Search Antigua and Barbuda ABIPCO (Intellectual Property and Commerce Office)

TL;DR. The Antigua and Barbuda Companies Registry is managed by the Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office (ABIPCO) at https://abipco.gov.ag, titled Home - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office. The site loads, although its security certificate does not validate cleanly, so a browser may warn about it. The older ipco.gov.ag address no longer resolves. The register search at https://abipco.gov.ag/searchtheregister describes itself as The Limited Internet Search Facility is offered by the Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office as a free service to the public, so that search is free. A separate For Search $40.00 line appears on the fees page at https://abipco.gov.ag/companies/ and does not displace the free online facility. The site states that Visa and Mastercard are accepted. Antigua and Barbuda is an OECS member and part of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), and it is not on the FATF grey list.

What is the official Antigua and Barbuda business registry?

The Antigua and Barbuda Companies Registry operates under the Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office (ABIPCO), live title Home - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office. The registry administers company registration under the Companies Act (Cap. 320) and the International Business Corporations Act (IBC Act). ABIPCO also handles trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property matters.

Antigua and Barbuda is one of the six OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) members that share the Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD) and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) as their monetary authority. This common monetary and regulatory framework means that company law, AML/CFT standards, and banking supervision have a regional dimension.

The portal is https://abipco.gov.ag; its pages load, though the security certificate does not validate cleanly. The older ipco.gov.ag address no longer resolves. Search-the-register path: https://abipco.gov.ag/searchtheregister (titled Search the Register - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office). Companies fees: https://abipco.gov.ag/companies/. The registry covers domestic companies (limited liability companies, companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies), partnerships, business names, and international business corporations (IBCs) registered for offshore purposes.

What can you search?

The Search the Register page loads, and its own copy reads: The Limited Internet Search Facility is offered by the Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office as a free service to the public in ascertaining whether or not a company, business name, charity or society could possibly be registered in our various statutory registers. No turnaround time is stated there, and the page does not set out which result fields it returns; confirm at source.

Detailed records, including director names, shareholder lists, registered office address, and filing history, are not returned as a result set by the free search. For compliance-grade information, a certified extract from ABIPCO remains the practical route, and no certified fees beyond the rows in the table below are published.

No beneficial ownership fields appear on the site. The beneficial ownership register has been reported as held by licensed agents rather than published; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

Source for the free search: https://abipco.gov.ag/searchtheregister (titled Search the Register - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office), which calls itself a free service to the public. Source for the paid products: https://abipco.gov.ag/companies/ (titled Companies - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office), carrying the rows For Search $40.00, For Certification of any document $40.00, and uncertified copy per page $1.00 in addition to Search. The $40.00 line on /companies/ does not displace the free online facility.

The Eastern Caribbean dollar is pegged to the USD at XCD 2.70 = USD 1.00 (a fixed peg maintained since 1976). XCD 40 is approximately USD 14.81.

Do you need a local account or ID?

The Search the Register page is a public URL, and no account requirement is stated on it. Certified extracts may still require a formal request to the office in St. John’s.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The page titles are in English: Home - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office; Search the Register; Companies.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. Extracts have been reported as taking 1-3 business days, but the site publishes no turnaround time; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API is available from ABIPCO for programmatic company data access.

What you legally cannot do

Antigua and Barbuda’s Data Protection Act 2013 governs the use of personal data, including director and officer names found in registry records. The ABIPCO terms of use and applicable law prohibit:

• Automated bulk scraping of registry records for commercial redistribution
• Using personal data from registry records for unsolicited marketing or profiling
• Misrepresenting uncertified online search results as certified official documents for legal or regulatory submissions

For IBC-related beneficial ownership: Antigua and Barbuda enacted the Beneficial Ownership (Automatic Exchange of Information) Act 2017 (amended 2024), which requires licensed registered agents to maintain and report beneficial ownership data. That register is not available as a public search.

For general cross-border due diligence principles, see the Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• XCD is pegged to USD. The Eastern Caribbean dollar has been fixed at XCD 2.70 = USD 1.00 since 1976. Budget in USD at this conversion rate with no exchange rate risk.
• Two company tracks: domestic vs. IBC. Domestic companies operate under the Companies Act and can conduct business within Antigua and Barbuda. International Business Corporations (IBCs) are intended for non-resident owners and offshore use; they generally cannot conduct business locally.
• Beneficial ownership data is not public. No public UBO search is available.
• OECS and ECCB regulatory context. As an OECS/ECCU member, Antigua and Barbuda’s banking and financial services sector is supervised partly at the regional level through the ECCB.
• FATF status: not grey-listed. Antigua and Barbuda is not on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. It is a CFATF member. Check fatf-gafi.org for current status.
• Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC). The FSRC regulates banks, insurance companies, international financial services, and securities. If your counterparty is in financial services, check the FSRC register at fsrc.gov.ag in addition to ABIPCO.
• Certificate warning. A browser may warn about the security certificate on abipco.gov.ag, although the pages themselves load. ipco.gov.ag no longer resolves.

Alternatives if you cannot access ABIPCO directly

• OpenCorporates: Indexes some Antigua and Barbuda company data; coverage is limited for IBCs and may lag official records considerably. Use for indicative name checks only, not compliance-grade verification.
• Local law firms and CSPs: Firms listed on the Antigua Bar Association and the FSRC registry can pull certified extracts and conduct due diligence for foreign buyers.

Local data suppliers

Antigua and Barbuda does not host a major independent commercial credit bureau. For credit risk assessment, the most practical approach is to engage a regional law firm with Caribbean practice or a global trade credit insurer that covers small Caribbean markets. antiguachamber.com no longer resolves, so it is not usable as a directory.

FAQ

Can a foreign company search the Antigua and Barbuda registry directly?

Yes. The host is abipco.gov.ag, whose pages load although the security certificate does not validate cleanly; ipco.gov.ag no longer resolves. https://abipco.gov.ag/searchtheregister calls itself a free service to the public. The For Search $40.00 line on https://abipco.gov.ag/companies/ does not displace that free facility.

What is an IBC in Antigua and Barbuda?

An International Business Corporation (IBC) is an offshore company structure registered under the International Business Corporations Act. IBCs are designed for non-resident owners, are exempt from Antiguan income taxes on non-Antiguan income, and cannot conduct business within Antigua and Barbuda.

Does Antigua and Barbuda have a public UBO registry?

No public UBO search appears anywhere on the ABIPCO site; confirm at source.

Is Antigua and Barbuda on the FATF grey list?

No. Antigua and Barbuda is not on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. It is a CFATF member. Verify current status at fatf-gafi.org.

What is the Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD) conversion rate?

The Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD) is pegged to the USD at a fixed rate of XCD 2.70 = USD 1.00. This peg has been maintained since 1976 by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). All eight ECCB member territories use the XCD: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Anguilla.

Which cards does ABIPCO cite?

The site shows Visa and Mastercard logos and the sentence “Visa and Mastercard are accepted”, and it names no other cards. Cheques should be made payable to the Registrar of Companies, per the same payment block.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: ABIPCO (abipco.gov.ag, titled Home - Antigua and Barbuda Intellectual Property and Commerce Office); Search the Register (abipco.gov.ag/searchtheregister, the Limited Internet Search Facility offered as a free service to the public); Companies fees (abipco.gov.ag/companies/, For Search $40.00); ipco.gov.ag and antiguachamber.com, which no longer resolve; Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (eccb-centralbank.org); FSRC (fsrc.gov.ag); FATF (fatf-gafi.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.