An ordinary Cayman Registry search identifies directors and leaves ownership gaps.
The Cayman public record gives a company's status, office and directors' names. Members stay at the registered office, certificates go only to the company, and beneficial ownership needs a legitimate interest.
By Matthew Lee
Since 1 October 2019 anyone can see who sits on the board of a Cayman company. The fee was CI$50 a search when inspection opened.
Cayman companies, including the exempted companies used as funds and holding vehicles, are registered with the General Registry under the Registrar of Companies. Basic company information has been open to public search since the 1960s, as the Registry noted when it added directors' names in 2019.
What the record shows
Registered users of the Registry's online payment and search service can buy three searches.
| Search | What it returns |
|---|---|
| Basic information | Name, registration number, type, status, date of registration and registered office |
| List of directors | Names of the current directors and alternate directors |
| Detailed search report | A summary of the company's constitutional documents |
The Registry treats the search report, or a certificate of existence, as the way to see a company's status, such as active or dissolved.
Directors, names only
The Companies (Amendment) Law 2019 gave any person the right to inspect a list of the names of a company's current and alternate directors. No other personal details are given, and the searcher needs the company's correct registered name.
- Current only: the Companies Act requires the Registry to make available the current directors. It does not provide history.
- Kept up to date: a company sends its register of directors and officers to the Registrar within 60 days of the first appointment, and notifies any change within 30 days.
- Removed companies: records of a company struck off, deregistered or dissolved are not available to the public, except on a court order or a request from a law enforcement agency.
Members stay at the registered office
The Registry's answer is direct: the public has no access to the register of members from the Registrar's office. The register of any company except an exempted company may be inspected at its registered office.
Most Cayman companies in Hong Kong ownership structures are exempted companies. Their shareholders come from the company itself, through its registered office provider, as a certificate of incumbency or a certified register of members.
Certificates go to the company
Every certificate except a certificate of termination is available only to the company's principals or their authorised personnel. They order it through the Cayman Business Portal or CORIS, or by email to the Registry with written authorisation.
- Good standing: attests to the company's legal standing with the Registry. The option does not appear while the company is out of good standing.
- No expiry: a Cayman certificate of good standing has no expiry date. The Registry suggests 30 days and leaves acceptance to the institution asking for it.
- Checkable: each certificate carries a code at the bottom right that can be verified on the Registry's website.
So a counterparty asks the company to have its registered office order the certificate. Our glossary entry sets out what it does and does not prove.
Beneficial ownership by legitimate interest
The Beneficial Ownership Transparency (Legitimate Interest Access) Regulations 2024 came into force on 28 February 2025. The competent authority's guidance names three groups who may apply:
- Journalists and academic researchers.
- Civil society organisations whose purpose includes preventing or combating money laundering or terrorist financing.
- A party to a potential or actual business relationship or transaction with the legal person.
Every applicant must also show the information is sought to prevent, detect, investigate, combat or prosecute money laundering, its predicate offences or terrorist financing. A business applicant supplies details of the relationship and the due diligence already done.
Searches run on the legal person's name only, never on an individual's. An approved application returns the beneficial owner's name, country of residence, nationality, month and year of birth, and mechanism of control. Check the authority’s published fees and processing guidance when applying. A beneficial owner at serious risk of harm can apply for their details to be withheld.
How Fill Easy fits in
We return the Cayman company search report and the list of current directors as PDFs, and a certificate of good standing where the client has authority from the company. Order by email to agent@fill-easy.com or through the API; price and turnaround are confirmed with the order. CorpVerify traces offshore holding companies through each layer to the people behind them. The Cayman jurisdiction page lists every document, the BVI article covers the other common offshore register, and the banking page shows Cayman and BVI vehicles searched at the registry for private clients.
Which of your Cayman counterparties could hand you a certificate of good standing dated this month?