Official Business Registry & Entity Search

A business registry check verifies an entity’s legal existence, registration status, legal form, directors, and beneficial owners against official government and chamber of commerce registries. Unlike aggregated databases or commercial data providers, a direct registry check returns authoritative, Tier 1 data from the original source of record — the same data regulators rely on.

Under CRS 2.0, DAC8, and FATCA, entity type determines the entire compliance path — which self-certification form applies, which reporting category the account falls into, and which treaty benefits or exemptions are available. Incorrect entity classification from unverified data creates systemic compliance failures across the entire reporting chain.

TaxDo connects to 120+ official company registries across 120+ countries, including Companies House (UK), Handelsregister (Germany), KvK (Netherlands), Infogreffe (France), Registro Mercantil (Spain), Camera di Commercio (Italy), SEC EDGAR (US), State SOS registries (all 50 US states), ACRA (Singapore), ASIC (Australia), and dozens of national and provincial registries across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. All sources are government or chamber of commerce registries.

A TIN validation confirms the format and issuance status of a Tax Identification Number against the issuing tax authority. A business registry check verifies the entity itself — its legal form, registration status, directors, beneficial owners, and registered address against the official company registry. Both are required for complete entity due diligence under CRS 2.0 and DAC8.

CRS 2.0 and DAC8 require institutions to classify entities accurately — Active NFFE, Passive NFFE, Financial Institution, or other defined categories. This classification determines reporting obligations, look-through requirements for controlling persons, and applicable exemptions. Registry data provides the authoritative legal form and status needed for accurate entity classification at the point of onboarding.

CARF introduces entity classification requirements specific to the crypto-asset ecosystem. Reporting CASPs must determine whether an institutional counterparty is itself a CASP, an exchange, a custodial wallet provider, a fund holding crypto assets, or an unregulated entity. The legal form and registration status from the official registry are the authoritative inputs for this classification — they determine whether the counterparty falls within or outside the CARF reporting perimeter, and whether look-through to controlling persons is required for entity accounts.

Where beneficial ownership data is available in official registries, TaxDo returns it as part of the registry check. EU member states require beneficial ownership registration under AMLD. The UK provides PSC data through Companies House. The US Corporate Transparency Act established a FinCEN beneficial ownership registry. Coverage varies by jurisdiction, and TaxDo flags where BO data is unavailable.

Registry lookups are real-time. Results return within seconds for most registries, enabling entity verification at the point of onboarding rather than in batch remediation cycles. The API supports both single lookups and batch processing for portfolio-level verification across thousands of entities.

A registry check returns the complete entity record from the official source: entity name (registered and trading names), registration number, legal form, registration date, status (Active, Dissolved, Struck Off, In Liquidation), registered address, directors and officers with appointment dates, beneficial owners where available (name, ownership percentage, control type), share capital, industry classification (NACE, SIC, ISIC codes), parent company, and annual filing status. Exact field availability varies by jurisdiction and registry.

All EU member states require beneficial ownership registers under the Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLD). The UK provides Persons with Significant Control (PSC) data publicly through Companies House. The US established a beneficial ownership registry through the Corporate Transparency Act via FinCEN. Australia, Canada, and Singapore have varying levels of BO disclosure requirements. Coverage continues to expand globally as AML regulations tighten.

TaxDo queries official registries in real-time at the point of lookup — there is no cached or periodically updated database. Data freshness reflects what the official registry holds at the moment of the query. This is fundamentally different from commercial aggregators that compile and cache data with days or weeks of lag between updates.

Yes. The API supports batch processing for portfolio-level verification. Submit thousands of entities for parallel registry lookups across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously. Batch results include the same structured data as single lookups, with completion webhooks for asynchronous processing workflows.

KYB (Know Your Business) is a broader compliance process that includes entity verification, beneficial ownership identification, sanctions screening, and risk assessment. A business registry check is the foundational step within KYB — verifying the entity’s legal existence and details against official sources. TaxDo provides the registry verification layer that feeds into your wider KYB workflow.