Bangladesh Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Bangladeshi Business

TL;DR. Bangladesh’s official business registry is the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), operated by the Ministry of Commerce at rjsc.gov.bd. The portal offers partial English coverage. Basic company name searches are free; certified extracts cost BDT 200 to BDT 2,000 (~USD 1.80 to USD 18.00). Foreign buyers can search without a local identity document, though payment methods favour local banking channels.

What is the official Bangladesh business registry?

The Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) is Bangladesh’s central registry for companies, societies, and partnerships. It operates under the Companies Act 1994 (as amended) and is supervised by the Ministry of Commerce. The primary public interface is rjsc.gov.bd. RJSC was digitised in phases from 2012 onward, with online registration and search functionality expanding through successive e-governance initiatives.

The RJSC registers all private limited companies, public limited companies, foreign company branches, one-person companies (OPCs introduced under 2020 amendments), partnerships, and societies. It does not cover sole proprietorships, which register at the local trade licensing authority (City Corporation or Upazila level). For sole traders operating in Bangladesh, the Business Identification Number (BIN) issued by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for VAT purposes is often the most practical identifier.

The primary company identifier in Bangladesh is the Registration Number assigned by RJSC at incorporation. This number appears on the Certificate of Incorporation and all subsequent RJSC filings. Separately, the Electronics Taxpayer Identification Number (ETIN), issued by the NBR, serves as the tax registration identifier and is a separate system from RJSC. Both identifiers are needed for a complete counterparty profile: RJSC for legal existence, ETIN for tax compliance status.

Bangladesh is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), the FATF-style regional body covering the region. The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) under Bangladesh Bank is the designated financial intelligence authority.

What can you search?

The RJSC online portal supports the following search types:

• Company name (English name, partial match supported)
• RJSC registration number (exact match)
• Registered address (district-level filter)
• Entity type filter (private limited, public limited, foreign branch, society, partnership)

The free basic search returns: company name, registration number, registered address, date of incorporation, entity type, and current registration status (active, dissolved, struck off).

Paid records and certified extracts include:

• Certificate of Incorporation (certified copy)
• Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Annual filing returns (Form XII and equivalents)
• List of directors and shareholders (Form X)
• Charge registrations
• Any amendment filings

Shareholding details and director history are available only in paid extracts.

Data freshness varies. Annual filings required under the Companies Act are submitted by companies after their financial year-end. RJSC processes filings on a queue basis; updated data may appear with a lag of several weeks after filing. Status changes (dissolution, winding-up) are generally reflected more quickly.

How much does it cost?

Prices are as of May 2026 per RJSC published fee schedule. BDT/USD conversion used: 1 USD = approximately BDT 110 (verify at point of transaction, as the BDT rate has experienced volatility). Payment is accepted via bank transfer or mobile banking platforms including bKash, which is widely used in Bangladesh but requires a Bangladeshi-registered mobile number.

Foreign buyers without access to Bangladeshi payment channels may find it necessary to engage a local corporate service provider for extract retrieval.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Basic name and registration number searches on the RJSC portal are available without registration. To order paid extracts, an RJSC user account is required. Account creation requires an email address and a Bangladeshi mobile number for OTP verification, which creates a practical barrier for foreign buyers.

No Bangladeshi national identity card (NID) is required for account creation. However, the OTP delivery requirement to a Bangladeshi mobile number means foreign buyers typically cannot complete self-service paid extract orders without local assistance. Compliance buyers regularly accessing Bangladeshi registry data may find it practical to work through a local corporate service provider or law firm for extract retrieval.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The RJSC portal navigation and core search interfaces are in English. Company name search returns English-language results for entities registered with English names. However, some administrative sections and filing guides are in Bengali (Bangla) only. Bangladeshi companies are required to register with both an English name and a Bengali name; the search portal returns both.

Downloaded documents (Certificate of Incorporation, annual returns, memorandum) are issued in English for English-name companies, which covers the majority of companies likely to appear in a cross-border compliance workflow.

What’s the turnaround time?

Basic profile data is available instantly from the free search interface. Paid extract orders submitted through the RJSC portal are typically processed within 1 to 3 business days. Physical certified copies, if needed for court or regulatory submission, may take longer depending on RJSC administrative load.

RJSC processing times can extend during peak filing periods (typically the months following Bangladesh’s financial year-end in June). For time-sensitive compliance workflows, build in additional buffer when ordering around August through October.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for the RJSC as of May 2026. The Ministry of Commerce has not announced an API programme for commercial third-party access. There is no approved bulk data licensing arrangement publicly available.

For compliance platforms needing structured Bangladeshi company data, the available options are: manual portal lookup for individual company searches, engagement of a local data provider with RJSC access, or use of commercial aggregators that cover South Asian registries.

