A company register is a register of organizations in the jurisdiction they operate under. A

statistical business register A statistical business register (SBR) plays a central part in a system of official economic statistics at a national statistics office. A company register has a different purpose: protection, accountability and control of legal entities. Register ...

has a different purpose than a company register. While a commercial/trade register serves a purpose of protection, accountability and control, a statistical register plays a central part in a system of official economic statistics at a national statistics office.

Company registers by country

Each country's company register has different registrar types, contents, purpose, and public availability.

Botswana

Companies and Intellectual Property Authority is responsible for registering companies in Botswana.

Canada

The Director General of

Corporations Canada Canadian corporate law concerns the operation of corporations in Canada, which can be established under either federal or provincial authority. Federal incorporation of for-profit corporations is governed by Corporations Canada under the ''Canada ...

is responsible for federally-incorporated corporations. Each province has a registrar who is responsible for provincially-incorporated corporations.

Czech Republic

You can apply for the company's entry into the Commercial Register kept by an applicable court. Business companies that have their registered office in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

are registered in the commercial register maintained by th
Municipal Court in Prague
If you want to start doing business in the Czech Republic, under the Czech Trade Licensing Act you must submit a trade registration which will issue an extract from the Trade Licensing Register (''výpis z živnostenského rejstříku).''

United Kingdom

Registrars of Companies

The Registrar of Companies for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

is the official responsible for

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are in ...

, which deals with all filings relating to the

Companies Act 1985 The Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, enacted in 1985, which enabled companies to be formed by registration, and set out the responsibilities of companies, their ...

to 2006. Companies House ensures that the document filings are kept up to date and deals with any breaches of the Companies Act. The Registrar of Companies for

is Louise Smyth, who is based at Companies House,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. The Registrar of Companies for Scotland is Lisa Davis, who is based at Companies House,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The Registrar of Companies for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

is Helen Shilliday, whose office is based in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Registrar of Mutuals

The Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for the maintenance of the Mutuals Public Register of co-operative societies,

building societies A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdo ...

friendly societies A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual org ...

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provisi ...

s and other registered mutuals, and deals with all the filings related to the

Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 (c.14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. Provisions According to its long title, the Act consolidates certain enactments rela ...

and other relevant legislation. The registration of registered societies and credit unions in Northern Ireland was transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority in 2018.

Jersey

The Registrar of Companies for

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

is the Jersey Financial Services Commission.

India

India has one registrar of companies for each of the below regions. Each state typically has one registrar office or shares an office with neighbouring states and/or union territories. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the only states to have two offices and two registrar of companies.

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

is the only union territory to have its own office.

Ireland

Registrar of Companies

The Registrar of Companies is the official responsible for the

Companies Registration Office (Ireland) The Companies Registration Office (CRO; ga, An Oifig um Chlárú Cuideachtaí) registers and incorporates companies in Ireland and files their annual returns. The CRO has a number of core functions: *The incorporation of companies. *The receipt ...

, which deals with all filings relating to the

Companies Act 2014 The Companies Act 2014 (No. 38 of 2014) was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 23 December 2014 to regulate companies under Irish law. It was a consolidating and reforming piece of legislation, incorporating many of the provision ...

, as amended, in addition to the registration of business names and limited partnerships, in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The Companies Registration Office ensures that the document filings are kept up to date and deals with most administrative breaches of the Companies Act. More serious breaches of the Companies Act are investigated and enforced by the Corporate Enforcement Authority.

Registrar of Societies

The Registrar of Friendly Societies is the official responsible for the registration of

industrial and provident societies An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...

(the vast majority of which are

co-operatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

and

. The Registrar deals with all filings related to the industrial and provident society, and friendly society legislation, and deals with most administrative breaches of the Acts.

Registrar of Credit Unions and Building Societies

The Central Bank of Ireland is the official responsible for the registration of

s (Registrar of Credit Unions) and

Openness

According to ratings published by the website

OpenCorporates OpenCorporates is a website that shares data on corporations under the copyleft Open Database License. The company was launched on 20 December 2010, by Chris Taggart and Rob McKinnon. Recognition In 2011, the site won third place in the O ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

are the leaders with regard to openness of information available in a company's register. Registries/registrars in these countries are named, correspondingly, Central Business Register and

References

{{Authority control Corporate law