Namibia BIPA: www.bipa.na Hub, Not a Register Search Form

TL;DR. Namibia’s company registry is administered by the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA). The bare domain https://bipa.na has a self-signed certificate, and behind it sits only a placeholder page reading “Welcome to Your Site”. The working official host is https://www.bipa.na, titled BIPA - The Home of Business and IP Registrations, Administration and Regulation in Namibia. That page is an information site: its search box searches BIPA’s own pages rather than a company register. No Namibian dollar search or extract fee is published, and the application-fees page on the same host lists incorporation CM-form amounts, which are not search prices; confirm at source. The FATF site at https://www.fatf-gafi.org is online.

What is the official Namibia business registry?

Namibia’s company and business registry is administered by the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), established under the Business and Intellectual Property Authority Act 8 of 2016. BIPA operates as a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, consolidating business registration and intellectual property registration into a single authority.

BIPA replaced the previous business registration function held by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The bare domain https://bipa.na is not a working site: its certificate is self-signed and the page behind it is a placeholder. The working host is https://www.bipa.na, an information site rather than a company-register search form. eservices.bipa.na does not resolve, and /search-the-register/ and /online-services/ no longer exist.

Legal entity types registered with BIPA under the Companies Act 28 of 2004 include: private companies (Pty Ltd), public companies, close corporations (CC), external companies (branches of foreign companies), and non-profit companies. Close corporations were phased out for new formations but existing CCs remain active and registered. The Companies Act has been reported as under reform; confirm the current bill status at source.

Namibia uses the Namibian Dollar (NAD), which is pegged 1:1 to the South African Rand (ZAR). Namibia is a member of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) alongside South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini. NAD/USD exchange rates track ZAR/USD directly.

What can you search?

https://www.bipa.na carries no company-register search form. The search box in its header searches the site’s own pages. Older descriptions of registration-number, director-name and CC-member-name fields are not confirmed here. BIPA filings under the Companies Act 28 of 2004 have been reported to include Pty Ltd, public companies, close corporations, external companies and non-profit companies; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

No Namibian dollar search or extract fee is published. The application-fees page lists incorporation and CM-form amounts, not a public search tariff, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

Do you need a local account or ID?

There is no company-register search form on https://www.bipa.na, so no account-free public search is confirmed. The site carries no login; confirm at source.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The site is in English (Business Registration, Intellectual Property). That is the information site, not a register search.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. No register search path could be found, and no turnaround is published; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API is documented on www.bipa.na.

What you legally cannot do

Namibia’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA, modeled on South Africa’s POPIA) governs use of personal data in registry filings. Director names, residential addresses, and shareholder details extracted from BIPA records may not be used for unsolicited marketing. Bulk commercial extraction and redistribution of BIPA data without authorization is not permitted. Document the purpose of any registry access for AML/KYC audit trail requirements.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Registration number is the anchor identifier. Namibian company registration numbers are issued by BIPA at formation and are stable across name changes. Collect the registration number from any counterparty documentation and search by it rather than name alone.
• CC vs. Pty Ltd. Namibia’s close corporation (CC) structure remains active for pre-existing entities, despite closure to new formations. CCs have member (not shareholder) structures and lighter annual reporting obligations. When reviewing a CC counterparty, request the founding statement and any amendments in addition to the basic BIPA record.
• FATF listing not confirmed here. Namibia has been reported as not on the grey list as of May 2026; check the current lists at fatf-gafi.org.
• Mining sector. Namibia has material uranium, diamond (Namdeb), and manganese mining operations. Companies in extractive industries and related logistics may have complex ownership structures involving state-owned enterprises (Epangelo Mining), international mining majors, and joint ventures. Standard UBO verification is important for mining-sector counterparties.
• Fisheries sector. Namibia’s fishing industry is economically material; the “Fishrot” corruption scandal (2019-2020) involving illegal fishing licenses and bribes implicated major companies and government officials. Apply enhanced scrutiny for counterparties in the fishing and marine resources sector.
• South Africa nexus. Many Namibian companies have South African shareholders, directors, or parent companies. Namibia’s CMA membership and ZAR parity mean South African registry (CIPC) verification may be warranted alongside BIPA for entities with material South African links.

Alternatives if you cannot access BIPA directly

• BIPA site (https://www.bipa.na): the working official site, but not a register search form. The bare bipa.na domain shows only a placeholder.
• Aggregator search: OpenCorporates has some Namibia coverage but may lag official data. Treat as indicative only.
• Local legal firms in Windhoek: recommended for complex ownership structures, certified extracts, and older CC records.

Local data suppliers

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Namibia registry directly?

https://www.bipa.na is reachable without a Namibian account, but it is not a company-register search form. No online route to order a certified extract could be found; confirm at source.

What is the registration number format in Namibia?

Namibian company registration numbers follow a year-based format (CC or Pty Ltd designation + number + year). BIPA issues the number at registration; it is the stable primary identifier regardless of name changes.

What entity types are registered with BIPA in Namibia?

BIPA registers private companies (Pty Ltd), public companies, close corporations (CC, no new formations after the Companies Act came into force), external companies (foreign branches), and non-profit companies under the Companies Act 28 of 2004.

Does Namibia have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

There is no public beneficial ownership search on www.bipa.na. The site has Beneficial Ownership information pages (forms, FAQ, non-compliant lists), which are not a register search.

Is Namibia on the FATF grey list?

Namibia’s current listing is not stated here. Check the current lists at https://www.fatf-gafi.org.

What’s the difference between BIPA and the tax authority?

BIPA handles company registration and IP registration. Tax registration is administered by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), which issues the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). These are separate systems. A complete CDD file should verify both the BIPA company record and NamRA tax compliance where possible.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: bipa.na, which has a self-signed certificate and a placeholder page; www.bipa.na, the working BIPA site, whose search box searches that site rather than a register; and fatf-gafi.org. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.