DRC RCCM: justice.gouv.cd maintenance page

TL;DR. The DRC commercial register is the RCCM, kept under the OHADA framework at the Tribunaux de Commerce. https://www.justice.gouv.cd shows a maintenance page titled Site temporairement indisponible, and https://www.mining.cd no longer resolves; no replacement online search could be confirmed. Extract fees and turnaround are therefore unknown rather than free; confirm at source. UN, OFAC and EU targeted sanctions and conflict-minerals rules still apply to DRC counterparties.

Who searches for DRC company information, and why it’s hard

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country of extraordinary resource wealth: cobalt, coltan, copper, gold, diamonds, and timber. It is also one of the world’s most fragile states, with active armed conflict in the east, a history of governance failure, and deep institutional weaknesses. Foreign buyers engaging DRC entities span mining and metals companies, battery supply chain due diligence teams, commodity traders, development finance institutions, humanitarian organisations, and China-linked infrastructure investors.

The compliance challenge is among the most acute anywhere in Africa: no online registry, active international sanctions, conflict minerals obligations, a dollarised economy with material cash flows, and a legal system with limited effective enforcement capacity. Remote company verification is essentially impossible without in-country assistance.

Registry at a glance

Name: Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier (RCCM), administered under the OHADA Uniform Act framework. The DRC joined OHADA in 2012.

Operator: The RCCM is maintained by Tribunaux de Commerce in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi (Katanga province, mining hub), and other regional cities. The Ministry of Justice (Ministere de la Justice et Garde des Sceaux) has supervisory authority.

URL: https://www.justice.gouv.cd, which shows a maintenance page titled Site temporairement indisponible. It is not an RCCM search form.

What is covered: All commercial entities under OHADA law registered in the DRC: SARL, SA, SNC, SCS, entreprise individuelle, GIE, and branches of foreign companies. Mining entities are additionally registered with the Cadastre Minier (CAMI) for mining rights.

Access model: Entirely paper-based and physical. Material backlogs and administrative variation between Tribunal locations are documented. No electronic search or document delivery. The Kinshasa Tribunal de Commerce handles the majority of major commercial registrations; Lubumbashi handles most mining sector entities in Katanga.

Honesty note: Public company information is not reliably accessible through the DRC RCCM for foreign buyers without in-country assistance. Data quality and currency are highly variable. Plan for material time and cost for any company verification.

How to search

Step 1: Physical RCCM access. The register is paper-based. Foreign buyers typically retrieve extracts through a Kinshasa or Lubumbashi commercial lawyer with current Tribunal de Commerce access, or through international law firm networks with DRC practices (often headquartered in Brussels, Paris, or Johannesburg). This guide does not prescribe counsel.

Step 2: Identify the registration city. Major Kinshasa entities are at Tribunal de Commerce de Kinshasa. Katanga mining entities are typically at Tribunal de Commerce de Lubumbashi. The RCCM number encodes the city prefix: KIN for Kinshasa, LBB for Lubumbashi, etc.

Step 3: Provide company identifiers. Company name, RCCM number (format: [City]-[year]-[type]-[number]), and the RCCM identification code (Identifiant National, equivalent to DRC’s tax ID, often called RCCM number plus the NIF from the Direction Generale des Impots, DGI).

Step 4: Request certified RCCM extract. Your agent applies at the Tribunal. No turnaround is published; confirm at source.

Step 5: CAMI verification for mining entities. https://www.mining.cd no longer resolves, and no replacement CAMI search page could be confirmed; confirm at source.

Step 6: Conflict-minerals regulation context (information-only). For entities in the minerals supply chain (cobalt, gold, coltan/tantalum, cassiterite/tin, wolframite/tungsten), the OECD Due Diligence Guidance is the reference framework that EU 2017/821 and related importer rules cite. Industry schemes such as iTSCi and RMAP exist. This guide records those facts; it does not prescribe a BDG due-diligence pack. Confirm current scheme membership and regulation scope at source.

What you can find

When obtainable, an RCCM extract for a DRC company may include:

• Company name (denomination sociale)
• RCCM number and registration date
• Legal form (SARL, SA, branch, sole trader)
• Status: active or struck off
• Registered address
• Date of incorporation
• Business activity (objet social)
• Share capital (often denominated in USD, as the DRC uses the US dollar as its primary commercial currency)
• Director name(s)
• Shareholder/partner names for SARL

Financial statements and beneficial ownership are not part of the standard extract.

