Central African Republic company search: RCCM (justice.gouv.cf)

TL;DR. The Central African Republic’s commercial register is the Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier (RCCM), held at the Tribunal de Commerce de Bangui. Neither https://www.minjustice-rca.org nor https://minjustice-rca.org resolves any more: the domain itself is gone, so there is no online RCCM search to use, and this guide does not name a replacement site. English coverage, account and local-ID rules and XAF court fees could not be confirmed, so the fees in this guide read unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

Who searches for CAR company information, and why it’s hard

The Central African Republic is consistently ranked among the world’s least-developed and most fragile states. Its economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture and artisanal mining (gold, diamonds). Foreign commercial engagement comes almost exclusively from mining sector operators, timber companies, humanitarian organisations, and UN/multilateral peacekeeping-adjacent suppliers. The search challenge is extreme: the RCCM in Bangui has essentially no public-facing online infrastructure, the city has experienced repeated armed conflict, and even in-person access to the Tribunal de Commerce is unreliable.

This guide is candid about what foreign buyers can realistically access. The honest starting point for any CAR counterparty verification is that it will require in-country legal assistance, extended timelines, and an expectation that gaps in the available data will be material.

Registry at a glance

Name: Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier (RCCM), the OHADA-standardised commercial register.

Operator: The Tribunal de Commerce de Bangui maintains the RCCM for CAR. The Ministry of Justice (Ministere de la Justice et de la Protection des Droits de l’Homme) has supervisory authority.

URL: https://www.minjustice-rca.org no longer resolves, and the bare address https://minjustice-rca.org does not resolve either. Public company information is not reliably accessible through any online channel found for this guide.

What is covered: In principle, the RCCM covers: SARL (private limited), SA (public limited), SNC, SCS, entreprise individuelle (sole trader), and branches of foreign companies under OHADA law.

Access model: An account and a local ID are both shown as optional, because no registry page could be reached to confirm whether either is needed. The RCCM in CAR has been described as paper-based and consulted in person at the Tribunal de Commerce de Bangui; confirm at source. Physical access to the Tribunal has been periodically disrupted by conflict. Data completeness and currency of records cannot be guaranteed.

Honesty note: Public company information is not reliably accessible through the CAR RCCM for foreign buyers. Unverified data has no online corroboration path; in-country counsel is the route that exists when the RCCM is not reachable online.

How to search

Step 1: Assess whether verification is feasible. Before attempting any CAR company verification, assess whether the engagement itself is appropriate given the compliance risk environment. The combination of UN/EU sanctions targeting specific CAR actors, active armed conflict, and severe institutional fragility means that many standard compliance frameworks will require a detailed written risk acceptance process for any CAR counterparty.

Step 2: Engage an in-country agent. If the engagement proceeds, identify a Bangui-based lawyer or commercial agent with current access to the Tribunal de Commerce. Several international law firms with Central Africa practices (primarily French or Cameroonian firms) have either Bangui desks or trusted in-country correspondents.

Step 3: Provide company details. Give your local agent the company name, any RCCM number if known (format: BAN-[year]-[type]-[number]), and any additional identifiers available from the counterparty.

Step 4: Request certified extract. Your agent will attend the Tribunal de Commerce de Bangui to request the extrait du RCCM. Timeline varies widely: 5-10+ business days in normal conditions, potentially longer if access is disrupted. Certified extracts are issued in paper form, in French.

Step 5: Supplement with sector-specific checks. For mining sector entities (the primary commercial category in CAR), the Ministry of Mines and industry-specific concession data may provide additional verification. For timber, the Ministry of Waters, Forests, Hunting and Fishing holds concession data. Cross-reference with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme data for diamond sector entities.

What you can find

When obtainable, an RCCM extract for a CAR company may contain:

• Company name (denomination sociale)
• RCCM registration number and date
• Legal form (SARL, SA, entreprise individuelle, branch)
• Status: theoretically active or struck off
• Registered address in Bangui or a secondary city
• Date of incorporation
• Business activity (objet social)
• Share capital in XAF (Central African CFA franc)
• Director name(s)
• Shareholder/partner names for SARL entities

Data quality and completeness are highly variable. Records may be outdated, incomplete, or physically damaged.

