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

TL;DR. Botswana’s official business registry is CIPA’s Online Business Registration System (OBRS), operated by the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority. Basic company searches are free and require no account. Foreign buyers can access the OBRS portal online and order certified extracts in Botswana Pula (BWP). The interface is fully English and the registry is one of the more accessible in Southern Africa for international users.

What is the official Botswana business registry?

The Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) is Botswana’s statutory registrar for companies, intellectual property, and business names. CIPA operates under the Companies Act (Cap. 42:01) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority Act. The agency falls under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The public-facing registry portal is the Online Business Registration System (OBRS), accessible at obrs.cipa.co.bw. OBRS launched as part of Botswana’s broader e-government initiative and allows company registration, annual return filing, name availability searches, and document downloads entirely online.

CIPA’s registry covers private companies, public companies, close companies (a legacy vehicle now being phased out), non-profit companies, foreign company branches, and partnerships. The Companies Amendment Act 2018 (and subsequent amendments through 2025) introduced updated filing requirements including mandatory constitution submission for all registered entities.

Historical records in CIPA’s digital system extend to the agency’s establishment in 2014, when it took over functions from the Registrar of Companies under the Ministry of Trade. Pre-2014 records are accessible via CIPA but some older filings may require additional processing time.

What can you search?

CIPA’s OBRS system supports the following lookups:

• Company name (partial or full name search)
• Company registration number
• Business name
• Director or officer name (via OBRS account)
• Entity status monitoring (available to registered OBRS users)

Per entity, publicly available data includes: registered name, registration number, entity type, registered office address, incorporation date, current status (active, deregistered, struck off, under liquidation), and principal business activities.

CIPA introduced a monitoring feature on OBRS allowing registered users to watch companies in which they hold an interest, receiving notifications of changes. This is available at no additional charge to OBRS account holders.

Data freshness is filing-event driven. CIPA processes OBRS submissions electronically and updates the register within 1-5 business days of accepting a filing. Urgent filings may be processed faster.

How much does it cost?

Prices sourced from CIPA’s published fee schedules (OBRS-Fees and fees-for-frequently-used-services documents at cipa.co.bw/information-center), verified May 2026. BWP/USD conversion used: 1 USD = approximately 13.8 BWP (verify at point of purchase). CIPA charges a higher fee for walk-in or kiosk submissions relative to online OBRS submissions; online submission is the lower-cost route.

Specific fees for certified extract orders were not published in the accessible fee schedule at the time of verification. Contact CIPA at info@cipa.co.bw or +267 367 3700 to confirm current certified extract pricing before ordering.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Basic name and status searches via the OBRS public interface are free and require no registration. Creating an OBRS account to access monitoring features, place certified extract orders, or file documents requires an email address and basic contact details. Foreign nationals can register an OBRS account using a passport number; a Botswana national identity number is not required for account creation.

Registering a company in Botswana as a foreigner requires local corporate service provider involvement in most cases, but searching the registry is straightforwardly open to international users.

Is the website in English?

Yes. CIPA’s OBRS portal, the main website at cipa.co.bw, all downloadable fee schedules, FAQ documents, and form templates are in English. Botswana’s official government language is English, and all corporate filings are made in English.

What’s the turnaround time?

Name and status searches on OBRS are instant. Certified extract and certificate orders are processed within 1-5 business days in normal circumstances. CIPA does not currently offer instant e-certified documents; orders are prepared manually and returned as a PDF or physical copy.

For compliance purposes, the CIPA-certified extract bearing the CIPA seal is the primary source document. Printouts from the public search display are not considered certified and are insufficient for formal KYC files.

Is there an API?

No. CIPA does not currently offer a public API for programmatic access to registry data. The OBRS is designed for individual transaction use. Compliance platforms requiring bulk or automated Botswana registry lookups should contact CIPA directly to enquire about data-sharing arrangements.

OpenCorporates indexes some Botswana filing data and may be useful for indicative volume lookups, but it is not a primary compliance source.

