How to Search the Guernsey Company Register: The Complete Guide
The Guernsey Company Register is one of the most sophisticated offshore company registers in the world. But it has limitations.
While modernised and offering free public information, access to UBO information is restricted. Moreover, the registry offers no bulk data sets or API integrations, rendering due diligence a manual process.
This guide is for financial crime professionals searching the Guernsey Company Register. It covers the available information, how to access it, its limitations, and upcoming reforms.
Types of Companies in Guernsey
1. Limited Liability Company (LLC)
The most common type in Guernsey. Shareholders are only responsible for the company’s debts up to the amount they agreed to pay for their shares.
2. Guarantee Company
These companies don’t issue shares. Instead, members “guarantee” a set amount towards company debts if the business fails. They’re often used for charities, clubs, or associations where profits aren’t the main goal. Members’ interests are usually non-transferable, which maintains stability.
3. Unlimited Liability Company
Here, shareholders are personally liable for the company’s debts, even after they leave (for up to one year). This means creditors can go after their personal assets. In exchange for that risk, these companies have fewer reporting and compliance obligations. They’re rare, usually set up for particular tax or structuring reasons.
4. Mixed Liability Company
A hybrid model that can combine shareholders (with either limited or unlimited liability) and guarantor members. This flexibility allows creative structuring, such as separating legal ownership from beneficial ownership. It’s often used in tax planning or asset protection, where the same structure might be treated differently in different countries.
5. Protected Cell Company (PCC)
A single legal entity that can create “cells” inside it. Each cell has its own assets and liabilities, ring-fenced from the others. So, if one cell goes bankrupt, the others remain unaffected. PCCs are popular in the insurance and investment fund sectors, where risk needs to be contained in separate compartments.
6. Incorporated Cell Company (ICC)
Similar to a PCC, but each cell is its own legal company with separate assets and liabilities. That makes the legal separation between cells stronger than in a PCC. However, the board of directors is shared between the ICC and its cells, so control is centralised. ICCs are also common in funds and insurance.
Note: Guernsey law does not make a distinction between public and private companies.
What Information is Publically Available?
Available Public Information
Company name, registration number, and incorporation date.
Registered office address and current status.
Company type.
Economic activity codes.
Current and historical director information.
Filed resolutions (special, waiver, and unanimous).
Registered agent details and changes.
Notable Limitations
Shareholder information is limited.
Annual accounts are not required to be filed with the registry.
Beneficial ownership information is held on a separate, non-public register.
Step-by-Step: How To Search the Guernsey Company Register
Step 1: Go to the Website
Go to the Guernsey Registry's Online Services Portal. The process is straightforward, not requiring users to sign up or log in.
Step 2: Start the Search
You can search by company name or registration number via the ‘Entity Search Bar’, not by director name, historic name or address.
Limitations: The system does not support wildcard searches or phonetic matching, making searches for companies with similar names challenging.
Step 3: View Results
Users will see a list of companies by number, name, and company type. Results are limited to 50 entries per search.
Note: Dissolved companies may still appear, with their status clearly marked.
Step 4: Select Company
Click ‘View’ to see the entity’s public details. This includes:
Name
Registration Date
Registered Office Address
Activity Status
Resident Agent.
Step 5: Order Documents
Users can order and pay for documents from the Guernsey Company Registry, providing insight into current and former director details and company structure.
What Documents Are Available?
Users don’t have to sign up for an account to order a company document. The Guernsey Registry lets you do that as a guest. These documents include the following:
Statement of the Register (£10): This document provides a full, certified extract of all publicly available information on the electronic register, including a list of the company's current and previous directors, along with their service addresses, and start and end dates.
Certificate of Good Standing (£10): This certifies a company is incorporated and has fulfilled its annual validation obligations, thus confirming its active status on the register.
Certificate of Incorporation (£2): A document issued at the time of a company's creation, confirming its name, date, and registration number.
Memorandum and Articles of Incorporation (£2): Filed during the incorporation process, these show a company's constitution and internal regulations: company name, type, and objects, and the articles that govern internal management. These sometimes contain shareholder information.
Resolution File (£2): Contains copies of special resolutions filed with the registry, which may include changes to company structure, share capital modifications, or other significant corporate actions.
Fees: Standard electronic copies (£10) versus certified versions (£25), which can be used for official purposes.
Processing Times: Standard electronic documents are available instantly, while certified copies require 2-3 business days for processing. Some historical documents for older companies may require manual retrieval, extending processing times to 5-10 business days.
Accessing Beneficial Ownership Information in Guernsey
Since 2017, Guernsey has had a central, non-public beneficial ownership register.
This information is maintained by the Office of the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (the Registry), and physically located in the Guernsey Financial Intelligence Service (FIS) premises.
