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

TL;DR. Uganda’s registrar is the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB). https://ursb.go.ug is online, titled Uganda Registration Services Bureau, but it is the agency’s own site with a site-search box, not the company register form. https://obrs.ursb.go.ug and /name-search redirect to https://eregistry.ursb.go.ug/, titled URSB User Portal, which builds in the browser and shows only Initializing Secure Session. The how-to at https://ursb.go.ug/ursb-paid-business-registry-search/ tells buyers to create an OBRS account, sign in, search by registration number, and Pay for the Search (if required) through a PRN. No shilling amount is published there, so fees in this guide are unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

What is the official Uganda business registry?

URSB is the statutory registrar under the Uganda Registration Services Bureau Act of 1998, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The public site is https://ursb.go.ug, which links Search URSB registries at https://ursb.go.ug/search-ursb-registries/.

The online business system historically called OBRS now lands on eRegistry: https://obrs.ursb.go.ug redirects to https://eregistry.ursb.go.ug/. The eRegistry page builds its screens in the browser, so no search field can be read from the page as delivered.

Name Search on the registries page points at https://obrs.ursb.go.ug/search, which follows the same redirect to https://eregistry.ursb.go.ug/search (that screen again builds in the browser).

What can you search?

No public results table can be read from the eRegistry page as delivered. The paid-search how-to sets out these steps:

1. Create an OBRS account at https://obrs.ursb.go.ug/register
2. Log in at https://obrs.ursb.go.ug/login
3. Search and Certification, or https://obrs.ursb.go.ug/user/dashboard/record-search
4. Enter the registration number and click Search
5. Pay if prompted: Already Paid plus PRN, or Generate PRN
6. View results under My Applications / Record Searches

Director, shareholder and beneficial-ownership fields appear on neither the eRegistry page nor the how-to; confirm at source.

Trademark, patent, design, and SIMPO links on the search-registries page are other URSB products, not the companies register.

How much does it cost?

No shilling or dollar amounts appear on the how-to or on eRegistry, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. No payment method is named beyond the PRN, which the how-to describes without a tariff.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Yes. The paid-search page requires an OBRS account and says LOG IN TO OBRS TO GET STARTED, and eRegistry shows Initializing Secure Session. No Ugandan national ID field appears on either page, which is why a local ID is shown as not required; that is not the same as a search without an account.

Is the website in English?

Yes. ursb.go.ug, the how-to page and eRegistry are all in English.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. No turnaround time is published; the how-to describes signing in, searching and possibly paying by PRN. Apostille timings could not be confirmed; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API is documented on the URSB site.

What you legally cannot do

Do not scrape OBRS or eRegistry. Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act 2019 applies to personal data in filings. The full terms could not be read from the eRegistry page; confirm at source.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• ursb.go.ug is not the search form. It is the agency site; the search sits behind the eRegistry sign-in.
• obrs.ursb.go.ug redirects to eregistry.ursb.go.ug. Follow that redirect; there is no third address.
• Search by registration number, as the paid how-to instructs. A name-only public search could not be confirmed.
• Pay if required. The how-to names PRN payment but no amount.
• FATF. The FATF country page for Uganda links the 3 November 2017 statement: “Uganda is no longer subject to the FATF’s On-Going Global AML/CFT Compliance Process.” Confirm at source.
• No public beneficial-ownership search. None is published.

Alternatives if you cannot access URSB directly

• OpenCorporates: partial. Name-check only.
• Kampala advocate for paper files.

Local data suppliers

• URSB eRegistry (eregistry.ursb.go.ug). Authoritative filings, behind an account.
• Creditinfo Uganda (creditinfo.co.ug). Credit reports, not a registry.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Uganda registry directly?

The agency site is online. Company search runs through an OBRS or eRegistry account, and no lookup without an account could be confirmed.

What is the registration number format in Uganda?

The how-to requires a registration number. No example format is published there; confirm at source.

What entity types are registered with URSB?

Companies, business names, partnerships and NPOs fall under URSB’s mandate. The filters themselves could not be read from the eRegistry page.

Does Uganda have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

No public beneficial-ownership search is published; confirm at source.

How current is the data in the URSB registry?

Not published. URSB gives no statement of how current its data is.

Is Uganda on the FATF grey list?

The FATF country page for Uganda links the 3 November 2017 statement: “Uganda is no longer subject to the FATF’s On-Going Global AML/CFT Compliance Process.” Confirm at source.

What’s the difference between the registry and tax/financial filings?

URSB is incorporation. URA is tax; ura.go.ug is online as a tax site, not the company register.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: ursb.go.ug, its search-ursb-registries and ursb-paid-business-registry-search pages (OBRS account plus PRN payment), and the obrs.ursb.go.ug redirect to eregistry.ursb.go.ug, whose screens build in the browser. No shilling tariff is published there. The FATF country page for Uganda also loads. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.