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

TL;DR. Guinea’s official commercial registry is the RCCM (Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier), accessible via the OHADA federated portal at rccm.ohada.org. Basic searches are free but require an account; the interface is in French only. Guinea is on the FATF increased monitoring (grey) list as of May 2026. Digital registry coverage is improving but remains limited outside Conakry; physical court searches are often required for private company records.

What is the official Guinea business registry?

Guinea’s commercial registry is the Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier (RCCM), established under OHADA’s Uniform Act Relating to General Commercial Law. Guinea ratified the OHADA treaty on 14 June 1994 and integrated its commercial registration system into the OHADA framework. The OHADA Uniform Acts are directly applicable in Guinea and provide the legal basis for all commercial entity types, registration procedures, and corporate disclosure obligations.

Operationally, the RCCM is administered by the greffe (registry clerk) of the Tribunal de Commerce de Conakry and regional commercial courts. The Tribunal de Commerce de Conakry processes the majority of company registrations, given Conakry’s role as Guinea’s economic and administrative center. Regional courts in N’Zerekore, Kankan, and Labe handle registrations for their respective areas, though digitization coverage in regional courts is materially lower than Conakry.

Online search access is provided via the OHADA federated RCCM portal at rccm.ohada.org, which aggregates registry data from all 17 OHADA member states including Guinea. The Agence de Promotion des Investissements Prive (APIP), accessible at apip.gov.gn, operates a one-stop-shop for company formation and coordinates initial RCCM filings for new entities, targeting a 72-hour registration timeline.

The RCCM covers commercial companies (SA, SARL, SNC, SCS), individual traders, economic interest groups (GIE), branches of foreign companies, and moveable security registrations. Guinea’s companies also file accounts under the OHADA-aligned SYSCOA/SYSCOHADA accounting system.

What can you search?

The OHADA RCCM portal supports searches by:

• Corporate name (denomination sociale)
• Trade name (nom commercial)
• Abbreviation
• RCCM number (the unique entity identifier)
• Legal form (forme juridique)

Results per entity display: corporate name, trade name, RCCM number, legal form, registration court, entry date, and filed formalities (amendments, dissolution events, strike-offs). Moveable security registrations appear in the credit mobilier section.

A key practical limitation: detailed records for private companies (SARL) may not be fully available on the digital portal. Physical court searches at the Tribunal de Commerce de Conakry are frequently required for complete private company records, including shareholder registers and filed accounts. This is a common constraint across OHADA jurisdictions with lower digitization maturity.

Data freshness is court-driven. Conakry filings typically appear within days of submission; regional courts may lag by weeks. The OHADA portal aggregates data as submitted by each member state’s national registry; there is no real-time sync.

How much does it cost?

[VERIFY: GNF/EUR exchange rate. The Guinean Franc (GNF) is not pegged and fluctuates considerably. Verify current rate at the Central Bank of Guinea (bcrg.net.gn) before any transaction.] Third-party extract prices sourced from Schmidt and Schmidt’s published tariff (verified May 2026). Official RCCM search fees at the court level are set by court administration and may differ. Foreign buyers engaging a local legal representative should expect additional professional fees.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Account registration on the OHADA RCCM portal requires an email address and basic contact details. No Guinean national ID or local entity number is required for foreign users. The portal accepts international registrations for search access.

For certified extracts or court-level document retrieval, engagement with a local Guinean legal representative or licensed greffe agent in Conakry is typically necessary. Physical search of private company files at the Tribunal de Commerce requires local representation.

APIP facilitates company registration through an electronic one-stop-shop, but this is a formation service and not relevant for compliance buyers conducting lookups.

Is the website in English?

No. The OHADA RCCM portal is primarily in French, with English navigation available via the lang=en URL parameter at the portal interface level. All entity data, filing descriptions, corporate name fields, and legal form labels appear in French. Guinea has no official English-language registry interface.

Compliance buyers should be familiar with OHADA entity type terminology: SARL (Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, private limited), SA (Societe Anonyme, public company), SNC (Societe en Nom Collectif, general partnership), GIE (Groupement d’Interet Economique, economic interest group). Certified English translations of RCCM extracts are available through intermediaries.

What’s the turnaround time?

Basic OHADA portal search results are instant for digitized records. Certified extracts ordered through the Tribunal de Commerce de Conakry or via intermediaries typically take 10 to 21 business days, reflecting manual processing workflows and variable court capacity. Expedited processing is not standardized. For time-sensitive compliance workflows, engaging a Conakry-based legal representative directly with the court reduces uncertainty.

Is there an API?

No. The OHADA RCCM portal does not offer a public API as of May 2026. The APIP digital platform covers company formation formalities but does not provide entity data exports for external compliance systems. Compliance platforms requiring automated Guinea entity lookups must rely on manual portal access or a local data partner in Conakry.

