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

TL;DR. Belarus maintains its Unified State Register (EGR) at egr.gov.by, operated by the Ministry of Justice. Basic company data is free online; certified extracts cost BYN 32 (~USD 10) per copy. The site has partial English. No account is needed for lookups. Critically: Belarus is subject to extensive EU, US, and UK sanctions since 2022, making sanctions screening an obligatory step in any due diligence workflow on Belarusian counterparties.

What is the official Belarus business registry?

The Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs (Edinyi Gosudarstvennyi Registr, commonly abbreviated as EGR or USR) is Belarus’s central commercial registry, operated by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus. The registry is accessible at egr.gov.by. The EGR web portal launched in 2011 and was modernized in 2014 to support electronic registration and online data queries.

All commercial and non-commercial legal entities, as well as individual entrepreneurs, operating in Belarus must register with the EGR before starting business. The legal framework governing the register is Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 1 of January 16, 2009, on State Registration and Liquidation of Business Entities. The Ministry of Justice maintains the register and publishes it as the authoritative primary source.

The EGR covers records for entities registered since the early 1990s, following Belarusian independence in 1991. The Ministry of Justice also operates regional registration offices in each oblast. For a neighboring registry with a comparable access structure but without the sanctions overlay, see the Ukraine company search guide.

What can you search?

Free searches on the EGR portal support:

• Company name (in Russian or Belarusian)
• UNP (Uchyotny Nomer Platelshchika): the 9-digit taxpayer and registration number
• Registration date
• Entity status: active, in liquidation, in bankruptcy, wound up

A certified extract from the EGR contains:

• Full company name and abbreviated name
• UNP
• Date and place of registration
• Registered address
• Legal form and organizational type
• Primary declared activity
• Founders and their participation shares
• Current management (director)
• Bankruptcy or liquidation status

EGR data is considered current on a filing-event basis: status changes and director updates are reflected after Ministry of Justice processing, typically within a few business days of lodgment.

How much does it cost?

Pricing is based on the Belarusian base-unit fee schedule, where 1 base unit equals BYN 32 as of early 2025 (the base unit is updated periodically by the government). Verified via Ministry of Justice published fee schedules and third-party legal sources, May 2026. BYN/USD conversion used: 0.31 (approximate; verify at point of purchase given BYN is not freely convertible internationally).

Payment for certified extracts is typically made in person at Ministry of Justice offices or regional registrars. Online card payment options are limited due to international payment restrictions resulting from sanctions on Belarusian financial institutions.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No Belarusian account or identity document is required to perform a free lookup on the EGR portal by company name or UNP. The basic search is publicly accessible.

For certified extracts, the process typically requires an in-person visit to a Ministry of Justice or regional registration office, or engagement of a local law firm or document agent in Belarus. Foreign parties requesting certified extracts remotely face practical barriers: international wire transfers to Belarusian state institutions may be restricted under EU, US, or UK sanctions on the Belarusian financial system. Compliance teams should factor this into their access planning.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The EGR portal at egr.gov.by provides a basic English-language interface covering navigation and the company search function. However, company names, addresses, and documents are returned in Russian or Belarusian (Cyrillic script). Certified extracts are issued in Russian. If you need an English-language document for compliance purposes, a certified translation is required; the EGR does not issue English extracts directly.

What’s the turnaround time?

Basic online searches return results instantly. Certified extracts are typically processed within 1-3 business days at Ministry of Justice offices. Same-day service may be available in Minsk at the main registration office, subject to capacity. Remote requests routed via local agents or law firms add additional time depending on the intermediary.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for the EGR as of May 2026. The Ministry of Justice does not publish an official developer interface for real-time entity queries. Compliance platforms needing Belarusian entity data typically rely on international data aggregators that have indexed EGR records. OpenCorporates indexes Belarusian companies sourced from the EGR, though the data may lag by weeks or months.

What you legally cannot do

• Bulk automated scraping of the EGR portal is not authorized under Belarusian information law.
• Registry data may not be redistributed commercially without Ministry of Justice authorization.
• Personal data on directors and founders is subject to Belarusian data protection legislation (Law No. 99-Z of May 7, 2021, on Personal Data Protection). Using such data for unsolicited marketing is prohibited.
• Compliance buyers should note that accessing Belarusian government websites or transacting with state institutions may itself require review against applicable sanctions programs. This is not a registry restriction; it is an external legal constraint imposed by sanctions regimes.

Sanctions overlay: what you must know before using Belarus registry data

Belarus has been subject to escalating EU, US, and UK sanctions since August 2020, with the most extensive packages introduced after the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 in May 2021 and following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

US OFAC: The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) administers targeted sanctions against Belarusian government officials, state-owned enterprises (including Belneftekhim and its subsidiaries), and designated individuals under Executive Orders 13405 and 14038. Belarus is NOT a comprehensively sanctioned country under US law; general trade with Belarus is not prohibited, but transactions involving designated parties or their property are blocked. Any Belarusian entity with 50% or more ownership by an SDN-listed party is itself treated as blocked. Check the OFAC SDN list before any transaction. In December 2025, OFAC issued Belarus General License 13, authorizing certain transactions involving Belarusian Potash Company and Belaruskali; the scope of this license should be reviewed with legal counsel.

EU sanctions: The EU’s restrictive measures on Belarus (Council Regulation EU 2021/1030 and subsequent packages) are broader in sectoral scope than OFAC, covering potash and petroleum product exports, financial services, transport, and a growing list of designated individuals and entities. The EU consolidated sanctions list is the primary screening reference for EU-nexus compliance teams. See the EU Sanctions Map for the current Belarusian package.