Access is limited to the authorities and, since April 2025, “Bailiwick obliged entities” such as banks and law firms conducting customer due diligence.
What UBO Data is Available?
Natural Persons: Name, date of birth, nationality, jurisdiction of residence and degree of ownership or control.
Companies: Name, date of incorporation, and place of incorporation.
The Role of Resident Agents
All Guernsey-based companies must appoint a Resident Agent to fulfil their UBO reporting obligations. They can be an individual, a manager or director of the company, or a Corporate Service Provider (CSP).
It is their job to identify the beneficial owner, maintain up-to-date information, and file that information with the authorities.
How to Access Guernsey UBO Data As An Overseas Entity
There are three ways to identify and verify a UBO of a Guernsey-registered company:
Resident Agents: The first is to contact the Resident Agent directly during onboarding. While not legally obliged to disclose beneficial ownership information on their clients to non-Bailiwick obliged entities, they may cooperate.
Regulator: The GFSC may well be under supervisory agreements with your national government, meaning that a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request can be submitted to compel the Resident Agent to release UBO information. This isn’t advised, as it can take months – even years.
Shareholder Data: Shareholder information can usually be obtained from a Memorandum of Association. However, verifying the UBO from that is a time-consuming, manual process. By using Kyckr, with its access to live global shareholder data, financial crime professionals can identify and verify the UBO of a Guernsey entity instantly.
AML Reforms 2025: New Access For Obliged Entities
The States agreed to permit access to “Bailiwick obliged entities” conducting due diligence.
AML-regulated firms, such as banks, accounting firms, and law firms, can request UBO information from an authorised official, who will then notify the Registrar.
From the ‘Ordinance amending Beneficial Ownership Regime, 2025 (Schedule 13, draft)’: “The Registrar may provide beneficial ownership information to a Bailiwick obliged entity where satisfied the request is for customer due diligence.”
The Ordinance hasn’t yet come into force. When it does, “obliged entities” should expect a three-month interval before making applications.
Guernsey V the British Virgin Islands: Transparency Compared
Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) are both British Crown Dependencies – self-governing independent nations, with separate legal and political systems.
Both are considered tax havens, but their approach to registry access is different.
Private v Central BO Register: The BVIs requires companies to maintain a private beneficial ownership register, accessible to the authorities. Guernsey, on the other hand, offers a centralised but closed system.
Searchable Register: The BVIs don’t have a searchable public register. Financial crime professionals must send a Company Search Request to the FSC. Guernsey, meanwhile, offers a searchable public database.
Verification: Guernsey generally has tighter requirements for verification of beneficial ownership data through licensed service providers. In BVI, while registered agents hold information, enforcement around updates has historically been weaker.
Regulatory Perception: Guernsey is considered a higher-compliance jurisdiction (closer alignment with the EU and UK), as best seen by the recent MONEYVAL report. Whereas the BVI, despite reforms, still carries a higher reputational risk in AML contexts.
Bottom Line: Both Guernsey and BVI only provide access to UBO data if you are a competent authority. However, Guernsey is more transparent and better supervised.
UBO Verification For Guernsey Companies: Solved
The Guernsey Company Register is modern, reliable, and accessible, but it has limits. Shareholder and beneficial ownership data are tightly controlled, and overseas compliance teams can’t easily obtain them.
With AML reforms on the horizon, access for Bailiwick firms will improve, but for foreign professionals, identifying UBOs will remain a manual, time-consuming process.
That’s where Kyckr can help. By connecting directly to official company registers worldwide, Kyckr gives financial crime professionals instant access to live shareholder and director data, including for Guernsey companies.
Instead of piecing together filings and chasing resident agents, you can rely on a single, verified source of truth. Faster onboarding, fewer false positives, and a stronger compliance framework.
Book a demo to verify Guernsey companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Guernsey Company Register public?
Yes. Anyone can search the Guernsey Registry’s online portal for free basic information (name, registration number, directors, status). But shareholder and UBO data remain private.
Can I access beneficial ownership (UBO) data as a foreign bank or compliance team?
Not directly. Only Guernsey authorities and Bailiwick “obliged entities” can access the central UBO register. Overseas entities must go through resident agents, MLAT requests, or regulator-to-regulator cooperation.
What company documents are available from the Guernsey Registry?
You can order a Statement of the Register, Certificates of Incorporation and Good Standing, Memorandum and Articles, and resolution files. Fees range from £2 to 25 depending on format.
How do the 2025 AML reforms change access to Guernsey UBO data?
From 2025, Bailiwick “obliged entities” such as banks, law firms, and accountants will be able to request UBO data for due diligence purposes. Foreign firms remain excluded unless cooperating via official channels.
