS on the eCitizen platform. |
| Egypt | Commercial Register Number | Up to 7 digits | 1234567 | From GAFI. Tax card is a separate identifier. |
| Morocco | RC / ICE | RC digits / 15 digits (ICE) | 123456, 001234567000012 | ICE = uniform national ID since 2015. |
| Ghana | Company Number | Alphanumeric | CA-1234567 | Issued by the Office of the Registrar of Companies. |
| Tanzania | Registration Number | Sequential | 12345 | From BRELA. TIN is a separate 9-digit identifier. |
| Jordan | Commercial Register Number | Up to 6 digits | 12345 | Issued by the Companies Control Department, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. Chamber of Commerce registration is separate. |
| Lebanon | Commercial Register Number | Sequential numeric | 1019890 | Issued by the Ministry of Justice. Search at cr.justice.gov.lb (Arabic interface only). |
| Oman | Commercial Registration (CR) | Up to 7 digits | 1234567 | Issued by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion via the Invest Easy portal. |
| Iraq | Commercial Register Number | Sequential numeric | M.S/12345 | Issued by the Companies Registrar, Ministry of Trade. Format varies by entity type (M.S for limited liability). |
| Palestine | Registration Number | Sequential numeric | 562123456 | Issued by the Companies Controller, Ministry of National Economy. |
| Tunisia | Matricule Fiscal / RNE | 7 digits + letter + /A/M/N/P | 1234567/A/M/000 | National Enterprise Register (RNE). Matricule fiscal encodes entity type. |
| Algeria | NIS / RC Number | 15 digits (NIS) | 098123456789012 | Issued by CNRC (Centre National du Registre du Commerce). |
| Senegal | NINEA / RCCM | 9 digits (NINEA) | 001234567 | NINEA issued by ANSD. RCCM issued via the commercial court. Follows OHADA framework. |
| Côte d'Ivoire | RCCM / CC Number | Alphanumeric | CI-ABJ-2020-B-12345 | OHADA RCCM format: country + city + year + type + sequential. |
| Cameroon | RCCM | Alphanumeric | CM-DLA-2020-B-12345 | OHADA RCCM. Issued by the Centre de Formalités de Création d'Entreprises. |
| Ethiopia | TIN / Registration Number | 10 digits (TIN) | 0012345678 | Issued by the Ministry of Revenues and the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration. |
| Uganda | URSB Number / TIN | Alphanumeric | 80020123456789 | URSB (Uganda Registration Services Bureau) issues registration. URA issues the 10-digit TIN. |
| Rwanda | TIN / Company Code | 9 digits (TIN) | 101234567 | Issued by RDB (Rwanda Development Board). Unified business registration via Business Development Fund portal. |
| Botswana | Company Number | YYYY/XXXXX | 2020/12345 | Issued by CIPA (Companies and Intellectual Property Authority). |
| Zambia | PACRA Number | Sequential numeric | 123456 | Issued by the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA). |
| Zimbabwe | Company Number | Sequential numeric | 12345/2020 | Issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). |
| Mozambique | NUIT | 9 digits | 400123456 | Número Único de Identificação Tributária. Legal entities start with 4. |
| Angola | NIF | 10 digits | 5417012345 | Número de Identificação Fiscal. Legal entities start with 5. |
| Namibia | Company Number | YYYY/NNNNN | 2020/12345 | Issued by BIPA (Business and Intellectual Property Authority). |
Stop integrating registries one country at a time.
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Explore the API →Restricted Access Jurisdictions
Every row elsewhere in this guide reflects a functioning government registry we can verify against. The jurisdictions below do not meet that bar in April 2026. Their registries are either non-operational due to conflict, regime change, or sanctions regimes that prevent normal verification. We list them here honestly rather than publish format claims we cannot stand behind — because in KYB, "we don't know" is always more useful than "we guessed."
The standard we hold. A jurisdiction earns a full row in this guide only if we can verify against the official registry in 2026. If that's not possible — because the registry is offline, inaccessible, or the country is under comprehensive sanctions that block verification — it moves to this section. This is the discipline that separates primary-source data from second-hand guesswork.
| Jurisdiction | Registry Status | Practical Implication for KYB |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Registry (AISA / ACBR) operationally disrupted since August 2021 under Taliban administration. No reliable public access for foreign users. | Any pre-2021 registration data must be treated as historical. New incorporations cannot be independently verified. |
| Syria | Companies register exists on paper but is inaccessible for external verification. No digital public portal in 2026. | Sanctions implications aside, primary-source verification is not possible. |
| Yemen | Civil conflict has fragmented the registry between Houthi-controlled and internationally-recognised government administrations. No unified source. | Verification requires country-specific legal counsel; standard compliance workflows cannot be automated. |
| Libya | Commercial registry has been fragmented since 2011, with parallel authorities in different regions. No unified digital public register in 2026. | Any Libyan CR number must be cross-referenced against the administering authority at time of registration. |
| Sudan | Registry disrupted by the April 2023 conflict; public access severely limited. | Treat all Sudanese registration claims as unverifiable until the registry resumes normal operations. |
| Somalia / Somaliland | Federal registry is functionally limited; Somaliland operates its own unrecognised registry. | Verification requires direct in-country engagement. Not suitable for automated KYB workflows. |
| South Sudan | Business Registry exists under the Ministry of Justice but lacks public digital access. | Verification is manual, slow, and often requires on-the-ground counsel. |
| Eritrea | No publicly accessible commercial register. | Primary-source verification is not achievable through standard channels. |
| Iran | A registry exists (via Rasmio / State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties) but comprehensive sanctions regimes (EU, UK, US) restrict transactional verification for most compliance purposes. | Check sanctions posture before any verification attempt. Most regulated institutions cannot transact regardless of registry status. |
| North Korea (DPRK) | Under comprehensive UN, EU, UK, and US sanctions. No accessible business register for external users. | Regulated institutions are prohibited from transacting. Registry verification is irrelevant to most compliance decisions. |
What this means in practice. If a counterparty presents a registration from any of these jurisdictions, treat it as requiring manual legal review, not a routine KYB check. Global Database flags these jurisdictions automatically in our platform with the registry status at time of query, so your compliance team can route them to the appropriate escalation path rather than having them silently fail in an automated workflow.