What you legally cannot do

CIPA’s Terms of Use prohibit bulk automated scraping of the OBRS interface or any programmatic extraction of registry data without written authorisation. Registry data accessed through OBRS is licensed for the purpose of the specific enquiry.

Botswana’s Data Protection Act 2018 governs the processing of personal data derived from company records, including director names and addresses. Compliance buyers should document the stated purpose of each registry search and retain this as part of their AML audit trail. For a broader framework on using public registry data across jurisdictions, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide. Buyers covering Southern Africa alongside Botswana may also consult the South Africa Company Search Guide for comparison with the CIPC registry.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Registration number is the anchor identifier. Botswana company registration numbers are assigned at incorporation and do not change. Use the registration number, not the company name, as the primary lookup key when cross-referencing against other data sources.
• Close companies. Botswana historically had “close companies” (CC) as a simplified entity type. These are being phased out under the 2018 Companies Amendment Act. An entity described as a CC may have converted or be in the process of converting to a private company; check the current entity type on the extract.
• Constitution filing requirement. The 2018 Companies Act amendments require all existing companies to file a written constitution. As of 2026, a six-month extension to 30 September 2026 applies for entities that had not yet filed. An entity without a filed constitution is technically non-compliant; check this on any extract for counterparty risk assessment.
• Foreign branches. Foreign companies operating in Botswana must register with CIPA as an external company. The Botswana registration does not substitute for verifying the parent entity in its home jurisdiction.
• Status field. “Active” means the entity is in good standing. “Struck Off” means CIPA has removed it from the register. “Deregistered” applies to entities that voluntarily wound up. Confirm status at the time of the compliance check, not from older records.
• FATF context. Botswana is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. Standard CDD applies.

Alternatives if you cannot access CIPA directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes Botswana company filings but lags official data. Useful for a quick name check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• OBRS portal (obrs.cipa.co.bw) for account-based certified document orders.

Local data suppliers

• Dun and Bradstreet (via dnb.com). D&B provides commercial credit reports on Botswana entities as part of its Africa coverage. Use when you need payment behavior or risk scoring in addition to the CIPA registry extract.

Use CIPA for the authoritative legal filing record. Use a credit bureau when you need financial risk context beyond the registry filing.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Botswana registry directly?

Yes. The OBRS public search interface is accessible to anyone globally without registration. Certified extracts require an OBRS account, which foreign users can create using a passport and international email address. No Botswana national identity number is needed for account registration.

What is the company registration number in Botswana?

The CIPA registration number is a unique numeric identifier assigned at the time of incorporation. It appears on the certificate of incorporation and all official CIPA extracts. Format varies by entity type but is typically a numeric sequence (e.g., “BW00001234567”). Always use this number as the primary identifier rather than the company name.

What entity types are registered with CIPA?

CIPA registers private companies, public companies, close companies (legacy, being phased out), non-profit companies, foreign company branches (external companies), sole proprietors, and partnerships. Intellectual property rights including trademarks, patents, and industrial designs are also registered through CIPA, in a separate function from the company register.

Does Botswana have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Botswana’s Companies Act requires companies to maintain internal registers of beneficial owners. CIPA collects some beneficial ownership data as part of company filings. A fully public UBO register accessible to third parties was not available through OBRS at the time of writing. Botswana’s approach aligns with FATF Recommendation 24 standards, and requirements are subject to ongoing regulatory development.

How current is the data in CIPA?

CIPA updates the register on a filing-event basis. Electronic OBRS filings are processed within 1-5 business days. For current status verification, obtain a certified extract directly from OBRS rather than relying on a cached public search result.

Is Botswana on the FATF grey list?

No. Botswana is not on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring as of May 2026. Standard AML due diligence applies. For current FATF list status, refer to fatf-gafi.org.

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

CIPA registers companies and handles corporate governance filings. Tax registration is managed separately by the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) at burs.org.bw, which issues a Tax Identification Number (TIN). A complete due diligence file on a Botswana entity may include both the CIPA extract and a BURS tax clearance certificate.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: Companies and Intellectual Property Authority, CIPA OBRS (cipa.co.bw). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.