What you legally cannot do

The RJSC Terms of Use and the Companies Act 1994 prohibit automated bulk scraping of the RJSC portal. The Personal Data Protection Act of Bangladesh was passed by Parliament but had not been brought into force as of May 2026; the timeline for enactment was uncertain. Once enacted, it will impose obligations on the processing of personal data including director names and addresses sourced from registry records. Compliance buyers operating in Bangladesh or handling Bangladeshi personal data should monitor enactment status through the Bangladesh Law Commission or Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Redistribution or resale of RJSC certified extracts as a commercial data product without RJSC authorisation is not permitted under the Companies Act. Compliance buyers accessing RJSC data for their own CDD, KYC, or AML workflows are within the intended use, provided they document the purpose of each access request as part of their internal audit trail.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Registration number is the anchor. RJSC registration numbers are unique per entity and appear on the Certificate of Incorporation. Request this from your counterparty; name-based searches risk false positives in a registry with many similarly named entities.
• ETIN is separate from RJSC. The Electronic Taxpayer Identification Number is issued by the National Board of Revenue for VAT and tax registration. An entity active on RJSC may or may not be ETIN-registered and current on tax filings. For a complete compliance picture, verify both. ETIN can be checked via the NBR’s e-TIN portal at etaxnbr.gov.bd.
• One-Person Companies (OPC). Bangladesh introduced the OPC structure under Companies (Amendment) Act 2020. OPCs have a single shareholder-director. If your counterparty is an OPC, the full ownership structure is concentrated in one individual. This concentrates KYC risk.
• Foreign branches. Foreign companies operating in Bangladesh are required to register their branch with RJSC. The branch registration number is distinct from the parent company’s home-jurisdiction registration. Confirm whether you are dealing with the parent entity or a Bangladeshi branch.
• APG context. Bangladesh has completed its APG mutual evaluation. Compliance buyers should consult the APG’s Bangladesh evaluation report for the current assessment of AML/CFT risk and beneficial ownership regime strength.
• Payment friction. If bKash or local bank transfer is not accessible, work through a Dhaka-based corporate service provider or law firm with RJSC access. Factor retrieval costs and lead time into your compliance workflow.

For a broader framework on approaching counterparty verification globally, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide. For a comparison across the South Asia region, the Pakistan Company Search Guide and Sri Lanka Company Search Guide cover adjacent registry environments.

Alternatives if you cannot access RJSC directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates has partial coverage of Bangladeshi companies but data lags the RJSC considerably. Useful for quick existence checks; not for compliance-grade verification.
• Local corporate service providers: Dhaka-based law firms and corporate secretarial firms (including affiliates of global networks) maintain RJSC accounts and can retrieve certified extracts on behalf of foreign clients. This is the most reliable channel for foreign buyers.

Local data suppliers

• Dun & Bradstreet Bangladesh (dnb.com). D&B issues D-U-N-S Numbers for Bangladeshi entities and provides company intelligence reports covering incorporation data, financial indicators, and payment behaviour. Useful for trade credit and supply chain due diligence when a D-U-N-S-based assessment is required by a counterparty.

Use RJSC for the authoritative legal filing record. Use a credit bureau or commercial data provider when you need payment behaviour or risk scoring on top of the registry record.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Bangladesh RJSC registry directly?

Yes for free basic searches. The RJSC public portal is accessible internationally without a Bangladeshi identity document. Paid extract retrieval is more difficult for foreign buyers due to the OTP requirement tied to a Bangladeshi mobile number. The practical workaround is to engage a local Dhaka-based corporate service provider for extract orders.

What is the BIN number in Bangladesh?

The Business Identification Number (BIN) is a VAT registration identifier issued by the National Board of Revenue to VAT-registered businesses. It is separate from the RJSC registration number. A company can have an RJSC registration number (legal existence) without a BIN (if below the VAT threshold). For counterparties engaged in commercial trading, request both the RJSC number and the BIN to confirm both legal registration and VAT compliance.

What entity types are registered with RJSC?

The RJSC registers private limited companies, public limited companies, one-person companies, foreign company branches operating in Bangladesh, partnerships, and societies registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Sole proprietorships are not registered with RJSC; they operate under local trade licences issued by City Corporations or Upazila authorities.

Does Bangladesh have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Bangladesh does not have a publicly accessible centralised UBO registry as of May 2026. Under AML regulations aligned with APG and FATF Recommendation 24, companies are required to maintain beneficial ownership records internally and to disclose them to regulatory authorities on request. These records are not systematically published in the RJSC portal. UBO information must be obtained directly from the counterparty or through a formal regulatory disclosure process.

How current is the data in the RJSC?

The RJSC updates records as filings are processed. Annual return submissions required under the Companies Act are due within a statutory period after the AGM, but filing compliance in Bangladesh is variable and many companies file late. Active status data is generally current, but officer lists and shareholding data in paid extracts may reflect filings from several months or more than a year prior for companies with late filing patterns.

Is Bangladesh on the FATF grey list?

No. Bangladesh is not on the FATF Increased Monitoring list (grey list) as of May 2026. Bangladesh is an APG member and has undergone mutual evaluation. Compliance buyers should monitor fatf-gafi.org and APG (apgml.org) for any future status changes, particularly given Bangladesh’s garment sector exposure to trade-based money laundering typologies noted in prior APG assessments.

What is the difference between the RJSC and the tax system?

The RJSC is the company registration authority, holding legal filing records: incorporation documents, directors, shareholders, and annual returns. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) maintains the tax system, including the ETIN (income tax) and BIN (VAT). The two systems are linked by common company name but not by a shared identifier. A valid RJSC registration does not guarantee current tax compliance. For full counterparty verification, check both systems.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, Ministry of Commerce (rjsc.gov.bd). For APG context see apgml.org. For FATF status see fatf-gafi.org. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.