How Global Database Solves Cross-Border Verification
The tables above only tell half the story. Format is one problem. Access is the other. Every country operates its own registry, in its own language, behind its own paywall or captcha or PDF-only filing system. For a bank onboarding suppliers in 40 countries, or a data platform matching 600 million companies across borders, integrating with each registry individually is not a strategy — it's a career.
Global Database is connected directly to 400+ official government registries across 200+ countries. One API call returns a standardised, normalised company record — legal name, registration number, status, officers, ownership, financials — with source attribution on every field. The integrations are ours. The maintenance is ours. You get coverage without the engineering burden.
| Use Case | The Registry Problem | What Global Database Delivers |
|---|---|---|
| KYB onboarding | Verify legal identity in 50+ countries with different number formats and ID systems. | Single API. Pass the number or legal name; we match, normalise, and return verified registry data with timestamps. |
| Continuous monitoring | Catching director changes or insolvency filings across multiple jurisdictions in near-real time. | Registry changes captured within 24 hours of filing. Webhooks push updates into your system. |
| Corporate linkage / UBO | Ownership trails cross borders. Each registry exposes different ownership data at different depths. | We consolidate shareholder filings from all registries where disclosure is public and render the full corporate tree. |
| Data enrichment at scale | Enriching a 100K-row account list with registration numbers, VAT, financials across countries. | Bulk matching in list enrichment or direct CRM integration via HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive. |
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Get 100 free lookups →Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a company registration number?
A company registration number is the unique identifier assigned to a legal entity by the official government registry when it is incorporated. It confirms the company exists in law and is used by regulators, banks, tax authorities, and counterparties to verify the business.
2. Is a tax ID the same as a company registration number?
No. A tax ID (a US EIN, a German Steuernummer, an EU VAT number) is issued by the tax authority for tax purposes. A company registration number is issued by the business registry for legal identity. Some jurisdictions use the same number for both, but they are conceptually separate and issued by different bodies.
3. Does the United States have a national company registration number?
No. The US does not have a single national business register. Companies are incorporated at state level and receive a state file number (a Delaware file number, a California entity number, etc.). The EIN issued by the IRS is a federal tax ID, not a registration number.
4. How many digits is a UK company registration number?
A UK Companies House number is always 8 characters. English and Welsh companies have 8 digits. Scottish companies use SC plus 6 digits. Northern Irish companies use NI plus 6 digits. LLPs use OC, SO, or NC prefixes followed by 6 digits.
5. What is a CIN in India and what does each section mean?
A CIN is a 21-character alphanumeric code issued by the Registrar of Companies. Position 1 = listing status (L or U). Positions 2–6 = industry code. Positions 7–8 = state code. Positions 9–12 = year of incorporation. Positions 13–15 = company type (PTC, PLC, etc.). Positions 16–21 = ROC registration number.
6. What is the format of a German Handelsregisternummer?
A German commercial register number is a prefix (HRA for partnerships, HRB for corporations like GmbH and AG) followed by a sequential number. The number is only unique when paired with the district court that issued it — the same HRB 1234 can exist at different Amtsgerichts.
7. How do I verify a company registration number for KYB?
Verification is done through the official government registry in the company's country of incorporation. Because there are more than 200 registries, each with different languages, formats, and access methods, compliance teams use consolidated providers. Global Database connects to 400+ official registries and exposes them through one API with full source attribution.
8. Does a company registration number ever change?
Usually no — the number is permanent for the life of the entity. Exceptions: in Germany, moving between district court areas produces a new number. In India, a change in listing status or legal form can trigger a new CIN. In the US, a state-to-state redomestication issues a new state file number.
9. What is the difference between SIREN and SIRET in France?
SIREN is the 9-digit number identifying the legal entity. SIRET is 14 digits and identifies each physical establishment — the SIREN plus a 5-digit NIC code. A company has one SIREN for its entire life and one SIRET per location. The RCS number is the SIREN plus the city of the commercial court.
10. Can I get company registration data for all countries through one API?
Yes. Global Database is connected to 400+ official government registries across 200+ countries. One API call returns standardised company data — legal name, registration number, status, officers, ownership, and financials — without needing to integrate with each national registry individually. Source attribution is retained on every field.