Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. www.orcjamaica.com
- Check access requirements. Account required: Yes. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Not published; confirm at source.
- 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. Jamaica’s official business registry is the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) at https://www.orcjamaica.com. That site answers with an untitled bot-check page that sets a cookie and reloads rather than a company search form, and https://www.orcjamaica.com/CompanySearch.aspx does the same. https://services.orcjamaica.com/validation is titled Company Search - COJ, but the page itself is QR Code Validation by document number rather than a company-name search. https://www.boregistryjamaica.com is the Jamaica Beneficial Ownership Registry, and searching it requires a subscriber login and a captcha. No Jamaican dollar fees could be read; confirm at source.
What is the official Jamaica business registry?
The Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) is the statutory body responsible for company registration and regulation in Jamaica. It operates under the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) and derives its authority from the Companies Act 2004 and the Registration of Business Names Act. The public-facing online portal is at https://www.orcjamaica.com.
That host answers with an untitled bot-check page whose script sets a __zjc cookie and reloads, and following the cookie returns the same page. The CompanySearch.aspx fields, account profile screens and download steps behind it could not be confirmed; confirm at source.
The COJ registers companies, business names (sole traders and partnerships), and non-profit organisations. It also administers Jamaica’s Beneficial Ownership Registry (JBOR) at https://www.boregistryjamaica.com, a separate system. JBOR is online, titled Jamaica Beneficial Ownership Registry. Its page description says the register is searchable by designated authorities free of charge, and its body text says that performing a search requires a subscriber account. It presents a login box and a captcha.
Records in the online system have historically gone back to at least the 1990s for most entity types. Older historical records may require in-person requests to the COJ offices in Kingston. That depth could not be re-read on a working search form; confirm at source.
What can you search?
No COJ company-name search screen could be reached behind the bot-check page, so the name, registration-number and business-name fields at https://www.orcjamaica.com/CompanySearch.aspx are not confirmed here.
The validation host https://services.orcjamaica.com/validation is a working form titled Company Search - COJ, with the on-page heading QR Code Validation and the text “Enter the document number of the company to retrieve its details”. It is not a company-name register search and does not replace one.
The JBOR home requires a subscriber account to search beneficial owners. Its how-to links cover Access the Registry, Set up a Client Account, and Search for a Company. Those pages are not covered here.
How much does it cost?
| Item | Cost (JMD) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic entity profile | Unknown | Unknown |
| Name search (pre-registration check) | Unknown | Unknown |
| Certified document extract | Unknown | Unknown |
| JBOR search (designated authorities) | Free of charge (per the JBOR site) | Unknown |
| JBOR search (subscriber) | Unknown | Unknown |
No Jamaican dollar figures could be read while orcjamaica.com does not serve a working page, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. The JBOR site says designated authorities search free of charge, which is not a COJ document tariff.
Do you need a local account or ID?
COJ account rules could not be confirmed on orcjamaica.com. The JBOR page requires a Login ID and password plus a captcha, and says a subscriber account is required to search. COJ account creation has been reported as needing only an email address and no Jamaican TRN; confirm at source.
Is the website in English?
JBOR is in English, in both title and body. COJ English coverage could not be confirmed on a working orcjamaica.com page. Jamaica’s official language is English, and the validation page is in English.
What’s the turnaround time?
Turnaround is not published. No COJ download path could be reached behind the bot-check page; confirm at source.
Is there an API?
No public API could be confirmed, because the COJ portal did not serve a working page. Screen scraping is not permitted under its terms of use.
What you legally cannot do
The COJ’s terms of use and Jamaica’s Data Protection Act 2020 apply to use of registry data. Historic restrictions include:
- Automated bulk scraping or harvesting of registry records is prohibited
- Redistribution of certified COJ documents for commercial purposes requires written permission
- Using registry data for unsolicited marketing, spam, or purposes beyond the stated compliance use case is not permitted
- Beneficial ownership data from the JBOR is accessible only to subscribers with a verified purpose; it cannot be republished or redistributed
Those COJ terms could not be re-read on a working page; confirm at source. The JBOR site requires a subscriber login to search.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- Company number is the anchor identifier. Each registered company and business name is assigned a unique registration number at incorporation. Search by number when you have it. That search could not be reached behind the bot-check page.
- Jamaica was removed from the FATF grey list in June 2024. For current status, see fatf-gafi.org; confirm at source.
- Beneficial ownership registry is subscriber-access. The Jamaica Beneficial Ownership Registry (JBOR) at https://www.boregistryjamaica.com is online. Designated authorities search free of charge according to its own page description, and other users set up an account. There is no no-login public UBO search.
- Annual returns matter. Jamaican companies are required to file annual returns with the COJ. Filing-history screens could not be reached behind the bot-check page.
- Status field meanings. “Active”, “Struck Off”, “In Liquidation”, and “Dissolved” are historic COJ labels. Those labels could not be re-read on a working form; confirm at source.
- JMD pricing. Jamaica uses the Jamaican Dollar (JMD). COJ fee amounts are not published where they could be read; confirm at source.
Alternatives if you cannot access the COJ directly
orcjamaica.com serves a bot-check page rather than a search. The validation portal is a QR and document-number check, not a name search.
- Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes Jamaica company filings but lags official data. Useful for a quick name check; not for compliance-grade verification.
- JBOR (https://www.boregistryjamaica.com): a subscriber UBO search, not a substitute for a COJ company extract.
- Local counsel or accounting firms in Kingston: for certified extracts when the public portal does not render.
Local data suppliers
The Companies Office of Jamaica is the authoritative source for entity registration data and certified extracts. For credit risk, payment behaviour, or banking relationship data, engage a local financial institution or accounting firm in Kingston that can commission a commercial credit report through local market channels.
FAQ
Can a foreign company access the Jamaica registry directly?
https://www.orcjamaica.com served a bot-check page rather than a working site. Foreign buyers have been reported as able to create an account with an international email address and purchase certified documents online without a Jamaican TRN; confirm at source.
What is the company registration number in Jamaica?
Each entity registered with the COJ is assigned a unique registration number at incorporation. For companies, this is a numeric identifier issued sequentially. For business names (sole traders and partnerships), a separate registration number series applies. The registration number remains constant through the life of the entity.
What entity types are registered with the Companies Office of Jamaica?
The COJ registers limited companies (private and public), business names (sole traders and partnerships), external company registrations (foreign company branches), and non-profit organisations. The Companies Act 2004 governs limited companies; the Registration of Business Names Act governs business name registrations.
Does Jamaica have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?
Yes. The Jamaica Beneficial Ownership Registry (JBOR) at https://www.boregistryjamaica.com is online. Searching it requires a subscriber login, and designated authorities search free of charge according to its own page description. It is not a public no-login UBO search.
How current is the data in the Companies Office of Jamaica?
The COJ updates records on a filing-event basis. Freshness could not be measured on a working search form; confirm at source.
Is Jamaica on the FATF grey list?
Jamaica was removed from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring on 28 June 2024. Check current status at fatf-gafi.org.
What’s the difference between the COJ registry and the NIS/TRN systems?
The COJ registers companies and business names for corporate law purposes. The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) are tax and social security systems maintained by TAJ (Tax Administration Jamaica). A company registered with the COJ must separately obtain a TRN from TAJ to trade. The COJ registration number and the TRN are different identifiers.
Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: the COJ at https://www.orcjamaica.com, which serves a bot-check page, as does CompanySearch.aspx; the validation form at https://services.orcjamaica.com/validation, which checks document numbers; JBOR at https://www.boregistryjamaica.com, which requires a subscriber login. FATF: fatf-gafi.org. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.