Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. orc.gov.gh
- Check access requirements. Account required: Optional. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Not published on the live ORC home, fees.php or Name Search form HTML.
- 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. Ghana’s official business registry is the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) at https://orc.gov.gh (HTTP 200, title Office of the Registrar of Companies - Ghana). The live Name Search form is https://rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app (HTTP 200, title Name Search; fields Business Name and search type Exact Match / Starts With / Ends With / Contains / Sounds Like). https://orc.gov.gh/fees.php is HTTP 200, title Fees & Charges, and cites 2026 search fees of GHS 30 (business name/partnership search; companies register excluding charges and insolvency) and GHS 150 (companies register on charges and insolvency). https://orc.gov.gh/forms-fees/ is HTTP 404. Instant and Free are not on those live pages. priceMax is 150 from the live search rows, not the GHS 560 incorporation figure.
What is the official Ghana business registry?
The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) is Ghana’s statutory body for companies and business names under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992). The public site in this check is https://orc.gov.gh (HTTP 200).
The home HTML lists services including Name Search, Reservations, Registrations, Filings, Annual Returns and an E-Portal nav item. The home itself is not the search form. Name Search “Click here for Name Search” on https://orc.gov.gh/service-name-search.php (HTTP 200) points at the live form on rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app.
The home HTML still places ORC near the Tema Station in Accra, inside the Registrar-General’s Department premises, with phone 0308249841 / 0599525774 and email info@orc.gov.gh.
What can you search?
Name Search form (observed): https://rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app is HTTP 200, title Name Search, branded ORC Portal. The fetched HTML has:
- Business Name (required)
- Choose Search Type (required): Exact Match, Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Sounds Like
- a Search control
- empty-state text “No data found”
That is a name-availability form, not a full company-profile results page. Instant is not live-cited on that HTML.
Entity Information Search (service page, not a form): https://orc.gov.gh/service-entity-information-search.php is HTTP 200. It describes retrieving entity information from the ORC database. The search UI and result fields were not observed. Beneficial ownership and officer field lists on that marketing page are not treated as a live working search UI.
How much does it cost?
Live rows from https://orc.gov.gh/fees.php (HTTP 200, “Schedule of fees and charges payable … (2026)”):
| Item | Cost (GHS) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Search in Business Name/Partnership | 30 | Unknown |
| Search in Companies Register (excluding charges and insolvency) | 30 | Unknown |
| Search in Companies Register (charges and insolvency) | 150 | Unknown |
| Certified True Copy (companies limited by shares, as listed) | 30 | Unknown |
| Company incorporation (constitution, Form 3 and BO Profile) | 585 | Unknown |
GHS 560 as a search priceMax is dropped; that figure was an incorporation bundle, not a live search row. GHS 510 and VIP GHS 400 are not on fees.php and are dropped. Instant and Free are not on fees.php or the Name Search form. USD equivalents are Unknown (not printed). ghana.gov.gh payment-platform claims are not on these live pages.
Do you need a local account or ID?
The observed Name Search form did not present a Ghana Card or login gate. Paid extract and filing account rules were not observed on that form. accountRequired remains Optional. International card and ghana.gov.gh payment claims are not live-cited.
Is the website in English?
Yes. orc.gov.gh, fees.php, the Name Search service page and the rgdonline Name Search form are in English.
What’s the turnaround time?
Unknown. Instant / near-instant / same-day VIP claims are not on the live Name Search form or fees.php. Prestige/VIP appears on fees.php as additional fees (for example GHS 1,300 incorporation add-on; GHS 650 filings add-on), not as a live same-day SLA.
Is there an API?
No. No developer API was live-cited on orc.gov.gh. apiAvailable remains No.
What you legally cannot do
Act 992 and Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) still govern reuse of registry personal data. Bulk reproduction and unsolicited marketing from ORC records are restricted. Document the purpose of each compliance fetch. The Data Protection Commission host was not re-fetched in this check.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- Registration number vs name. Use the registration number when you have it. The live Name Search form searches Business Name with match types; it is not a number lookup UI.
- Do not treat the service-page UBO list as a public UBO register. Beneficial ownership details were named on the Entity Information Search service page; that UI was not observed. Penalty for non-filing of beneficial ownership is listed on fees.php as GHS 500. That is a filing penalty, not public UBO access.
- forms-fees/ is dead. Use https://orc.gov.gh/fees.php.
- FATF status was not live-cited: fatf-gafi.org returned HTTP 403 (Cloudflare JS challenge) in this check.
Alternatives if you cannot access ORC directly
- Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates may index Ghana filings. Not a substitute for ORC.
- ghana.gov.gh is linked from the ORC footer. It was not re-fetched as a search UI in this check.
Local data suppliers
- Dun & Bradstreet Ghana (dnb.com). Credit risk scoring on top of the ORC filing record.
- GCB Capital (gcbcapital.com.gh). Financial analysis on Ghanaian entities.
Use ORC for the incorporation record. Use a commercial provider for credit history.
FAQ
Can a foreign company use the Ghana Name Search form?
The live form at rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app loaded without a Ghana ID field. Paid-extract account rules were not observed there.
What is the company registration number in Ghana?
ORC assigns a registration number at incorporation. The observed Name Search form asks for Business Name, not that number.
What entity types does ORC list?
The live home nav lists business names/sole proprietorships, partnerships, companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies, external companies and professional bodies.
Does Ghana have a public UBO search UI?
Not observed. The Entity Information Search service page mentions beneficial ownership details; the search UI was not fetched. Do not invent a public UBO register.
Is Ghana on the FATF grey list?
Not live-cited this check. fatf-gafi.org returned HTTP 403.
What is the difference between ORC and GRA?
ORC handles incorporation and corporate filings. Tax registration sits with the Ghana Revenue Authority. gra.gov.gh is linked from the ORC footer and was not re-fetched as a search UI.
Last verified: 2026-09-04. Live GET: orc.gov.gh HTTP 200; fees.php HTTP 200 GHS 30/150 search rows; rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app HTTP 200 Name Search form; forms-fees/ HTTP 404.