How to check who owns a company
Company registries country by country: what they publish, what a search costs, whether beneficial owners are shown and how to order official extracts, from the registries themselves, dated. Updated 20 October 2026.
Explainers
- Beneficial ownership registers explained
What beneficial ownership registers hold, what FATF Recommendation 24 asks of countries, and how a 2022 EU court ruling changed public access.
Countries
- Kenya: Business Registration Service search and beneficial ownership
Kenya Business Registration Service: how to order an official search (formerly CR12) on eCitizen, the fee, and who can see beneficial ownership data.
- South Sudan: the Business Registry at the Ministry of Justice
South Sudan's business registry sits in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Little is published online on searches, fees or owners.
- Tanzania: BRELA company search, fees and beneficial ownership
BRELA and its Online Registration System: free company lookup, search and extract fees in TSh, and the beneficial ownership filing rules.
- United Kingdom: Companies House search, owners and certified copies
Companies House: free online search, what it shows on officers and persons with significant control, identity checks, and certified copy fees.
Company Registries is published by Onward Africa, a communications firm. It is not a government website. Our methodology page explains who we are and how we check every figure.