Isle of Man company search: Companies Registry (services.gov.im)

TL;DR. The Isle of Man Companies Registry is the official register for Isle of Man companies. Its Online Services home at https://services.gov.im/companies-registry and its Company Search form at https://services.gov.im/ded/services/companiesregistry/companysearch.iom are titled Online Services - Companies Registry and Online Services - Company Search. The home carries Company Search, Check Name Availability, Login / Register, View Purchased Documents, CSP Services, Document Submissions, Annual Return Submission and Beneficial Ownership, and the search form offers Company Name and Company Number. The site puts an automated visitor through a browser check first, and refuses some automated requests outright, but the registry behind that is working. No sterling fee for a search or a certified document appears on those pages; confirm at source.

What is the official Isle of Man business registry?

The Isle of Man Companies Registry is the statutory registry for companies, limited partnerships, foundations, and other legal entities incorporated in the Isle of Man. It is administered by the Isle of Man Government’s Department for Enterprise. The registry portal is https://services.gov.im/companies-registry, titled Online Services - Companies Registry. Its cards and controls are Company Search, Check Name Availability, Login / Register, View Purchased Documents, CSP Services, Document Submissions, Annual Return Submission, and Beneficial Ownership. A Service Update on that page says Companies Registry services will be unavailable from Monday, 07th of September 2026 due to core IT upgrades.

An automated visitor is first shown a browser check (“Checking your browser before accessing services.gov.im”) on that address and on companysearch.iom. That check is not the Online Services screen itself.

Some automated requests are refused outright by the same protection. Neither the browser check nor that refusal is a permanent registry wall: the Online Services screens are the working registry.

The Isle of Man is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the British Crown, with its own parliament (Tynwald), legal system, and tax regime. The Isle of Man is not part of the UK, not part of the EU, and was not subject to Brexit in the same way as the UK.

Isle of Man company law is primarily governed by the Companies Acts 1931-2004 (older “1931 Act” companies) and the Companies Act 2006 (more modern “2006 Act” companies). The Isle of Man is a popular domicile for international holding companies, special purpose vehicles, online gambling businesses, insurance companies, and funds.

Principal entity types include:

• Private limited company (Ltd): under either the 1931 or 2006 Act, the most common form.
• Public limited company (PLC): used for listed entities.
• Limited Partnership (LP): popular for fund structures.
• Limited Liability Company (LLC): a hybrid vehicle available under the 1996 Act.
• Foundations: available under the Foundations Act 2011, used in estate planning and some fund structures.

The IOMFSA (Isle of Man Financial Services Authority) at https://www.iomfsa.im, titled Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, supervises licensed financial services businesses, and its home includes Registers and Beneficial Ownership. https://www.gov.im, titled Isle of Man Government - Home, lists Companies Registry under Business and Industries.

What can you search?

The Company Search form at https://services.gov.im/ded/services/companiesregistry/companysearch.iom, titled Online Services - Company Search:

• Search by Company Name (radio)
• Search by Company Number (radio)
• Search button
• Header Login / Register (no captcha on the form)

An automated visitor is shown the browser check on that address before this form.

Result fields such as status, officers and filed documents sit behind a submitted search and are not described here, and neither are any officer lists or 1931 as against 2006 Act filters; confirm at source.

Check Name Availability is a separate card on the Companies Registry home, for setting up a new company or business or changing an existing name. That form is not covered here.

The home also has a Beneficial Ownership card. No public UBO search appears on the Company Search form. The Beneficial Ownership Act 2017 register is held centrally and is accessible to the IOMFSA, Customs and Excise, law enforcement and foreign competent authorities under that statute, which is not the same as a public search; confirm at source.

The Isle of Man is a party to FATCA (under the UK-US IGA extended to the Isle of Man) and the OECD CRS framework.

How much does it cost?

No sterling figures appear on the Companies Registry home or the Company Search form, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. The home does note that purchased documents remain available for 1 month and should be copied or downloaded before they are withdrawn, which is a retention rule rather than a fee.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Optional. The Company Search form is reachable without using Login / Register, although that control sits in the header and View Purchased Documents is behind it. The search form carries no Isle of Man ID field and no captcha. Certified orders have been reported as using an email-only user account; confirm at source.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The Companies Registry home, the Company Search form, the gov.im home and the IOMFSA home are all in English.

What’s the turnaround time?

Turnaround is not published. Search-form result timing was not measured, and certified-document delivery times are not published where they could be read; confirm at source. The home does state that Companies Registry is processing documents received on 26 August 2026, which is a filing backlog rather than a search turnaround.

Is there an API?

