Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. org.rdb.rw
- Check access requirements. Account required: No. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Not published on org.rdb.rw; confirm at source.
- Anticipate friction. Captcha / 2FA: Unknown. English UI: Partial.
- Plan turnaround. Expected: Unknown.
- Verify recency. Last verified: 3 Sept 2026. Confirm current pricing at the official registry before submitting.
TL;DR. Rwanda’s Office of the Registrar General (ORG) sits under the Rwanda Development Board. https://org.rdb.rw is an information site titled ORG - Office Of the Registrar General, carrying Online Business Registration links but no company-search form. https://urs.rdb.rw is titled RDB Portal and loads an empty application frame with no search screen behind it. https://bo.rdb.rw is titled Beneficial Owner Register and loads the same way. The registration page states that Business Registration is 100% an online process and free of charge and that incorporation takes six working hours; that covers registering a company, not searching for one, so search fees are unknown rather than free.
What is the official Rwanda business registry?
ORG is Rwanda’s registrar for companies, individual enterprises, IP, secured transactions, and beneficial-ownership filings. It is a division of the Rwanda Development Board. The public information site is https://org.rdb.rw. Nav includes Legal Documents, Registration, IP Application Forms, Online Mortgage Registration, Online Business Registration, and FAQs.
Online Business Registration points at https://urs.rdb.rw, titled RDB Portal. That page loads an empty application frame in English, with no search screen and no login form behind it, so no account is needed to open it and nothing can be searched on it.
The page https://org.rdb.rw/business-registration/ states that registration is online and free of charge, and that Business registration is done within six working hours upon delivery of a certificate of incorporation. That is the incorporation timeline, not a company-search form.
What can you search?
There is no company-search form on org.rdb.rw. The site’s own search box returns pages from the information site, not register records.
urs.rdb.rw (RDB Portal) and bo.rdb.rw (Beneficial Owner Register) both load empty application frames, so name and taxpayer-number fields cannot be confirmed on either; confirm at source.
How much does it cost?
| Item | Cost (RWF) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Public company search | Unknown | Unknown |
| Online business registration | Free of charge (registration, not search) | Unknown as USD |
| Company extract / certified copy | Unknown | Unknown |
ORG does not publish a search fee anywhere on its site. The free-of-charge line applies to registering a company, not to searching the register, so search costs read as unknown rather than free; confirm at source.
Do you need a local account or ID?
The ORG home is public. The RDB Portal page has no login form, so no account is needed to open it, though account rules inside the portal itself cannot be confirmed. A login link in the ORG footer points at a bare IP address and is not a search screen.
Is the website in English?
Partial. org.rdb.rw is in English, and both portal pages are titled in English (RDB Portal and Beneficial Owner Register). Whether the records themselves appear in Kinyarwanda or French cannot be confirmed; confirm at source.
What’s the turnaround time?
Unknown for search. The six working hours figure the site publishes is for registration, not for a lookup.
Is there an API?
No public API is published on org.rdb.rw.
What you legally cannot do
- Bulk harvesting of RDB portals is not authorised.
- Beneficial-ownership filings are not a public marketing list.
- The WP site is not a certified extract.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- org.rdb.rw is an information site. Its own site search is not the register.
- The RDB Portal loads an empty application frame. There is no search screen behind it.
- Beneficial-ownership filing has its own requirements page. https://org.rdb.rw/beneficial-ownership-requirements-and-forms/ lists the data that must be filed. That is not a public beneficial-ownership search; bo.rdb.rw loads an empty frame.
- ORG does not publish FATF status. Check fatf-gafi.org.
Alternatives if you cannot access ORG directly
- Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates coverage is limited.
- urs.rdb.rw is not an anonymous search: it loads an empty application frame.
Local data suppliers
No Rwanda credit bureau is named on org.rdb.rw. RDB and licensed local counsel remain the path for certificates while the portal shows no search.
FAQ
Can a foreign company search Rwanda companies without a Rwandan ID?
org.rdb.rw is reachable but carries no company-search form, and the RDB Portal loads an empty application frame rather than a search screen.
Does Rwanda register companies for free?
The registration page says online registration is free of charge and done within six working hours. That is not a search fee.
Does Rwanda have a public UBO register?
bo.rdb.rw is titled Beneficial Owner Register but loads an empty application frame. The requirements page lists what must be filed. No public beneficial-ownership search could be confirmed.
How current is ORG data?
ORG does not publish how current its search data is; confirm at source.
Is Rwanda on the FATF grey list?
ORG does not publish FATF status. See fatf-gafi.org.
Last verified: 2026-09-03. Sources: org.rdb.rw, the ORG information site; its business-registration page, which states that registration is free and takes six working hours; and urs.rdb.rw (RDB Portal) and bo.rdb.rw (Beneficial Owner Register), which both load empty application frames. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.