UK OFSI: The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) maintains a parallel Belarus sanctions list under The Belarus (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. UK-nexus transactions require screening against the OFSI consolidated list.

Practical implication for registry users: Obtaining a company extract from the EGR is an information act, not a financial transaction. In most interpretations this does not constitute a sanctions violation. However, if the purpose of the lookup is to onboard or transact with the Belarusian entity, that subsequent transaction requires full sanctions screening. EGR data alone does not confirm sanctions compliance; always run the UNP and any associated individuals against OFAC, EU, and OFSI lists before proceeding. For global due diligence workflows, Belarus should be treated as a heightened-risk jurisdiction requiring enhanced due diligence.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• UNP is the anchor identifier. The UNP (9 characters: region-coded first digit, 7-digit serial, check digit) is the single cross-government identifier in Belarus. It appears on tax records, contracts, and EGR filings. Always search by UNP rather than name to avoid transliteration issues.
• Cyrillic name handling. Belarusian companies are registered in Russian or Belarusian Cyrillic. Multiple transliteration conventions exist. Search by UNP to bypass name-matching errors.
• Bankruptcy and liquidation. Belarus uses a separate legal framework for economic insolvency (Law No. 415-Z of July 13, 2012). EGR will reflect liquidation status once proceedings are formally registered, but may lag actual insolvency proceedings by weeks.
• State ownership is common. A large portion of Belarusian large enterprises are state-owned. State-owned enterprises may be subject to EU/US sectoral restrictions independent of individual SDN designations.
• Bank access is restricted. Most Belarusian banks are under international sanctions. Paying for EGR extracts via international card is not practically possible in most cases. Factor in the need for a local intermediary.
• Belarus is not on the FATF grey list as a formally listed jurisdiction as of May 2026. However, given the sanctions environment, the financial intelligence frameworks of the US, EU, and UK effectively treat Belarus as a high-risk jurisdiction requiring enhanced due diligence. Refer to fatf-gafi.org for current monitoring status.

Alternatives if you cannot access the EGR directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes Belarusian EGR filings. Data may lag by weeks or months. Useful for initial name-check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Local legal agents: Belarusian law firms (those not designated under sanctions) can obtain certified EGR extracts on behalf of foreign clients. This is the most reliable route for foreign compliance teams needing certified documents.
• Schmidt and Schmidt (schmidt-export.com) is an international document procurement service that sources EGR extracts on behalf of foreign clients. Fees and turnaround vary.

Local data suppliers

• Registrall (registrall.com). An international registry data aggregator covering Belarus alongside other Eastern European jurisdictions. Provides structured company profiles sourced from EGR data for compliance and screening purposes.

Use the EGR extract for the authoritative legal filing record. Layer OFAC, EU, and OFSI sanctions screening before any business relationship.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Belarus EGR directly?

Yes, basic searches are publicly available at egr.gov.by without registration. Certified extracts require in-person or agent-assisted access in Minsk or regional offices. International payment restrictions on Belarusian financial institutions mean most foreign buyers engage a local intermediary for certified document procurement.

What is the UNP number in Belarus?

The UNP (Uchyotny Nomer Platelshchika) is a 9-character taxpayer identification number assigned by the Ministry of Taxes and Duties at registration. The first character encodes the Belarusian region of registration (a digit for legal entities). Characters 2-8 are a serial number. The ninth character is a check digit. For legal entities, all characters are numeric. The UNP also serves as the EGR registration number, making it the single primary identifier across tax, customs, and company registry systems.

What entity types are registered with the EGR?

The EGR covers all Belarusian commercial legal entities (including unitary enterprises, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, production cooperatives, and economic partnerships), non-commercial organizations, banks and insurance companies, individual entrepreneurs, and foreign company representative offices and branches registered in Belarus.

Does Belarus have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Belarus has beneficial ownership disclosure requirements under the Law on Prevention of Legalization (Laundering) of Criminally Obtained Proceeds, Financing of Terrorist Activity and Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Entities are required to maintain UBO records internally and disclose to regulatory authorities on request. As of May 2026, there is no publicly searchable central UBO register in Belarus equivalent to EU Member State requirements. Enhanced due diligence is therefore required for verifying ultimate ownership of Belarusian entities.

How current is the data in the EGR?

Free online data is updated on a filing-event basis as the Ministry of Justice processes lodgments. Status changes (liquidation, bankruptcy) typically appear within a few business days of processing. The online database is generally reliable for entity status and basic identification data. Certified extracts reflect the exact state of the register at the moment of issuance.

Is Belarus on the FATF grey list?

Belarus is not formally listed on the FATF grey list (jurisdictions under increased monitoring) as of May 2026. However, the extensive EU, US, and UK sanctions regimes applied to Belarus since 2022 mean that any compliance workflow involving Belarusian counterparties must treat the country as a heightened-risk jurisdiction. Consult fatf-gafi.org and your sanctions counsel before proceeding.

What’s the difference between the EGR and tax filings?

The EGR records company formation, ownership, and statutory changes under Ministry of Justice authority. Tax filings, tax clearance, and VAT registration are administered by the Ministry of Taxes and Duties through the e-pasluga.by portal, where parties can obtain brief information certificates. For a complete picture, a due diligence file on a Belarusian entity typically includes the EGR extract plus a tax clearance certificate plus sanctions screening output.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Ministry of Justice of Belarus (egr.gov.by), OFAC Belarus Sanctions Program (ofac.treasury.gov), EU Sanctions Map (sanctionsmap.eu). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.