Barbados Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Barbados Business

TL;DR. Barbados maintains its corporate registry through the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO), searchable online at caipo.gov.bb. Basic company inquiries are available to the public for a nominal fee in Barbados dollars, with no local ID required. Barbados was removed from the FATF grey list in February 2024 and is not currently on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.

What is the official Barbados business registry?

The Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) is the statutory body responsible for company registration and regulation in Barbados. It operates under the Companies Act, Cap. 308 of the Laws of Barbados and administers a central registry covering domestic companies, external companies (foreign companies operating in Barbados), partnerships, sole traders, charities, non-profits, credit unions, and certain offshore financial entities.

CAIPO is headquartered at Ground Floor, Baobab Towers, Warrens, St. Michael, and its online search portal is at caipo.gov.bb. The registry has been progressively digitized, and CAIPO launched a refreshed online portal allowing public searches by name, registration number, category, and registration date.

Barbados has long been a material offshore financial center, with a substantial stock of International Business Companies (IBCs) and international trusts alongside its domestic corporate register. The Companies Act and the International Business Companies Act together define the legal framework for the two main entity categories.

Historical records are maintained for entities going back several decades, though older records may have limited digital availability.

What can you search?

The CAIPO public database supports searches across the following dimensions:

• Company or entity name (contains, starts with, exact match)
• Registration number
• Entity category (domestic company, external company, charity, non-profit, credit union, offshore bank, and 20+ other classifications)
• Date of registration (range, before, after)

Results display the entity name, registration number, category, and registration date. For more detailed information on officers, directors, or shareholders, buyers typically need to purchase a company extract or inquiry document. The database is capped at 2,000 results per query, so targeted searches are more productive than broad name fragments.

Data is updated as filings are processed by CAIPO. Unlike same-day electronic registries, updates may reflect a lag of one to several business days from the date of filing.

How much does it cost?

BBD is pegged at a fixed rate of 2:1 to USD (BBD 2.00 = USD 1.00, a peg maintained since 1975). Prices above are indicative based on CAIPO’s published fee schedule. Verify current fees at caipo.gov.bb/fees before purchasing, as fees are subject to change.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No Barbadian identity document is required for public searches or basic company inquiries. Foreign compliance buyers can complete a search using the CAIPO online portal with an international payment method.

For more detailed document orders, CAIPO’s portal may require creating an account with an email address. No Barbadian business license or national registration number is needed. The portal’s payment system accepts credit cards and online payment methods accessible from outside Barbados.

Is the website in English?

Yes. CAIPO’s online portal and the Business Barbados search interface are fully in English. All entity categories, status labels, and document descriptions are in English, consistent with Barbados’s English-language legal system.

What’s the turnaround time?

Basic name search results are returned instantly. Company inquiry documents and basic profiles are typically available for immediate download once payment clears. Certified extracts for formal compliance purposes may take 1-3 business days if manual verification is involved, though CAIPO’s digital workflow has reduced this for standard requests.

For urgent requirements, contact CAIPO directly at caipo.registrar@barbados.gov.bb or +1 (246) 535-2410.

Is there an API?

No. CAIPO does not currently offer a public API for programmatic access to registry data. Compliance platforms requiring bulk or automated lookups should use CAIPO’s online portal for individual searches or contact CAIPO directly to discuss data access arrangements. Screen-scraping the public portal is not recommended and may violate CAIPO’s terms of use.

What you legally cannot do

CAIPO’s terms of use prohibit bulk automated scraping of the online database. Registry data is provided for reference and due diligence purposes; commercial redistribution without CAIPO’s written approval is not permitted. Use of company data for unsolicited marketing or for purposes outside the stated inquiry is prohibited under Barbados’s data protection framework, governed by the Data Protection Act, Cap. 112D of the Laws of Barbados.

