Updated for 2026 — last updated: 21 September 2026 · Fees, late-filing penalties and the Registrar's 4 September 2026 annual-return extension checked against the Registrar's published guidance
How do you search the Cyprus Companies Register? Open the Registrar of Companies Cyprus portal at companies.gov.cy, choose the electronic search of the register of business entities, and enter the company name or its HE registration number. The free result shows the registered name, number, type, status and registered office. Inspecting the full electronic file — directors, shareholders, charges and filing history — costs €10; certified copies are ordered for a small per-document fee. Beneficial owners sit in a separate, non-public UBO register. Read arrears carefully this autumn: on 4 September 2026 the Registrar gave companies with overdue annual returns until 31 December 2026 to file before strike-off proceedings under section 327 resume.
Need to check a Cyprus company? Start with the Cyprus Companies Register. Whether you are about to sign with a Cypriot supplier, chasing an unpaid invoice, buying a business or simply confirming that a counterparty exists, the register kept by the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCIP) is the official record of every company registered in Cyprus.
Table of Contents
- What the Cyprus Companies Register Records
- How to Search the Register Online, Step by Step
- Reading a Company's Profile
- What Is Free and What Costs a Fee
- How to Verify a Company Before Doing Business With It
- Overdue Annual Returns: The 31 December 2026 Extension
- Strike-Off and Restoration: What a Dormant File Leads To
- Beneficial Ownership: Who Can See What
- Checking Whether a Company Name Is Taken
- Keeping Your Own Company's File Accurate
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Speak to Connor Legal
This guide explains how to search the register, what is free and what carries a fee, how to read what you find — and what an overdue annual return means in the closing months of 2026.
What the Cyprus Companies Register Records
The register is the public face of the Companies Law, Cap. 113. For every Cyprus company it records:
- the name and registration number (the "HE" number);
- status — active, dissolved, or in strike-off proceedings;
- the registered office address;
- directors and secretary;
- shareholders and share capital;
- registered charges over the company's assets; and
- the filing history — annual returns, financial statements and changes over time.
Overseas companies with a Cyprus branch, partnerships and business names under Cap. 116 appear in parallel registers kept by the same department, and the same electronic search covers them.
How to Search the Register Online, Step by Step
- Open the portal. Go to the Registrar of Companies Cyprus eSearch. No account is needed for the basic search.
- Choose the search key. Search by HE number where you have it: Cypriot company names transliterate between Greek and English inconsistently, and partial-name searches can miss the entity you want. Otherwise try both the Greek and Latin spellings.
- Read the results list. Each match shows the HE number, exact registered name, entity type and status. Several entities can share a similar name; the number identifies the right one.
- Open the profile. Check the status line first: an entity under strike-off, or already dissolved, is telling you most of what you need to know.
- Go deeper if the exposure warrants it. Pay €10 to inspect the full file, and order certified copies of the certificates you will rely on.
Reading a Company's Profile
A search result is only useful if you know what each line is telling you.
| Field | What it tells you | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active, in strike-off, dissolved, in liquidation | Anything other than active means the entity may not be able to contract or pay |
| Registration date | How long the company has existed | Very recent incorporation for a large contract deserves further checks |
| Registered office | The official address for service | A serviced-office address is normal; a mismatch with the contract address is not |
| Directors and secretary | Who is authorised to act | Nominee directors are common; confirm who actually signs |
| Shareholders | Registered legal owners | Corporate shareholders mean the real owners sit in the UBO register |
| Charges | Security granted over assets | Matters if you are lending or buying assets |
| Annual returns and accounts | Whether filings are up to date | Gaps of more than a year are the best early warning of a shell — but read the 2026 extension below first |
What Is Free and What Costs a Fee
The basic search is free to anyone and shows the name, registration number, entity type, status and registered office. Beyond that the Registrar charges modest prescribed fees: €10 to inspect a company's full electronic file, and a small per-document charge for certified copies of certificates and filed documents — incorporation, directors and secretary, shareholders, registered office.
Why pay for certified copies? Because banks, courts and foreign authorities generally require them. A screenshot of the search page is not evidence of anything.
How to Verify a Company Before Doing Business With It
A proper counterparty check reads the register with specific questions in mind. Is the company active, or in strike-off or liquidation? Are its annual returns and financial statements up to date? Do the directors and shareholders match who you think you are dealing with? Are there registered charges over its assets — which matters most if you are extending credit or buying assets?
Persistent non-filing is the single best early-warning sign of a shell or an abandoned entity. For meaningful exposures, add certified documents and, where warranted, fuller due diligence on litigation, insolvency and the people behind the company. If the relationship has already gone wrong, the same records drive enforcement — see our guide to debt recovery in Cyprus.
Need a Cyprus company checked before you sign? Connor Legal runs Registrar of Companies Cyprus searches, obtains certified copies and delivers a written counterparty report, usually within two working days — and brings a client's own overdue filings current before the 31 December 2026 deadline. Send us an enquiry.
Overdue Annual Returns: The 31 December 2026 Extension
Every Cyprus company must file an annual return (form HE32) with its financial statements attached, within 28 days of the return's reference date. On 9 February 2026 the Registrar wrote to companies with returns outstanding, and on 4 September 2026 it announced that they have until 31 December 2026 to file everything overdue. Companies still in default after that date will face strike-off proceedings under section 327 of the Companies Law.
