BVI business companies are registered with the Registry of Corporate Affairs, a division of the BVI Financial Services Commission, and are among the most common holding vehicles in Hong Kong ownership structures. The public record is thin by design: a search report shows the company's name, number, type, status, date of incorporation, registered agent, registered office, share or capital information, previous names and the transactions and certificates filed, and since 1 January 2023 the Registrar provides on request a list of the names of its directors. The register of members is not public.
Fill Easy returns the BVI company search, the list of directors and a certificate of good standing as PDFs by email or through the API. Price and turnaround are confirmed with the order, and every result records the source, the retrieval time and the request ID.
Registry
BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC)
The Registry of Corporate Affairs, a division of the FSC, administers the BVI Business Companies Act and maintains the Register of Companies, as well as the registers of limited partnerships and foreign companies. Filings are made by a licensed registered agent in the BVI through the Registry's VIRRGIN system. Since 2025 the FSC has run a Public Search Function (publicsearch.bvifsc.vg) through which anyone can buy search reports, public registers, certificates of good standing and other certificates; further documents are requested from the Registry with its form R820 by email.
A search report returns the company's registered details, its share or capital information, previous names and the history of transactions and certificates filed; certified or uncertified copies of any listed document can then be requested. The Registry's form R820 lists the fees: US$50 for a company search, US$75 for a list of directors and US$100 for a certificate of good standing. Companies file their register of members, but public access remains restricted unless the company elects to make it public, and beneficial ownership information filed with the Registrar is open only to competent authorities and, from 1 April 2026, to persons who demonstrate a legitimate interest.
www.bvifsc.vg/registry-corporate-affairs (opens in a new tab)
Company number
A numeric company number assigned by the Registry on incorporation or re-registration, with no letters, six or seven digits in the Registry's published notices (for example 680743 or 1695633). The number appears on the certificate of incorporation and on every certificate the Registry issues.
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Company search report | Company name, company number, type, date of incorporation, status with its date, current registered agent and its address, registered office address, share or capital information, previous names, and the history of transactions and certificates filed with the Registry. Sold through the FSC's Public Search Function; US$50 on the Registry's form R820. |
| List of current directors | The names of the company's directors, which the Registrar makes available on request from the copy of the register of directors the company has filed, as amended by the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2022 from 1 January 2023. Addresses and dates of birth are not included, and the list reflects the register as last filed. US$75 on the Registry's form R820. |
| Certificate of good standing | The Registrar's certificate that the company is on the register, has paid its annual fees and is not in liquidation or struck off, issued electronically and checkable on the FSC's certificate verification page. US$100 for a business company on the Registry's form R820; requested through the Public Search Function. |
| Certificate of incorporation | A copy of the certificate with the company's name, number and date of incorporation, or of re-registration under the 2004 Act. |
| Memorandum and articles of association | The filed constitution of the company, with amendments, as a copy from the Registry. |
| Register of charges | Charges the company has elected to register with the Registry, with the chargee and the date of registration. |
Generally no. A BVI business company files its register of members with the Registrar, but filing does not make it generally public. Unless the company elects public access, obtain the appropriate certified member record through the company or registered agent. An ordinary search report shows registered particulars rather than a complete ownership file. Beneficial ownership filed with the Registrar is released only to authorities or, from 1 April 2026, on a legitimate-interest application. Ownership otherwise has to come from the company or its agent.
Partially. Since 1 January 2023, under the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2022, the Registrar makes available on request a list of the directors in the register of directors a company has filed. The list gives names only, as at the register last filed; it does not include addresses or dates of birth.
The company's name, number, type, status and status date, date of incorporation, registered agent and registered office, share or capital information, previous names, and the transactions and certificates on file with the Registry. Fill Easy returns this as a PDF report.
A certificate from the Registrar of Corporate Affairs that the company is on the register, has paid its annual fees and is not struck off or in liquidation. It is issued electronically with a code that can be verified on the FSC website, and banks commonly ask for one dated within the last few months.
No. Since 2025 the FSC's Public Search Function sells search reports and certificates to anyone for a fee, and further documents are requested from the Registry of Corporate Affairs by email on form R820. Fill Easy handles the search for you and returns the report by email or API.