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

TL;DR. Vanuatu’s official company registry is maintained by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC), searchable free of charge at vfsc.vu with no account or local ID required. Vanuatu hosts a substantial offshore financial center built around International Companies (ICs). As of May 2026, Vanuatu remains on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes and carries an OECD Global Forum rating of “Partially Compliant” on tax transparency.

What is the official Vanuatu business registry?

The Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) is the statutory regulator responsible for company registration and non-banking financial services supervision in Vanuatu. The VFSC Commissioner also serves as the Registrar of Companies, making the VFSC the single entity responsible for the public company registry. The primary portal is at vfsc.vu.

The VFSC was established under the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission Act and administers registrations under multiple statutes, including the Companies Act, the International Companies Act No. 32 of 1992, the Business Names Act, the Charitable Associations (Incorporation) Act, and the Personal Property Securities Act.

Vanuatu operates two parallel corporate frameworks of interest to compliance buyers:

Domestic companies: Incorporated under the Companies Act for entities operating locally in Vanuatu. Subject to standard corporate governance requirements including annual filings.

International Companies (ICs): Incorporated under the International Companies Act 1992. ICs cannot conduct business inside Vanuatu except as is incidental to conducting business elsewhere. The IC framework was designed for non-resident offshore use and provides a more flexible structure with reduced disclosure requirements relative to domestic companies. All IC incorporations must be submitted through a VFSC-licensed registered agent.

Vanuatu’s offshore financial center has operated since the 1970s. As of 2024, the VFSC reported thousands of active ICs on the register, making Vanuatu one of the Pacific’s primary offshore incorporation jurisdictions alongside the Cook Islands.

What can you search?

The VFSC Entity Search at vfsc.vu/entity-search allows searches for:

• Company name (domestic and international companies)
• Business names
• Charitable associations
• Overseas companies registered in Vanuatu
• Directors, shareholders, owners, and committee members (via the Register Role Search tool)

Search results display entity name, number, status, registered address, incorporation date, and available filed documents (for documents filed after August 2021, when the current digital system was introduced). Certificates of incorporation and registration are available for download at no cost.

The VFSC also provides a Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) search through the same platform.

How much does it cost?

All online searches are free and require no login. Certificates of incorporation can be downloaded or emailed at no charge. This is one of the most accessible registry portals in the Pacific region. VUV is not pegged to USD; 1 USD = approximately 120 VUV (May 2026; verify at point of use).

For IC registration, the annual government fee paid by the entity (not the searcher) is set by the VFSC. IC formation typically costs USD 1,200-3,500 in year one when agent fees are included, though these costs are borne by the registrant, not the compliance buyer conducting a search.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No. The VFSC entity search is fully public. No account creation, no Vanuatu national ID, and no local business registration is required to search the registry, view entity profiles, or download certificates of incorporation. This makes the VFSC registry one of the more accessible in the Pacific for foreign compliance buyers.

An account is only needed if you intend to submit filings or update the register as a registered agent.

Is the website in English?

Yes. Vanuatu’s official languages include English and French (alongside Bislama, the national creole), and the VFSC website and entity search portal operate in English. All entity status labels, filing type descriptions, and downloadable documents are in English. French-language users will find limited French content on some informational pages but the search interface itself is English-only.

What’s the turnaround time?

Entity search results are instant. Certificate of incorporation downloads are immediate once requested. Documents filed electronically after August 2021 are available for download directly from the entity profile. Older documents filed on paper may require a direct request to the VFSC and can take several business days.

Is there an API?

No. The VFSC does not offer a public API for programmatic access to registry data. Compliance platforms needing bulk or automated lookups must use the web portal. Screen-scraping the VFSC entity search is not recommended.

What you legally cannot do

The VFSC’s terms of use apply to data obtained through the portal. Commercial redistribution of VFSC data without authorization is not permitted. Using director or shareholder data for unsolicited marketing is prohibited. The International Companies Act restricts disclosure of certain IC information beyond what is publicly available on the VFSC register.