No public developer API is described on the Companies Registry home or the Company Search form.

For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

What you legally cannot do

The Isle of Man has its own data protection law: the Data Protection Act 2018 (Isle of Man), aligned substantively with the EU GDPR. The EU has granted adequacy status to the Isle of Man for data protection purposes. Historic restrictions include:

• Automated bulk scraping of the Companies Registry portal for commercial redistribution is not permitted under the registry’s terms of use.
• Personal data of directors and officers may not be used for unsolicited marketing.
• The beneficial ownership register is not a public search on the Company Search form; unauthorized attempts to access restricted UBO data are a criminal offence under Isle of Man law.
• Nominee director structures (common in Isle of Man company administration) mean publicly visible officer names may be nominees, not the underlying beneficial owners. A nominee director name is not a UBO disclosure.

Those terms could not be re-read on a dedicated terms page; confirm at source.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• 1931 Act vs. 2006 Act companies. When reviewing an Isle of Man company registration, note which Act governs the entity. 2006 Act companies are the modern standard with electronic filing. 1931 Act companies may have older records, some on paper. Act labels could not be re-read on a result row; confirm at source.
• IOMFSA public licensee register. If your counterparty claims to be a bank, investment manager, fiduciary, insurance company, or gambling business, verify via the IOMFSA. The IOMFSA home at https://www.iomfsa.im includes Registers. Its licensee result fields are not described here.
• Online gambling is a major sector. The Isle of Man is one of the world’s leading online gambling licensing jurisdictions. The Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) licenses gambling businesses; that register is not covered here.
• CSP as gatekeeper. Isle of Man entities operating in international finance almost always use a licensed Corporate Service Provider as their registered agent. The CSP is the gatekeeper for UBO data under the beneficial ownership regime. CSP Services is a card on the Companies Registry home.
• FATCA and CRS compliance. Isle of Man financial institutions are required to identify and report US persons under FATCA and reportable account holders under CRS.
• No capital gains tax or inheritance tax. The Isle of Man’s zero-rate corporate tax and absence of capital gains tax and inheritance tax are the primary drivers of its use in international tax planning.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The site puts visitors through a browser check (“Checking your browser before accessing services.gov.im”) before the Online Services home and Company Search form load, and refuses some automated requests outright. Neither is a permanent registry wall.

• Licensed Isle of Man CSPs and law firms: for certified document retrieval and enhanced due diligence.
• OpenCorporates: has partial Isle of Man registry coverage; use only for indicative checks.

Local data suppliers

The Isle of Man does not have a dedicated domestic commercial credit bureau for the international compliance market. Compliance due diligence is typically handled by:

• Isle of Man-based licensed CSPs and law firms: the most direct route for certified documents and UBO inquiries within the AML framework.
• International compliance platforms (LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Refinitiv World-Check, Dow Jones Risk and Compliance): include Isle of Man-registered entities in their adverse media and sanctions screening.
• Dun and Bradstreet: has partial coverage of larger Isle of Man-domiciled operating companies.

FAQ

Is the Isle of Man part of the UK?

No. The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency of the UK Crown, not part of the UK, not part of the EU, and not subject to UK Acts of Parliament unless specifically extended. It has its own parliament (Tynwald), legal system (Manx law, based on English common law), and tax regime. The UK government is responsible for the Isle of Man’s defense and international relations only.

What is Isle of Man’s corporate tax rate?

Zero percent for most companies. The Isle of Man operates a zero percent corporate income tax rate for most companies, with a 10% rate for banking businesses and a 20% rate for land and property income. There is no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax.

Does the Isle of Man have a public beneficial ownership register?

The Isle of Man has a central UBO register under the Beneficial Ownership Act 2017, and the Companies Registry home has a Beneficial Ownership card. No public search of UBO records appears on the Company Search form. Access has been reported as restricted to the IOMFSA, Customs and Excise, law enforcement and foreign competent authorities; confirm at source.

Is the Isle of Man on the FATF grey list?

This guide does not state the Isle of Man’s current FATF standing; see fatf-gafi.org and confirm at source. The Isle of Man cooperates with FATF processes through the UK government and has undergone MONEYVAL evaluations.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: the Isle of Man Companies Registry at https://services.gov.im/companies-registry and Company Search at https://services.gov.im/ded/services/companiesregistry/companysearch.iom, titled Online Services - Companies Registry and Online Services - Company Search and carrying Company Search, Check Name Availability and Login / Register; both put an automated visitor through a browser check first. The gov.im and iomfsa.im home pages. No sterling fees appear on those pages. FATF: fatf-gafi.org. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.