What is missing

• Beneficial ownership: No UBO registry exists. This is a critical gap given CAR’s conflict context and sanctions environment.
• Financial statements: Not publicly available.
• Litigation records: Not accessible via registry. Courts are functioning partially in Bangui only.
• Conflict affiliation: The registry provides no information on entity links to armed groups, which is the primary risk in the CAR context.
• Real-time status: Records may not reflect company dissolution, change of control, or sanctions designation.

Pricing

No XAF extract figures are published anywhere reachable, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. Exchange-rate figures from May 2026 do not tell you what an extract costs. BEAC at beac.int is a central bank, not a substitute for the register.

English availability and practical access

English coverage is partial and could not be confirmed, because no registry page could be reached. CAR government processes have been reported as conducted in French; confirm at source. Security conditions in Bangui limit in-person access for foreign nationals; remote engagement via trusted agents is strongly preferred. French-speaking regional law firms with Central Africa practices (many based in Yaoundé or Douala, Cameroon) are the most reliable route.

Alternatives when the registry is limited

Given that the registry is effectively inaccessible online and has limited reliability even in-person:

• In-country legal counsel: The only credible route. Identify a Bangui-based lawyer through French or regional bar association referrals or international law firm networks.
• Kimberley Process Certification Scheme: For diamond-sector entities, the KP tracks certified production and export. CAR’s KP membership was suspended in 2013 due to conflict but partially reinstated for some zones. Check current KP status at kimberleyprocess.com.
• UN Panel of Experts on CAR: The UN Security Council panel produces regular reports on conflict, sanctions, and natural resource exploitation in CAR. These reports are essential background for any mining or natural resources-related engagement.
• EU sanctions list: The EU maintains targeted sanctions against specific CAR individuals and entities. Check at sanctionsmap.eu.
• FATF / GABAC: The Groupe d’Action contre le Blanchiment d’Argent en Afrique Centrale (GABAC) is the FATF-Style Regional Body for Central Africa.

Compliance buyer notes

The Central African Republic presents the highest-tier compliance risk profile in this batch:

• UN sanctions regime: UN Security Council Resolution 2127 (2013) and subsequent resolutions established an arms embargo and targeted sanctions (asset freezes, travel bans) against designated individuals and entities in CAR. The UN Sanctions Committee on CAR maintains the designation list; confirm current entries at source.
• EU targeted sanctions: The EU also maintains targeted sanctions for CAR, implemented through Council Regulation (EU) No 224/2014 and subsequent amendments. The EU Consolidated Sanctions List carries those entries.
• OFAC: While there is no complete OFAC country sanctions program for CAR, individual CAR nationals have been designated on the OFAC SDN list; confirm current entries at source.
• Conflict mineral risk: CAR is a conflict-affected area under the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (EU 2017/821, fully applicable from 2021). The regulation places supply chain due diligence obligations, on the OECD model, on EU importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (3TG) from CAR.
• Armed group financing risk: CAR has multiple active armed factions with documented involvement in commercial activity (mining concessions, transport, taxation of trade). Commercial activity in conflict-affected areas outside Bangui can indirectly finance armed groups; the UN Panel of Experts reports document the typologies.
• AML/CFT framework: CAR’s AML/CFT institutions are severely under-resourced. The Cellule de Regulation Financiere (CRF), CAR’s financial intelligence unit, has limited operational capacity.

This is one of the most challenging compliance jurisdictions in Africa. Any engagement requires deliberate escalation, documented risk acceptance, and ongoing monitoring throughout the relationship.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Source: https://www.minjustice-rca.org, which no longer resolves. Sources named historically: UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on CAR, EU sanctions map, Kimberley Process, BEAC, African Development Bank. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.