Compliance buyers conducting KYC or AML checks fall within permitted use. Maintain a documented purpose for each inquiry as part of your internal audit trail.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Registration number is the anchor identifier. Barbados company numbers are assigned at incorporation and do not change with name changes. Always search by number if you have it. Names can be changed after the fact.
• Two distinct entity types for offshore. Barbados has both domestic companies under the Companies Act and International Business Companies (IBCs) under the International Business Companies Act. IBCs are predominantly used by foreign investors. The registry search covers both, but the category field distinguishes them.
• FATF status: cleared. Barbados was removed from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring on 23 February 2024, following an onsite review conducted 9-11 January 2024 by the Financial Action Task Force. The CFATF (Caribbean Financial Action Task Force) confirmed Barbados had successfully implemented its AML/CFT action plan. Barbados is not currently on the FATF grey or black list.
• EU tax list: not listed. As of the February 2025 update of the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, Barbados is not on Annex I (the blacklist) or Annex II (the greylist). Barbados fulfilled its tax governance commitments in a prior review cycle.
• External company filings. Foreign companies registered to do business in Barbados file as “external companies.” The registry reflects both their Barbados registration number and their country of origin.
• Central Bank for financial sector entities. Banking and insurance entities are regulated by the Central Bank of Barbados, which maintains its own licensing and supervision data separate from CAIPO.

Alternatives if you cannot access CAIPO directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes Barbados filings but lags official data. Useful for a quick name check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Schmidt and Schmidt (schmidt-export.com). A European registry data reseller offering company extracts from Barbados and other Caribbean jurisdictions. Useful when local portal access is difficult.

Local data suppliers

• Eckler’s Barbados and other local corporate service providers offer company profile retrieval and registered agent services. Compliance buyers needing structured credit data or risk scoring on Barbadian counterparties should engage a local CSP directly, as no major commercial credit bureau with public retail access operates in Barbados.

Use CAIPO for the primary legal filing record. Engage a licensed corporate service provider when you need a structured due diligence report.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Barbados registry directly?

Yes. The CAIPO online portal is publicly accessible to foreign buyers without a Barbados account or local identity document. Basic searches are free; document orders require payment by credit card or online payment method accessible internationally.

What is the registration number format in Barbados?

Barbados company registration numbers are assigned sequentially at incorporation and are composed of numeric digits (e.g., 12345 or BB-12345 for external companies). The number is the primary stable identifier and does not change when a company changes its name or updates its registered address.

What entity types are registered with CAIPO?

CAIPO registers domestic companies, external companies (foreign entities registered in Barbados), sole traders, partnerships, International Business Companies (IBCs), credit unions, charities, non-profits, and certain offshore banks and trusts. The entity category is displayed in all search results.

Does Barbados have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Barbados has taken steps to implement beneficial ownership transparency in line with FATF Recommendation 24. The Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office collects beneficial ownership information from companies. Access by compliance buyers to a public UBO register is limited; KYC/AML purposes may require engagement with CAIPO directly or through a licensed corporate service provider. The 2024 FATF delisting confirmed Barbados had made adequate progress on UBO reforms.

How current is the data in the CAIPO registry?

Data is updated as filings are processed. Updates typically appear within 1-3 business days of CAIPO processing a lodgment. The registry does not operate on a real-time basis; critical compliance checks should be confirmed directly with CAIPO if timeliness is essential.

Is Barbados on the FATF grey list?

No. Barbados was removed from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (grey list) on 23 February 2024. The Financial Action Task Force confirmed Barbados had successfully implemented its AML/CFT action plan following an onsite visit in January 2024. Barbados is not currently on the grey list or the high-risk (black) list. For the FATF’s official statement, see fatf-gafi.org.

What’s the difference between the registry and tax/financial filings?

CAIPO holds corporate registry data: incorporation documents, officer lists, share capital, and status. Tax filings are managed by the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) and are not publicly accessible. Financial services entities (banks, insurance companies) are supervised by the Central Bank of Barbados and the Financial Services Commission (FSC), each maintaining their own licensing registers separately from CAIPO. For a full global due diligence framework, compliance teams should cross-reference all three sources.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (caipo.gov.bb); FATF (fatf-gafi.org); CFATF (cfatf-gafic.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.