The extension changes how to read arrears on the register this autumn. A company showing missing returns for 2024 or 2025 is not yet in strike-off and may simply be inside the grace period; the same file in January 2027 means something quite different. If you are the counterparty, ask for the filings to be brought current before you sign. If you are the company, the cost of catching up is modest and known.
Late filing is charged under the Companies (Amendment) Law 18(I)/2024 for returns with a reference date of 2021 onwards: €50 on the first day of default, then €1 a day, capped at €150 per return — the Registrar's late-filing guidance gives a worked example and a calculator. Non-filing is also a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to €42 for the company and each responsible officer (the old administrative fine of up to €8,543 was abolished in December 2020). The fee is the cost; the real risk is what comes after the deadline.
Strike-Off and Restoration: What a Dormant File Leads To
Section 327 gives the Registrar a staged procedure for companies it believes are not carrying on business: a first letter asking whether the company is operating; a second, a month later, warning that a strike-off notice will follow; then a three-month notice in the Official Gazette during which the company, its members or its creditors can object. Only then is the company struck off and dissolved.
Restoration is possible but gets harder with time. Within 24 months of the strike-off, a director or member can apply to the Registrar for administrative restoration for a €20 fee, once every outstanding filing and unpaid charge is put right. After that, and up to 20 years from the strike-off, restoration needs a court order on the application of the company, a member or a creditor, with a €160 Registrar fee on lodging it. A restored company is treated as though it had never been struck off — which is why creditors sometimes apply themselves, to revive a debtor they intend to sue. Harneys' guide to restoring a struck-off Cyprus company sets out both routes.
Beneficial Ownership: Who Can See What
The UBO register sits apart from the main companies register and, since the Court of Justice of the EU's 2022 ruling, is closed to the general public. Competent authorities, banks and other obliged entities running AML checks can see it; anyone else must first demonstrate a legitimate interest to the Registrar rather than use the open eSearch.
For companies the deadlines are strict: file UBO details within 90 days of incorporation, report changes within 45 days, and confirm the entries every year between 1 October and 31 December — a window that opens in ten days' time. Penalties start at €100 and rise by €50 a day to a cap of €5,000, with directors jointly liable subject to a due-diligence defence. See our UBO register guide.
Checking Whether a Company Name Is Taken
The same search doubles as a first availability check when you are forming a company. If the name, or something confusingly close, already appears, the Registrar will refuse it. Formal name approval is applied for separately — €10 standard or €30 accelerated, reserved for six months — and restricted words such as "bank", "insurance" or "trust" need regulatory consent. The full process sits within our Cyprus company formation guide.
Keeping Your Own Company's File Accurate
Everything the register shows about your own company is your board's responsibility. The HE32 is filed within 28 days of its reference date for a €20 fee; changes of directors, secretary, registered office or shareholders go on forms HE4 and HE2 at €20 each. A new company must also obtain a tax identification number within 60 days and register for VAT once taxable turnover passes €15,600 in any rolling 12 months.
Since the 2026 reform, a change of directors filed more than 12 months late is deemed effective only 12 months before filing, which can extend a departed director's liability window. These obligations sit with the directors personally — see our guides to directors' duties in Cyprus and the common mistakes to avoid during Cyprus company registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if a company is registered in Cyprus?
Use the Registrar of Companies Cyprus free eSearch at companies.gov.cy, by company name or HE number. The result shows the registered name, number, type, status and registered office; the fuller file can be inspected for €10.
Can I see who owns a Cyprus company?
Registered shareholders appear in the company's file. Ultimate beneficial owners sit in a separate UBO register which, since the CJEU's 2022 ruling, is open to authorities and obliged entities rather than the public; others must show a legitimate interest.
How do I know if a Cyprus company is in good standing?
Check three things: its status is active, its annual returns and financial statements are filed up to date, and no strike-off notice is pending in the Official Gazette. For transactions of any size, back the search with certified certificates.
What happens if a Cyprus company does not file its annual return?
A late HE32 attracts €50 on the first day plus €1 a day, capped at €150 per return, and non-filing is an offence with a fine of up to €42 per officer. Persistent default leads to strike-off under section 327 — though companies in arrears have until 31 December 2026 to file under the Registrar's 4 September 2026 extension.
Can a struck-off Cyprus company be restored?
Yes. Within 24 months a director or member can apply to the Registrar for administrative restoration (€20) after regularising all filings. Up to 20 years after the strike-off, the company, a member or a creditor can apply to court for a restoration order (€160 Registrar fee on lodging it).
Can I get a list of all companies registered in Cyprus?
Not from the public search, which works one entity at a time by name or number. The Registrar publishes monthly aggregate statistics; bulk company data comes only from commercial data providers or a specific information request to the Department.
Related guides
- Cyprus company formation: the complete 2026 guide
- Cyprus UBO register 2026: deadlines, penalties and access
- Directors' duties in Cyprus: 2026 legal guide
- Debt recovery in Cyprus: 2026 legal guide for creditors
- Common mistakes to avoid during Cyprus company registration
Speak to Connor Legal
Connor Legal conducts company searches, corporate due diligence and counterparty verification in Cyprus daily, and keeps clients' own registers and filings in good standing — including bringing overdue annual returns current before 31 December 2026. Need a company checked, or your own file brought up to date? Send us an enquiry.
