Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. orc.gov.gh
- Check access requirements. Account required: Optional. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Not published; confirm at source.
- Anticipate friction. Captcha / 2FA: Unknown. English UI: Yes.
- Plan turnaround. Expected: Unknown.
- Verify recency. Last verified: 4 Sept 2026. Confirm current pricing at the official registry before submitting.
TL;DR. Ghana’s official business registry is the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) at https://orc.gov.gh, titled Office of the Registrar of Companies - Ghana. The Name Search form sits at https://rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app, titled Name Search, with a Business Name field and search types Exact Match, Starts With, Ends With, Contains and Sounds Like. https://orc.gov.gh/fees.php, titled Fees & Charges, publishes 2026 search fees of GHS 30 (business name or partnership search, and the companies register excluding charges and insolvency) and GHS 150 (companies register on charges and insolvency). https://orc.gov.gh/forms-fees/ no longer exists. No turnaround is published on those pages; confirm at source. GHS 150 is the highest search fee listed; the larger figures on that page are incorporation and filing charges, not searches.
What is the official Ghana business registry?
The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) is Ghana’s statutory body for companies and business names under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992). The public site is https://orc.gov.gh.
The home page lists services including Name Search, Reservations, Registrations, Filings, Annual Returns and an E-Portal nav item, but it is not itself the search form. The Click here for Name Search link on https://orc.gov.gh/service-name-search.php points at the form on rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app.
The home page places ORC near the Tema Station in Accra, inside the Registrar-General’s Department premises, with phone 0308249841 / 0599525774 and email info@orc.gov.gh.
What can you search?
Name Search form: https://rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app is titled Name Search and branded ORC Portal. The form carries:
- Business Name (required)
- Choose Search Type (required): Exact Match, Starts With, Ends With, Contains, Sounds Like
- a Search control
- empty-state text “No data found”
That is a name-availability form, not a full company-profile results page, and it publishes no turnaround; confirm at source.
Entity Information Search (a service page, not a form): https://orc.gov.gh/service-entity-information-search.php describes retrieving entity information from the ORC database. The search screen and its result fields are not shown there, so the beneficial ownership and officer fields listed on that page are not confirmed as a working search; confirm at source.
How much does it cost?
Rows published at https://orc.gov.gh/fees.php, under Schedule of fees and charges payable … (2026):
| Item | Cost (GHS) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Search in Business Name/Partnership | 30 | Unknown |
| Search in Companies Register (excluding charges and insolvency) | 30 | Unknown |
| Search in Companies Register (charges and insolvency) | 150 | Unknown |
| Certified True Copy (companies limited by shares, as listed) | 30 | Unknown |
| Company incorporation (constitution, Form 3 and BO Profile) | 585 | Unknown |
The larger figures on that page belong to incorporation and filing bundles, not to searches. No turnaround is published on fees.php or on the Name Search form, and no USD equivalents are printed, so those read unknown. No payment platform is named on either page; confirm at source.
Do you need a local account or ID?
The Name Search form asks for no Ghana Card and puts up no login. The account rules for a paid extract or a filing are not shown there, and no payment method is named; confirm at source.
Is the website in English?
Yes. orc.gov.gh, fees.php, the Name Search service page and the rgdonline Name Search form are in English.
What’s the turnaround time?
Unknown. Neither the Name Search form nor fees.php publishes a turnaround. Prestige and VIP appear on fees.php as additional fees (for example a GHS 1,300 incorporation add-on and a GHS 650 filings add-on), without a stated delivery time; confirm at source.
Is there an API?
No. No developer API is documented on orc.gov.gh.
What you legally cannot do
Act 992 and Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) still govern reuse of registry personal data. Bulk reproduction and unsolicited marketing from ORC records are restricted. Documenting the purpose of each compliance search is good practice. The Data Protection Commission’s own site is not covered here; confirm at source.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- Registration number vs name. Use the registration number when you have it. The Name Search form searches Business Name with match types; it is not a number lookup.
- The service page’s beneficial ownership list is not a public register. Beneficial ownership details are named on the Entity Information Search service page, but that screen is not shown. The penalty for not filing beneficial ownership is listed on fees.php as GHS 500, which is a filing penalty rather than public access.
- The forms-fees/ page no longer exists. Use https://orc.gov.gh/fees.php.
- FATF status. fatf-gafi.org blocked automated checks, so Ghana’s standing on the FATF lists is not restated here; confirm at source.
Alternatives if you cannot access ORC directly
- Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates may index Ghana filings. Not a substitute for ORC.
- ghana.gov.gh is linked from the ORC footer. It is not covered here as a search route; confirm at source.
Local data suppliers
- Dun & Bradstreet Ghana (dnb.com). Credit risk scoring on top of the ORC filing record.
- GCB Capital (gcbcapital.com.gh). Financial analysis on Ghanaian entities.
Use ORC for the incorporation record. Use a commercial provider for credit history.
FAQ
Can a foreign company use the Ghana Name Search form?
The form at rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app loads without a Ghana ID field. The account rules for a paid extract are not shown there; confirm at source.
What is the company registration number in Ghana?
ORC assigns a registration number at incorporation. The Name Search form asks for a Business Name, not that number.
What entity types does ORC list?
The home nav lists business names/sole proprietorships, partnerships, companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies, external companies and professional bodies.
Does Ghana have a public UBO search UI?
Not confirmed. The Entity Information Search service page mentions beneficial ownership details, but its search screen is not shown; confirm at source.
Is Ghana on the FATF grey list?
Not restated here: fatf-gafi.org blocked automated checks. Confirm at source.
What is the difference between ORC and GRA?
ORC handles incorporation and corporate filings. Tax registration sits with the Ghana Revenue Authority. gra.gov.gh is linked from the ORC footer; it is not covered here as a search route.
Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: orc.gov.gh; fees.php, carrying the GHS 30 and GHS 150 search rows; the Name Search form at rgdonline.gegov.gov.gh/orc-app; and forms-fees/, which no longer exists.