What is missing

• Beneficial ownership: No public UBO registry. This is a critical gap given the sanctions environment.
• Financial statements: Not publicly available.
• Conflict mineral supply chain data: Not in the RCCM; requires CAMI and industry scheme verification.
• Real-time status: Records may considerably lag actual company status.
• Geographic operating areas: The registry does not disclose whether a company operates in conflict-affected eastern DRC.

Pricing

No fee figures are published, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. The Banque Centrale du Congo at https://www.bcc.cd is online, but it is not an RCCM search form.

English availability and practical access

No English interface on any DRC government registry portal. All processes and documents are in French (Lingala, Kiswahili, and Tshiluba are also spoken but French is the administrative language). In-country agents and lawyers operate in French. Most international law firms with DRC practices have English-capable staff.

Security conditions in parts of Kinshasa and the eastern provinces are a documented constraint. Many foreign buyers retrieve records through local agents rather than travelling. That is an access fact, not a prescribed workflow.

Alternatives when the registry is limited

• In-country legal counsel: The only reliable route for certified RCCM extracts and supplementary searches.
• Cadastre Minier (CAMI): For mining sector companies, CAMI may offer more accessible data on mining permits and concessions.
• Global Witness / IPIS: The International Peace Information Service and Global Witness publish extensive research on DRC mining sector governance, conflict mineral flows, and specific company due diligence cases. Essential background reading for any mining sector engagement.
• OECD Due Diligence Guidance: mneguidelines.oecd.org for the specific due diligence framework applicable to DRC minerals.
• UN Group of Experts on DRC: The UN Security Council panel publishes regular reports on sanctions violations, conflict financing, and armed group economic activity in the DRC.
• Open Ownership: No public DRC beneficial ownership register could be confirmed; confirm at source.

Compliance buyer notes (information-only)

The DRC presents one of the most complex compliance environments in Africa. The items below are public regulatory facts. This guide does not prescribe a due-diligence file, a senior-officer approval path, or a BDG product pack. For a general due-diligence framework, see the Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

• UN sanctions regime: UN Security Council sanctions targeting DRC (UN Sanctions Committee 1533) impose arms embargoes and targeted sanctions (asset freezes, travel bans) on designated individuals and entities. The sanctions list includes armed group leaders, officials, and business figures linked to conflict financing. Buyers typically verify counterparties against the UN 1533 list; confirm at source.
• OFAC: The US Office of Foreign Assets Control maintains targeted DRC-related designations. The SDN list is public. Buyers with a US nexus commonly verify DRC names against it; confirm at sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov.
• EU sanctions: The EU Council maintains targeted sanctions on DRC individuals under Common Position 2008/369/CFSP and subsequent regulations. The EU Consolidated Sanctions List is the published source. Buyers with an EU nexus commonly verify names there.
• Conflict minerals (3TG): The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (EU 2017/821) applies to tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold from the DRC and cites OECD supply-chain due diligence for in-scope EU importers. The US Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502 applies to US-listed companies sourcing from the DRC. For cobalt, OECD guidance and industry schemes (RMI-RMAP) exist. Those instruments are facts; this guide does not prescribe a conflict-minerals pack.
• Cobalt supply chain: The DRC produces approximately 70% of the world’s cobalt. EU Battery Regulation 2023 and CSDDD (where applicable) are additional published instruments that EV manufacturers, battery producers, and suppliers may fall under. Artisanal mining risk in the cobalt chain is a documented feature of the sector.
• Anti-bribery: UK Bribery Act, US FCPA, and similar frameworks exist. The DRC’s business environment is consistently rated as one of the most challenging globally for corruption risk (Transparency International). This guide does not prescribe anti-bribery policies or agent-agreement templates.
• AML/CFT: GABAC assesses Central Africa; the DRC’s AML/CFT institutional capacity is limited. That capacity gap is a public assessment fact. This guide does not prescribe a monitoring workflow or a BDG file.
• Political exposure: The DRC’s political economy is characterised by intense concentration of commercial and political power. PEP lists and commercial databases with African coverage exist. Buyers typically verify directors and major shareholders against available sources; confirm at source.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: www.justice.gouv.cd, which shows a maintenance page titled Site temporairement indisponible; www.mining.cd, which no longer resolves; bcc.cd, which is online; UN Security Council Sanctions Committee 1533; OFAC; EU sanctions map. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.