Lebanon Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Lebanese Business

TL;DR. Lebanon’s commercial companies are registered with the Commercial Register (Registre du Commerce) maintained by regional courts under the Ministry of Justice, with a central search portal at cr.justice.gov.lb. Basic searches are free but the portal operates in Arabic only and has had periods of downtime. Lebanon was added to the FATF grey list in October 2024 and remains there as of May 2026. Any due diligence on Lebanese entities requires mandatory OFAC and EU sanctions screening given active Hezbollah-related designations.

What is the official Lebanon business registry?

Lebanon’s commercial register (Registre du Commerce) was established under the Code of Commerce (Decree-Law No. 304 of 1942, as amended) and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. Administratively, the register is decentralized: separate commercial courts maintain registers in each governorate, with the primary chambers located in Beirut, Tripoli, Zahle, Saida (Sidon), Tyr (Tyre), and Nabatieh. The Ministry of Justice provides a central search interface at cr.justice.gov.lb that aggregates records across the regional chambers.

All commercial entities operating in Lebanon are required to register before commencing activities. The register covers limited liability companies (SARL/s.a.r.l.), joint-stock companies (SAL/s.a.l.), sole traders, partnerships, branch offices of foreign companies, and holding companies. Each registered entity is assigned a commercial registration number (numéro d’immatriculation) that is unique to the issuing court chamber.

Records on the online portal date to the digitization efforts of the early 2000s, with pre-digital records accessible only in person at the relevant court chamber. The online portal has experienced intermittent availability; as of late 2025, access was confirmed by third-party registry monitors, though full reliability cannot be guaranteed given Lebanon’s general infrastructure constraints.

What can you search?

The central portal at cr.justice.gov.lb supports searches by:

• Commercial registration number (by court chamber)
• Company name (Arabic script only; transliteration of Latin-script names is not supported)
• Court chamber filter (Beirut, Tripoli, Zahle, etc.)

Data returned per record includes: registered company name (Arabic and French), commercial registration number, entity type, registered address, declared share capital, principal business activity, registration date, and status. Director and shareholder information is part of the formal record but depth of display varies by chamber and digitization vintage. Some older records show only the company header with a reference to the physical file.

Data freshness is uneven: changes processed by the Beirut chamber are more consistently reflected in near-real-time, while records from smaller regional chambers may lag several weeks after a filing event.

How much does it cost?

Online name and registration number searches are free through the central portal. Physical extracts obtained from the relevant court chamber carry a nominal court fee. Note that USD-equivalent pricing is approximate: Lebanon’s currency regime is effectively dual-track, with the official Banque du Liban (BDL) rate and the parallel market rate diverging considerably since 2019. As of May 2026, the Lebanese lira trades at approximately LBP 89,000 per USD on the parallel market. Court fees published in LBP translate to very small USD amounts at this rate. Verify current fees directly with the relevant court chamber before an in-person visit.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No account or Lebanese identity document is required to search the public portal at cr.justice.gov.lb. The search interface is open to any user. Downloading or printing extracts from the portal does not require registration. For certified copies or notarised extracts, you must visit the relevant court chamber in person or appoint a local attorney (avocat) or legal representative to collect documents on your behalf.

There is no mechanism for foreign companies to obtain certified Lebanese registry extracts remotely without a local intermediary.

Is the website in English?

No. The cr.justice.gov.lb portal operates in Arabic only. Navigation menus, search fields, and all returned data are in Arabic script. French, which is an official administrative language of Lebanon and was historically used in commercial law, does not appear in the online interface. Company names are typically stored in both Arabic and French in the physical register, but the online portal displays the Arabic version.

Foreign compliance buyers without Arabic-language capability should use Google Translate or a browser-based translation plugin as a first-pass approach, combined with local counsel or a commercial aggregator for any compliance-grade extract.

What’s the turnaround time?

Name and registration number searches via the online portal return results instantly when the portal is operational. Certified extracts or notarised copies obtained in person at a court chamber typically take 1-3 business days depending on the chamber’s caseload. In Beirut, same-day service is sometimes available for standard extracts. Expect longer lead times at regional chambers.

Given Lebanon’s infrastructure environment (power outages, internet disruptions, reduced court staffing), compliance buyers should build lead time into any registry verification workflow and have a fallback plan through a local legal firm.

Is there an API?

No. There is no documented public API for the Lebanese Commercial Register as of May 2026. The cr.justice.gov.lb portal is a web-only interface with no published developer access layer. Bulk data access is not available through official channels.

What you legally cannot do

Lebanon’s data protection framework remains fragmented. The Draft Law on Personal Data Protection has been in parliamentary discussion for several years but has not yet been enacted as of May 2026. In the absence of a complete data protection law, the applicable constraints are the Terms of Use of the cr.justice.gov.lb portal (which prohibit bulk automated scraping and commercial redistribution of retrieved data) and general civil law obligations. Compliance buyers should document the stated purpose of each lookup as part of their internal audit file.

