Afghanistan company search: Central Business Registry (acbr.gov.af)

TL;DR. The Afghanistan Central Business Registry (ACBR) host acbr.gov.af does not resolve and remains unavailable. This guide does not name a replacement registry URL. There is no online ACBR company search to walk through. Fees are unknown rather than free; confirm at source. Complete US and EU sanctions apply to Taliban-designated entities. The FATF Afghanistan country page is online, titled Afghanistan; Afghanistan’s current listing was not read from that title; confirm at source.

Political and legal context

In August 2021, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and allied forces. The internationally recognized government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. The Taliban administration operates as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and is not formally recognized by the United Nations or most Western governments, though some diplomatic interactions occur.

This political reality affects company registration: the ACBR operated under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the previous government. Continuity under Taliban administration is a separate question from whether the public host resolves. The public host does not resolve.

What is the ACBR?

The Afghanistan Central Business Registry (ACBR) was established in 2007 with support from international donors as part of the post-2001 effort to formalize Afghanistan’s private sector. The ACBR’s online portal was previously at acbr.gov.af. That domain does not resolve and remains unavailable. This guide does not invent a successor registry host, so no ACBR name search is documented here.

Under the pre-2021 government, the ACBR covered:

• Private limited companies (Afghan and foreign-owned)
• Sole proprietorships
• Partnerships
• Branches of foreign companies

The 2007 Corporations and Limited Liability Companies Law provided the legal framework. International donors including USAID funded the ACBR’s technology platform and capacity building.

Search fields, result columns, English-language coverage and fees cannot be confirmed, because the host does not resolve; confirm at source.

Sanctions: Taliban and Afghanistan-specific designations

OFAC. OFAC has designated the Taliban, its leadership, and affiliated organizations under multiple executive orders. The Taliban is designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224. Transactions with Taliban-designated entities are prohibited for US persons. However, OFAC has issued general licenses for humanitarian operations in Afghanistan given the acute food security and humanitarian crisis. See OFAC Afghanistan sanctions page for current general licenses and prohibitions.

UN Security Council. The UN 1988 Sanctions Committee covers Taliban-designated individuals and entities. The UN 1988 list is searchable at un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1988.

EU. The EU maintains restrictive measures on Afghanistan including asset freezes and travel bans on designated Taliban individuals and entities under Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1949 and related decisions. See the EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List for current designations.

Practical consequence. Non-Taliban Afghan private sector companies are not automatically sanctioned. The legal question for any Afghan entity is whether its beneficial owners or key controllers are Taliban-designated persons. That is a factual inquiry, and no ACBR beneficial-ownership field or working registry search is available to answer it.

FATF status

Afghanistan’s current listing is not stated here. The FATF Afghanistan country page is online, titled Afghanistan; see it for the published record. This page does not prescribe enhanced due diligence. AML/CFT institutional capacity after 2021 has been reported as disrupted; confirm at source.

What can foreign buyers realistically access?

Not through acbr.gov.af. The domain does not resolve and remains unavailable. This guide does not name a replacement registry URL, so the official online registry path is unavailable.

Humanitarian and development sector databases. International organizations (UN OCHA, UNDP, World Food Programme) active in Afghanistan maintain their own vendor and counterparty vetting processes. Aid organizations working in Afghanistan use their own due diligence frameworks adapted for the operational realities of Taliban-controlled territory. These are not publicly searchable registries but represent the operational infrastructure for legitimate transactions in Afghanistan.

Local legal counsel and fixers. A small number of Afghanistan-experienced law firms and risk consultants maintain the ability to conduct in-country business registration verification. This capacity has contracted considerably since 2021 given security conditions and the departure of most international firms. Costs are high and turnaround is uncertain.

Commercial databases. Coverage of Afghan companies in global commercial databases (Dun & Bradstreet, Orbis) is sparse and likely considerably out of date post-2021. Treat any pre-2021 commercial database entry as historical, not current.

Practical tips for compliance buyers

• Risk context. FATF listing (confirm at source), political fragility, and the possibility of Taliban beneficial ownership are the three facts most frameworks weight for Afghan counterparties. The FATF Afghanistan country page is online, titled Afghanistan; the listing row was not read from that title.
• Screen against all relevant lists. UN 1988 (Taliban), OFAC SDN, EU Consolidated List. Individual Taliban leaders and entities are scattered across multiple lists.
• Humanitarian carve-outs are specific. If your organization operates in Afghanistan under humanitarian exemptions, verify that your activities and payment channels fall within applicable OFAC general licenses. Consult qualified sanctions counsel. General licenses are not blanket permission.
• Bank correspondents may decline. Even where a transaction is technically licensed, correspondent banks may decline to process Afghanistan-related payments given the risk environment. This is a practical barrier separate from the legal framework.
• Data from pre-2021 registrations. If you hold a pre-2021 ACBR registration for an Afghan entity, treat it as stale. The current operating status, beneficial ownership, and management of any Afghan company may have changed materially since 2021, and no live ACBR record could be reached to check it against.

FAQ

Can I access the ACBR registry from outside Afghanistan?

Not at acbr.gov.af: the domain does not resolve and remains unavailable. This guide does not name a replacement registry URL. The portal has been reported as intermittently available in the past; confirm at source.

Are all Afghan companies sanctioned?

No. Taliban-designated entities are sanctioned. Non-Taliban-affiliated Afghan private companies are not automatically sanctioned, and whether a private company has Taliban controllers is a beneficial-ownership question that no public Afghan source answers reliably.

Is Afghanistan on the FATF grey list?

Afghanistan’s current listing is not stated here. The FATF Afghanistan country page is online, titled Afghanistan; see it for the published record. This page does not prescribe enhanced due diligence.

Can I send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan?

OFAC general licenses permit certain humanitarian transactions. The scope of these licenses, and the payment channels permitted, are set out in the OFAC published licenses and guidance, which change; confirm at source. This is not legal advice.

Last verified: 2026-09-06. Sources: acbr.gov.af, which does not resolve and remains unavailable; OFAC Afghanistan Sanctions (ofac.treasury.gov); UN 1988 Sanctions Committee (un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1988); fatf-gafi.org, titled Home; FATF Afghanistan country page, titled Afghanistan; EU Restrictive Measures (eeas.europa.eu). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.