Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. www.sijilat.bh
- Check access requirements. Account required: Optional. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Not published; confirm at source.
- Anticipate friction. Captcha / 2FA: Unknown. English UI: Yes.
- Plan turnaround. Expected: Unknown.
- Verify recency. Last verified: 4 Sept 2026. Confirm current pricing at the official registry before submitting.
TL;DR. Bahrain’s commercial registry portal is SIJILAT at https://www.sijilat.bh, titled Sijilat - Kingdom of Bahrain and operated by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The public CR search at https://www.sijilat.bh/public-search-cr/search-cr-2.aspx offers fields for Commercial Registration Number and Commercial Name in English and Arabic. That search page publishes no extract fee, no turnaround time and no payment method, so costs in this guide are unknown rather than free; confirm at source. The ministry’s own site at moic.gov.bh is online, in Arabic, as the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
What is the official Bahrain business registry?
Bahrain’s official commercial registration system is SIJILAT, operated by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC). SIJILAT at https://www.sijilat.bh, titled Sijilat - Kingdom of Bahrain, is the commercial registry and business licensing portal. https://www.moic.gov.bh is the ministry’s own home page, in Arabic.
The statutory basis for commercial registration in Bahrain is the Commercial Companies Law (Decree-Law No. 21 of 2001) and its amendments. All commercial entities operating in Bahrain must register with MoIC through SIJILAT.
SIJILAT covers With Limited Liability Companies (WLL), Bahraini Shareholding Companies (BSC), partnerships, sole proprietorships, branches and representative offices of foreign companies, and holding companies. BIIP and BLZ zone entities are still registered through SIJILAT rather than a separate independent registry.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) at cbb.gov.bh is the financial services regulator and maintains a separate public register of licensed financial institutions, outside SIJILAT.
What can you search?
The public CR search form includes:
- Commercial Registration Number
- Commercial Name (in English / Arabic)
- Commercial Name (Arabic)
- Person Name (EN/AR), CPR No./GCC ID, Passport No., Partner CR No.
- Address fields (flat, building, road, block) and governorate filters (Muharraq, Manama, Northern Area, Central Area, Southern Area)
- Start date / end date
- Advanced search by business sector, keyword, ISIC4 code, activity name
What the search returns, including any shareholder pages, is not set out beyond those form labels, and the page does not describe the search as free; confirm at source. SIJILAT carries login controls elsewhere, but the CR search form itself shows no login field.
How much does it cost?
| Item | Cost (BHD) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Public CR search | Unknown | Unknown |
| Standard electronic extract | Unknown | Unknown |
| Certified CR extract | Unknown | Unknown |
| Apostillized certified copy | Unknown | Unknown |
No extract fee is published on the public CR search page, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. The BHD 37,500 and BHD 100 figures that appear elsewhere on the SIJILAT site are licensing and capital thresholds, not search or extract fees.
Do you need a local account or ID?
The public CR search form opens without signing in. SIJILAT’s home page also carries login and logout controls. Account rules for paid extracts are not stated; confirm at source. CPR appears as a login placeholder on the home page rather than as a requirement on the CR search fields, which include CPR or GCC ID only as an optional search key. No card brands or payment services are named on the CR search page.
Is the website in English?
Yes. The SIJILAT entry page and the CR search placeholders are in English, with an Arabic language control. The language of an issued extract is not stated; confirm at source.
What’s the turnaround time?
Unknown. The CR search page publishes no turnaround time; confirm at source.
Is there an API?
No public API is published on SIJILAT.
What you legally cannot do
Bahrain’s Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 30 of 2018, PDPL) applies to personal data. Automated bulk extraction from SIJILAT is prohibited under the platform’s terms of use. Bahrain’s AML/CFT framework is governed by Decree Law No. 4 of 2001 and subsequent amendments. No beneficial ownership register appears on the CR search page, and no public UBO register is documented; confirm at source.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- The SIJILAT CR search is a working form. Use the CR number when you have it.
- No fees are published. The CR search page carries no fee schedule; confirm at source.
- CBB is separate. Financial institutions need a CBB licence in addition to SIJILAT commercial registration.
- FATF status is not stated on SIJILAT. Check fatf-gafi.org.
Alternatives if you cannot access SIJILAT directly
- OpenCorporates has some Bahrain SIJILAT data but lags official data.
- Central Bank of Bahrain (cbb.gov.bh): licensed financial institutions, which is a sector register rather than the commercial registry.
- Local Bahraini law firms and company secretarial firms obtain certified extracts for foreign clients.
Local data suppliers
- Dun & Bradstreet Bahrain (dnb.com). GCC regional company reports.
- CRIF Gulf (crif.com). Regional business information reports.
Use SIJILAT for official registry verification. Use commercial data suppliers when you need payment behavior or packaged reports.
FAQ
Can a foreign company access the Bahrain registry directly?
Yes. sijilat.bh is online and its public CR search form is openly reachable. How to obtain a certified physical extract is not set out on that page; confirm at source.
What is the Commercial Registration (CR) number in Bahrain?
The CR number is assigned by MoIC at SIJILAT registration, and the search form has a Commercial Registration Number field for it.
What entity types are registered with SIJILAT?
SIJILAT registers sole proprietorships, WLL, BSC, partnerships, holding companies, and foreign company branches. Financial institutions also need CBB licensing.
Does Bahrain have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?
No beneficial ownership register appears on the SIJILAT CR search page; confirm at source.
How current is the data in SIJILAT?
The CR search page does not state how current its records are; confirm at source.
Is Bahrain on the FATF grey list?
FATF status is not stated on SIJILAT. Check fatf-gafi.org.
What is the difference between SIJILAT and the CBB register?
SIJILAT is commercial registration for all business entities. The CBB Register is the sector licence list for regulated financial activity.
Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: sijilat.bh, titled Sijilat - Kingdom of Bahrain; the public-search-cr/search-cr-2.aspx CR search form. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.