Under OFAC Executive Orders 13224 and 13441 (Lebanon-Related Sanctions) and subsequent designations, certain Lebanese individuals and entities connected to Hizballah, designated Syrian officials, and related networks are subject to asset freezes and dealing prohibitions. Accessing the registry to identify a counterparty does not itself create liability, but proceeding with a transaction with a designated party does. Screen all Lebanese counterparties against the OFAC SDN list and the EU Consolidated Sanctions List before any commercial engagement.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Registry number plus court chamber is the full anchor. A registration number alone is ambiguous without identifying the issuing chamber (Beirut First Instance Commercial Court, Tripoli Commercial Court, etc.). Always capture both when documenting a Lebanese counterparty.
• Capital controls are not a status indicator. The commercial register does not reflect whether a company’s bank accounts are frozen or subject to informal capital controls imposed by Lebanese banks since October 2019. A company showing “active” status in the register may still be unable to transfer funds internationally. Perform separate banking-status due diligence.
• USD is the de facto operating currency. Since early 2023, most commercial transactions in Lebanon, including legal fees, court fees, and professional services, are priced in USD cash (referred to as “fresh dollars”) rather than LBP. Any cost quotation from a Lebanese service provider will be in USD.
• FATF grey listing since October 2024. Lebanon was added to the FATF Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring list at the October 2024 plenary, citing deficiencies in AML/CFT risk assessments, beneficial ownership information, and asset recovery mechanisms. As of May 2026, Lebanon remains on the list under a two-year action plan running to end-2026. See fatf-gafi.org for updates.
• OFAC and EU sanctions require screening. OFAC maintains an active Lebanon-related sanctions program targeting Hizballah operatives, affiliated exchange houses, and Iran-linked financial networks. In 2025, OFAC designated multiple individuals and entities using Lebanese money changers to channel funds. Run every Lebanese counterparty against the OFAC SDN list and the EU CFSP database before engagement.
• In-person access may be preferable to the online portal. For compliance-critical engagements, the physical file at the court chamber is more complete than the digitized online record, especially for older entities and regional chambers. A Lebanese attorney can retrieve the full file including founding acts and subsequent amendments. For the global framework on high-risk jurisdictions, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

Alternatives if you cannot access the Commercial Register directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes Lebanese company filings but coverage is partial and lags official data considerably. Useful for quick name-check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Local legal counsel: For compliance purposes, appointing a Beirut-based law firm to obtain a certified registry extract is the most reliable route. Several international law firms with Beirut offices handle registry due diligence.
• Commercial data aggregators: Dun & Bradstreet, Bureau van Dijk (Orbis), and regional providers such as Credit Libanais Information Services cover select Lebanese entities, primarily larger companies. Coverage of SMEs is thin.

Local data suppliers

• Schmidt & Schmidt (schmidt-export.com). German commercial registry services firm offering company extract retrieval from Lebanon and other MENA jurisdictions on a per-order basis. Acts as an intermediary for obtaining official extracts from the court chambers. Useful for foreign buyers without local legal contacts.

Use the Commercial Register for primary-source filing records. Use a commercial data provider when you need risk-scoring, credit data, or consolidated multi-jurisdiction profiles.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Lebanon registry directly?

Yes, the online portal at cr.justice.gov.lb is publicly accessible. However, the Arabic-only interface and intermittent availability mean foreign buyers typically rely on a local Lebanese attorney or commercial intermediary for anything beyond a basic name-check. Certified extracts require in-person collection at the relevant court chamber or a local representative.

What is the commercial registration number in Lebanon?

Lebanon’s commercial registration number is the numéro d’immatriculation au Registre du Commerce, issued by the relevant court chamber at the time of registration. It is chamber-specific: the same number may exist in both the Beirut and Tripoli registers for different companies. Always pair the registration number with the chamber name to uniquely identify an entity.

What entity types are registered with the Commercial Register?

The register covers joint-stock companies (SAL), limited liability companies (SARL), partnerships (sociétés en nom collectif), limited partnerships, sole traders, holding companies (as defined under Decree-Law No. 45 of 1983), and branch offices of foreign companies. Offshore companies previously registered under the 1983 framework are also in the register; Lebanon’s offshore company regime has been under reform pressure since the 2019 financial crisis.

Does Lebanon have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Not operationally, as of May 2026. Lebanon’s FATF action plan (October 2024) explicitly identifies the absence of adequate beneficial ownership information as a strategic deficiency. While company law requires shareholders to be declared at registration, there is no central UBO register aligned with FATF Recommendation 24. The action plan targets this as one of the areas for remediation by end-2026. Compliance buyers should not assume UBO data from the commercial register is current or complete.

How current is the data in the Commercial Register?

Freshness varies considerably by court chamber. Beirut filings are generally reflected within days. Regional chambers may lag by weeks. Compliance buyers should treat online data as a first-check indicator and request a fresh extract directly from the court chamber for any high-stakes transaction. Changes during periods of court closures (public holidays, strikes, security incidents) are batched and may appear delayed.

Is Lebanon on the FATF grey list?

Yes. Lebanon was added to the FATF Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (grey list) at the October 2024 plenary, and remained on the list as of the February 2026 plenary. Lebanon is working under a two-year action plan with FATF and MENAFATF to address deficiencies in risk assessments, beneficial ownership transparency, and asset recovery. The two-year review window runs to end-2026. See fatf-gafi.org for current status.

What’s the difference between the commercial register and financial sector regulators?

The commercial register at the Ministry of Justice covers entity existence, legal form, registered capital, and declared shareholders. Banking and financial institutions in Lebanon are separately licensed by the Banque du Liban (BDL) under the Money and Credit Code (Law of 1963). The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) regulates securities issuers. A full counterparty check on a Lebanese financial entity requires both the commercial register extract and confirmation of BDL licensing status.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Lebanon Ministry of Justice Commercial Register (cr.justice.gov.lb); FATF Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (October 2024 and February 2026 plenaries, fatf-gafi.org); OFAC Lebanon-Related Sanctions program (ofac.treasury.gov); U.S. Department of State 2025 Investment Climate Statement: Lebanon. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.