For the broader context on OHADA’s harmonization framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

What you legally cannot do

OHADA registries prohibit bulk automated scraping. Commercial redistribution of RCCM records without court or OHADA authorization is restricted. Guinea’s data protection framework is developing; personal data found in RCCM filings (director names, addresses, shareholder details) should not be used for unsolicited marketing. Compliance buyers should document access purpose consistent with their AML/KYC obligations. Given Guinea’s FATF grey list status, enhanced due diligence records are especially important.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• RCCM number is the anchor identifier. Each Guinean legal entity receives a unique RCCM number at registration. Collect this from any counterparty documentation. The number encodes the court of registration and registration year.
• FATF grey list. Guinea is on FATF’s increased monitoring (grey) list as of May 2026. Most institutional compliance frameworks require enhanced due diligence for transactions with Guinean counterparties. Monitor FATF for plenary updates; grey list status is reviewed twice yearly.
• Political context. Guinea has experienced major political instability, including military coups in 2008 and 2021. The current transitional government (since September 2021) has affected institutional continuity. Registry operations continue but may be subject to administrative disruption. [VERIFY: current political and registry operational status before engaging counterparties.]
• Mining sector concentration. Guinea is among the world’s largest bauxite and iron ore exporters. Many material Guinean companies operate in extractive industries and associated logistics. Supply chain compliance for these sectors requires heightened UBO scrutiny given beneficial ownership complexity in resource-sector JVs.
• APIP one-stop-shop. APIP (apip.gov.gn) is Guinea’s official investment and company registration window. It maintains a database of registered entities for new formations; cross-reference APIP records for companies formed after its digital services launched.
• Regional court coverage. Entities registered in N’Zerekore, Kankan, or Labe may not appear in the OHADA portal’s online index if the regional court has not fully digitized its registry. In those cases, physical court requests coordinated by a local legal representative are required.

Alternatives if you cannot access the RCCM directly

• OHADA RCCM portal (rccm.ohada.org): covers Guinea as one of 17 OHADA member states. Free at the search level for basic records; certified extracts require court or intermediary engagement.
• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates has very limited Guinea RCCM coverage. Useful only for initial name checks; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Schmidt and Schmidt (schmidt-export.com): third-party intermediary offering certified RCCM extracts from Guinea with English translation options.

Local data suppliers

No major international credit bureau operates a dedicated Guinea credit reporting service as of May 2026. [VERIFY: local credit bureau availability.] For commercial due diligence beyond the RCCM, engagement with a Conakry-based legal firm or international due-diligence specialist with West Africa coverage is the primary route.

Use the RCCM for the official filing record. Use a legal representative when you need certified extracts or private company file access.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Guinea registry directly?

Foreign users can access the OHADA RCCM portal (rccm.ohada.org) for basic searches without a Guinean representative. Certified extracts and private company records require engagement with the Tribunal de Commerce de Conakry or a local legal agent. There is no legal prohibition on foreign access to public registry data.

What is the RCCM number in Guinea?

The RCCM number (Numero au Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier) is Guinea’s primary commercial entity identifier. It encodes the registration court and year. Conakry-registered entities carry the “GN-CKY” court prefix. This number appears on official extracts, commercial contracts, and tax filings.

What entity types are registered with the RCCM in Guinea?

The RCCM covers SA (Societe Anonyme), SARL (Societe a Responsabilite Limitee), SNC (Societe en Nom Collectif), SCS (Societe en Commandite Simple), GIE (Groupement d’Interet Economique), individual traders, and branches of foreign companies. All are governed by OHADA’s Uniform Act on Commercial Companies.

Does Guinea have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Guinea does not operate a publicly searchable UBO register as of May 2026. Beneficial ownership disclosure requirements exist under Guinea’s AML legislation, but UBO data is held by regulatory authorities rather than publicly published. Given Guinea’s FATF grey list status, compliance buyers should apply enhanced UBO verification: rely on RCCM director and shareholder filings, direct counterparty declaration, and supplementary EDD documentation.

Is Guinea on the FATF grey list?

Yes. Guinea is on FATF’s increased monitoring (grey) list as of May 2026. This reflects strategic deficiencies in Guinea’s AML/CFT framework. Institutional compliance programs typically require enhanced due diligence for transactions with Guinean counterparties. Monitor FATF for updates.

How current is the RCCM data?

RCCM data currency in Guinea varies considerably by court location. Conakry’s Tribunal de Commerce processes higher volumes and typically updates within days of a filing. Regional courts may lag by weeks to months. The OHADA portal reflects data as submitted by the national registry; digitization of historical records is ongoing and incomplete. For time-critical compliance decisions, verify data currency with a local legal representative.

What’s the difference between the RCCM and tax registration?

The RCCM holds commercial registration records and corporate structure filings. Tax registration and compliance records are held separately by the Direction Nationale des Impots (DNI) under Guinea’s tax identification system (NIF). These systems are administered separately but cross-referenced in company documentation. A complete CDD file for a Guinean counterparty should include both RCCM status and, where available, tax compliance confirmation.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: OHADA RCCM portal (rccm.ohada.org), APIP Guinea (apip.gov.gn), FATF (fatf-gafi.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.