Vanuatu does not have a GDPR-equivalent data protection act, but compliance buyers should apply their home jurisdiction’s data handling standards when processing personal data of directors and shareholders obtained from the VFSC. Document the stated KYC/AML purpose for each search in your internal audit trail.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• EU tax blacklist: Vanuatu remains listed as of May 2026. The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (Annex I) was updated in February 2026; Fiji, Samoa, and Trinidad and Tobago were removed, but Vanuatu was not. Vanuatu has been on the EU blacklist continuously since 2019. The practical effect is that EU-based financial institutions applying enhanced due diligence to transactions involving EU-blacklisted jurisdictions will subject Vanuatu-connected transactions to additional scrutiny. The VFSC and local industry association have acknowledged the reputational and correspondent banking impacts. The next scheduled EU list revision is October 2026.
• OECD Global Forum rating: Partially Compliant. Vanuatu was rated “Partially Compliant” by the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. The rating reflects deficiencies in effective enforcement of beneficial ownership requirements for trusts and foundations. Vanuatu was downgraded from “Largely Compliant” to “Partially Compliant” in 2019 after the OECD found that legislative progress had not been matched by effective enforcement.
• FATF grey list: not currently listed. Vanuatu was placed on the FATF grey list in 2015 and was removed in June 2018 after completing its action plan. As of May 2026, Vanuatu is not on the FATF grey list. Vanuatu was also previously placed on the EU’s list of high-risk third countries for AML purposes (separate from the tax non-cooperative list) and removed following reforms.
• IC vs. domestic company: key distinction. International Companies have limited disclosure obligations. The VFSC register will show an IC’s name, number, registration date, status, and registered agent, but officer and shareholder details may not be available for ICs. Domestic companies have more extensive filing requirements. When verifying an IC counterparty, a certified extract from the registered agent or VFSC-certified documentation is more informative than a public registry search alone.
• Registered agent is mandatory for ICs. All ICs must be incorporated and maintained through a VFSC-licensed registered agent. The name of the registered agent is visible on the VFSC register and can be contacted for additional entity information, subject to the agent’s confidentiality obligations.
• Correspondent banking friction. Due to Vanuatu’s EU blacklist status, some international banks apply enhanced compliance requirements to transactions involving Vanuatu-registered entities. Factor this into onboarding timelines. For a full global due diligence framework, cross-reference registry data with correspondent bank requirements.

Alternatives if you cannot access the VFSC directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes Vanuatu company filings but lags official data and has limited IC coverage. Useful for a quick name check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Financial Center Association of Vanuatu (fca.vu) publishes regulatory analysis on Vanuatu’s blacklisting status and offshore framework, useful for background research.

Local data suppliers

• VFSC-licensed registered agents are the primary source for detailed IC documentation, certified extracts, and beneficial ownership information beyond what is publicly available on the registry. A directory of licensed agents is available at vfsc.vu.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Vanuatu registry directly?

Yes, without any account or ID. The VFSC entity search is fully public. Foreign buyers can search by company name, registration number, or director name, and download certificates of incorporation at no cost. No Vanuatu account or local identity document is needed.

What is the company number format in Vanuatu?

Vanuatu company registration numbers are assigned by the VFSC at incorporation. Domestic companies and International Companies have separate number series. The registration number is the primary stable identifier and does not change with name changes.

What entity types are registered with the VFSC?

The VFSC registers domestic companies (under the Companies Act), International Companies (ICs, under the International Companies Act 1992), business names, charitable associations, credit unions, trade unions, and overseas companies registered in Vanuatu. It also licenses company and trust service providers, mutual funds, securities dealers, and offshore limited partnerships.

Does Vanuatu have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Vanuatu does not have a public UBO register. Beneficial ownership information for ICs is held by the registered agent rather than publicly disclosed. The VFSC has been strengthening beneficial ownership requirements in line with FATF Recommendation 24 and OECD Global Forum standards, though the OECD has rated enforcement as deficient. Compliance buyers requiring UBO data for IC counterparties must engage the registered agent or obtain notarized beneficial ownership declarations from the entity directly.

How current is the data in the VFSC registry?

Data for digitally filed documents is updated by the registered agent or the VFSC as filings are processed. ICs are required to notify the VFSC of changes through their registered agents; the timeliness of the registry reflects the agent’s filing discipline. For domestic companies, annual filings update the record. Older paper records may not be fully reflected in the digital system for documents filed before August 2021.

Is Vanuatu on the FATF grey list?

No. Vanuatu was removed from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in June 2018, after being placed on the grey list in 2015. As of May 2026, Vanuatu is not on the FATF grey list. Vanuatu does, however, remain on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (Annex I) as of the February 2026 update, which is a separate framework with different criteria. See fatf-gafi.org for the current grey list.

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

The VFSC registry holds the legal entity record: incorporation documents, officer data (for domestic companies), registration status, and registered agent details. Tax matters for ICs are typically not applicable in Vanuatu, as ICs are exempt from local taxation on foreign-sourced income. The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu supervises banking and financial institutions separately from the VFSC. For a full global due diligence framework, consider all regulatory sources when assessing Vanuatu counterparties.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (vfsc.vu); EU Council (consilium.europa.eu); FATF (fatf-gafi.org); OECD Global Forum on Tax Transparency (oecd.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.