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Seychelles Company Search: What the Register Shows in 2027
How to run a Seychelles company search, what the public register shows today, the US$25 official search, and the director details visible from 1 January 2027.
Licensed auditor & chartered accountant · 6 years of experience in offshore accounting
A Seychelles company search runs through two registers, and the free online tools cover only part of them. In this post, we’ll walk you through where each search is run, what it returns and what it costs, as we found the tools in October 2026, and the director details that join the public record on 1 January 2027.
Quick Summary
Seychelles companies sit on one of two registers: the FSA Registrar holds international business companies (IBCs), and the government’s Seychelles Business Register holds domestic companies and businesses.
The FSA’s free online search covers struck-off and dissolved IBCs only, so an IBC that is on the register cannot be looked up there.
An IBC on the register is confirmed with a certificate of official search from the Registrar, which costs US$25 and is issued under the Official Seal.
From 1 January 2027, the register and the certificate of official search will show the name and appointment date of each current director.
Shareholders and accounts reach the public file only if the company chooses to file them, and beneficial owners and former directors are not part of the public search, before or after that date.
How to Do a Seychelles Company Search
Start with which register the company is on. IBCs are registered by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Companies and businesses that trade locally sit on the domestic register.
Searching for an IBC
The FSA runs one online tool, the Struck-Off and Dissolved IBC Search. When we tested it in October 2026 it was free, needed no login, and searched by IBC number or by name, with partial names accepted. Each result showed four things: IBC number, IBC name, status (struck off or dissolved) and the effective date.
The page states that companies still on the register “will not appear in the search results”. A name that returns nothing is therefore either still on the register or was never registered.
For an IBC on the register, the International Business Companies Act 2016 gives three routes, each open to any person:
Inspect the register during office hours for US$10 (section 347).
Order a copy of a filed document for US$25 (section 348).
Request a certificate of official search for US$25 (section 352).
We found no way to order any of them on the FSA website. The FSA’s IBC Guidelines set out the process for licensed corporate service providers, who send requests to the Registrar in writing with the fee. That is the only request procedure the Guidelines describe, although the Act lets any person apply.
Searching for a domestic company
Domestic companies are searched on the government’s Business and Company Search, which also loads on eservice.egov.sc. It was free and needed no login when we tested it. A name search returned four columns: registration number, name, industry and entity type (business or company).
It showed no status, address, date or director, and the rows did not open into a company record. Nine names of dissolved IBCs taken from the FSA tool returned no results, and every row we saw was typed Business or Company. The results carry no dates, so treat a match as a first check and not as proof of current standing.
What a Seychelles Company Search Shows
What each IBC search returns, from sections 346 and 352 of the Act and the live tool:
Detail | Free online search (struck-off and dissolved IBCs) | Register inspection (US$10) | Certificate of official search (US$25) |
|---|---|---|---|
Company name and number | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Previous names | No | Not listed in section 346 | Yes |
Date of incorporation | No | Yes | Yes |
Status | Struck off or dissolved, with the effective date | Dates of striking off and restoration | Yes, in the Registrar’s wording |
Registered office address | No | Yes | Yes |
Registered agent’s name and address | No | Not listed in section 346 | Yes |
Due date of the annual fee | No | Not listed in section 346 | Yes |
Registered charges | No | Separate charges register, US$10 per company | Number outstanding and number satisfied |
Current directors’ names and appointment dates | No | From 1 January 2027 | From 1 January 2027 |
The status line on an official search uses fixed wording from the Guidelines: “In Good Standing”, “Not in Good Standing” (on the register with fees or penalties owing), “Struck-Off”, or “Dissolved” with the reason. A “Dissolved (Deemed Dissolved)” result is what you see for a company struck off for unpaid fees.
The company file can also be inspected for US$10. It holds the documents the Act requires or allows a company to file, such as the memorandum and articles and any registered charges. Registers a company has chosen to file are open too. The filed register of directors is not: section 152 keeps it confidential.
What Changes in the Search From 1 January 2027
The International Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2026, assented to on 11 August 2026, puts one item on both the register and the certificate of official search: “the name and date of appointment” of each company’s current directors. Both changes take effect on 1 January 2027.
Three limits are written into the Act:
Current directors only. Former directors are not listed.
Name and appointment date only. Addresses, dates of birth and nationalities are not added.
Filed registers only. Where a company has not filed a copy of its register of directors, the Registrar is not required to show its directors (section 346(4)). Filing is itself compulsory within 30 days of any change, with a penalty of up to US$5,000.
The same Act requires each company to record, by 31 December 2026, whether a director is a nominee and who the nominator is. That goes into the company’s own register of directors. It is not among the items the Act puts on the public search.
The Act does not create a free online director search.
What a Search Will Not Show
Shareholders. The register of members is kept at the company’s registered office, and only directors and members may inspect it (sections 104 and 107). It reaches the public file only if the company chooses to file a copy (section 349).
Beneficial owners. The register is kept in confidentiality under the Beneficial Ownership Act 2020, and the Financial Intelligence Unit’s database is open to the Seychelles authorities listed in that Act.
Accounts. Accounting records are kept, not filed. Filing financial statements is optional (section 350).
Former directors and director addresses, as above.
Regulators, the Financial Intelligence Unit, tax authorities and courts can obtain this information, so the line between what is public and what stays private describes the public search, not what authorities can see.
How to Verify a Seychelles IBC
Three documents do the verifying. The Registrar issues the certificate of good standing and official search, and the third comes from the company itself.
Document | Issued by | Proves | Government fee |
|---|---|---|---|
Certificate of good standing | Registrar | The company is on the register and has paid all fees and penalties (section 351) | US$25 |
Certificate of official search | Registrar | The register details in the table above, whatever the company’s status | US$25 |
Certificate of incumbency | Not the Registrar: prepared from the company’s own registers | Who the current directors and shareholders are | Not a government document |
A certificate of good standing answers a bank or counterparty that needs to know the company is on the register and paid up. If the company is not in good standing, the Registrar issues a certificate of official search in its place at no extra fee.
A certificate of official search suits due diligence on a company you do not control, since any person can request one and it reports the status either way. A certificate of incumbency is not a statutory document: the Act does not mention it. It is commonly used to show a bank the people behind the company, and it comes from the company’s side, not from the Registrar.
For the companies we form, a certificate of incumbency is a US$150 add-on, and a Seychelles IBC from US$850 includes the first year’s government registration fee.
FAQ
Is there a free Seychelles company registry search?
Partly. The FSA’s online search is free but covers only struck-off and dissolved IBCs, and the government’s Business and Company Search is free but covers domestic businesses and companies. The FSA offers no free online search for an IBC that is on the register.
Can someone find out I own a Seychelles company?
Not from a public search. Shareholders and beneficial owners are not on the Registrar’s public register, and from 1 January 2027 the search shows current directors’ names and appointment dates only. Authorities and courts can obtain ownership details through legal channels, and banks ask for them when an account is opened.
How long does an official search take?
The Act sets no time limit and the FSA Guidelines give no service time for it. It is a sealed certificate requested from the Registrar in writing, so it is not instant like the online tools.
