Isle of Man Company Registry (2026 Update)
The Isle of Man registry, the Companies Registry, is confusing to say the least.
Shareholder information is filed for some limited companies, but not all. Beneficial ownership information, meanwhile, is limited to competent authorities and obliged entities in the Isle of Man.
This article is the only guide that tells KYB professionals exactly what they can and cannot verify in the Isle of Man registry, and why.
Entity Types in the Isle of Man (And Why It Matters)
Private companies – whether unlimited, limited by shares, or limited by guarantee – can be governed by either the 1931 Act or the 2006 Act.
Knowing the difference is important. 1931 Act Companies must publish shareholder information; 2006 Act Companies don’t.
Sounds confusing?
Dual Legislative Framework
This is the result of the Isle of Man’s dual-legislation framework.
1931 Act Companies: Favoured by local businesses, these companies don’t rely on registration agents and publish shareholder information in their annual returns.
2006 Act Companies: Favoured by overseas businesses, these companies use registration agents and aren’t required to publish shareholder information in their annual returns – only director information.
For KYB purposes: Always confirm which entity type you're dealing with, not just whether it's "limited," but whether it's a 1931 Act company, 2006 Act company, LLC, LP, or PCC. With one, UBO verification is possible. The other, impossible.
Step-by-Step Guide to an Isle of Man Company Search
Step 1: Go to the Website.
Go to the website: https://www.gov.im/categories/business-and-industries/companies-registry/.
Next, select the online portal titled ‘Find company information’.
Step 2: Go to the Portal.
Once on the portal, you have the option of searching by company name or number.
Step 3: Commence Search.
Hit ‘Search’. You’ll be presented with a list of companies displayed with the following entity-level data:
Name.
Number.
Registration Date (Note: companies dissolved pre-1980s sometimes have no registration date data).
Status.
Registry “Type” (e.g., Business Name, 2006 Act Company, Foreign Company, Limited Partnership, 1931 Act Company).
Name Status: Either ‘Current’ or ‘Previous’.
Step 4: Select Entity.
Click on the entity you want to investigate. This is the data you will see:
Name.
Number.
Registry Type.
Company Type (e.g., Limited by shares).
Registered Office Address.
Date of Incorporation.
Dissolved Date or Struck Off Date.
Presence of Charges.
Liquidation Status.
Receiver(s) Appointed.
Status: (e.g., Struck off).
Documents: How many public documents are available (includes a link).
Previous Names.
Registered agent’s name and address.
Note: The Kyckr Team found that backtracking to a previous web page on the portal sometimes returns an error code: “Error 503 - Service Unavailable”. Be careful, or you will have to restart your portal search.
Step 5: Download Documents.
For a list of documents, click the link in the entity profile. This will take you to a new page. To purchase documents, you must sign up for an account and log in.
Available Documents
Each document is listed with a description, the date it was filed, and its price – £2.00 per document. Alternatively, you can purchase all company filings for £15.00. Here is a list of some documents the Kyckr Team viewed on January 23, 2026:
Strike-Off Letter.
Resignation Of Registered Agent.
Intended Resignation of Registered Agent.
Appointment/Change of Nominated Officer.
Incorporation Certificate.
Articles Of Association.
Memorandum Of Association.
Annual Return.
Change in Director or Secretary.
Resolution.
Change in Registered Office.
Extraordinary Resolution.
Liquidator Affidavit, Accounts.
Register of Directors.
Price: £2.00 per document or £15 for all documents.
Processing time: Instant.
Available APIs and Open Data
The Isle of Man Companies Registry doesn’t offer an Application Programming Interface (API) to return company data.
This will change: According to the Central Registry Business Plan (2024-2028), developments are underway for an Isle of Man API to provide “public access to company data” – one of multiple proposals to modernise and improve the registry.
Is there an alternative? The Kyckr API returns Isle of Man company data.
How Reliable Is It?
In terms of data reliability, the Isle of Man Companies Registry suffers from two flaws common to most registries:
No verification: The Isle of Man Companies Registry, like most official company registries, doesn’t actively verify the information that companies disclose about themselves.
Use of nominee directors: It’s difficult to know who really represents or manages a company, as the use of nominee directors is commonplace.
Use of nominee shareholders: The status of nominee shareholders isn’t disclosed. As the Companies Registry website says, “This is entirely legal and may be simply a personal preference for not wanting others to be aware of the owner’s investment decisions.”
Remember: By law, nominee shareholders and directors must be residents of the Isle of Man.
Beneficial Ownership Information in the Isle of Man
As of January 2026, beneficial ownership information on Isle of Man-registered companies is only available to “competent authorities” and “obliged entities” regulated under the Isle of Man’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Code 2019.
Is there a workaround? Overseas entities can request the name of the entity’s “nominated officer” – an Isle of Man resident or corporate service provider who submits UBO information to the Isle of Man Database of Beneficial Ownership.
According to the Companies Registry, an entity’s nominated officer “is a matter of public record and is available to anyone on request”.
Remember: There is no public database of nominated officers. This information must be requested on a case-by-case basis direct from the Companies Registry. Contact them at BOAEnquiries.DFE@gov.im.
Once obtained, you can contact the nominated officer directly – however, they’re under no legal obligation to disclose the beneficial owner.
The Isle of Man Central Registry Business Plan 2024-2028
The Isle of Man has plans to modernise the registry, making the data more accurate and accessible. Plans include:
Digitisation: Online incorporations and digital signatures
APIs: For instant retrieval of public company data access.
Enhanced data quality: New verification capabilities for beneficial ownership data and actively striking off non-compliant companies.
The KYB horizon: In the next few years, we may see the Companies Registry shift from a “librarian” to a “gatekeeper” of verified sources, powered by digitisation, verification and automation.
The Kyckr Solution
The Isle of Man registry's limitations – no API access, restricted beneficial ownership data, and inconsistent shareholder information – create verification gaps for compliance teams.
Kyckr's API bridges these challenges by aggregating available Isle of Man company data with global registry sources, enabling automated KYB workflows where manual searches fall short.
Book a demo to verify Isle of Man-registered companies.