Workflow checklist
- Identify the registry. www.companies.org.ls
- Check access requirements. Account required: Optional. Local ID required: No.
- Plan budget. Price range: USD 0.00. Payment methods: Deposit account (homepage text; amounts not published).
- 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. Lesotho’s company portal is https://www.companies.org.ls, branded Welcome to Catalyst and headed Welcome to Lesotho Ministry of Trade & Industry. The homepage states Search the Register (FREE) and names Company Search, Officers/Shareholders/Members Search, and Reserved Name Search. The older address obrs.gov.ls no longer resolves. Extract fees and turnaround times are not published on that page, so paid items in this guide read as unknown rather than free; confirm at source.
What is the official Lesotho business registry?
The live host is https://www.companies.org.ls, branded Catalyst. The page describes the company register as an online register for incorporating and maintaining companies and for searching company, director, and shareholder details. The operator named on the page is the Lesotho Ministry of Trade & Industry.
The older hostname obrs.gov.ls (and www.obrs.gov.ls) no longer resolves. Links that still point at obrs.gov.ls should be read as pointing at companies.org.ls, which is the same register.
Statutory entity types under the Companies Act 2011 (private companies, public companies, external companies, close corporations, non-profit companies) are not itemised on the homepage, and no fee schedule is published for them.
www.obfc.org.ls is named on the homepage for downloadable forms (Legislation tab). That host has a certificate name mismatch that stops it loading securely, so its forms could not be confirmed here.
What can you search?
What the homepage lists:
- Search the Register (FREE)
- Company Search: the page says details include shareholdings, directors, addresses, date of incorporation, and business activity, for internal and external companies
- Officers, Shareholders and Members Search
- Reserved Name Search
The exact result columns are not confirmed beyond that homepage wording.
Logon / Register is on the same page for administering a company. The homepage does not describe it as a requirement for the free search.
How much does it cost?
| Item | Cost (LSL) | Cost (USD, approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Search the Register (homepage: FREE) | FREE | Unknown |
| Company extract / certified extract | Unknown | Unknown |
| Filing via Deposit account | Unknown | Unknown |
Search the Register (FREE) is stated on the homepage. No extract fee figures appear anywhere on it. The page says fees for filings are paid using a Deposit account set up at the One-Stop Business Facilitation Centre, but the amounts are not published; confirm at source. Paid items in the table above are unknown, not free.
Do you need a local account or ID?
The homepage describes the free search without a login requirement, and Logon / Register as the route for administering companies and online filing, so an account is optional and no local ID is needed. No Lesotho ID field appears on the homepage. Whether a captcha or a two-factor step appears later is not known.
Is the website in English?
Yes. The portal is in English and is titled Welcome to Catalyst.
What’s the turnaround time?
Unknown. The portal does not publish extract turnaround times; confirm at source.
Is there an API?
No public API is documented on https://www.companies.org.ls.
What you legally cannot do
The portal does not carry a separate English terms-of-use page. Do not bulk-scrape. Use director and shareholder data only for a stated compliance purpose.
Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers
- Use companies.org.ls. obrs.gov.ls no longer resolves.
- The free search is what the portal actually offers. Paid extract amounts are not on the homepage.
- Deposit account is for fees, not a published tariff. No LSL amounts are published.
- Logon is for administering a company, per the homepage, not described as a gate on the FREE search wording.
- FATF grey-list status is not covered by this portal; confirm at source.
Alternatives if you cannot use the portal
- Live portal: https://www.companies.org.ls
- OpenCorporates (https://opencorporates.com): reachable, though its per-jurisdiction listing page sat behind a bot challenge when last checked on 2026-09-04. Non-official aggregator; coverage for Lesotho was not verified here.
- Counter retrieval in Maseru is not described on the portal
Local data suppliers
No local credit bureau could be confirmed for Lesotho.
FAQ
Can a foreign company search without an account?
The homepage states Search the Register (FREE) and describes Logon as the route for administering companies. Whether an anonymous search runs without signing in is not confirmed; confirm at source.
Is obrs.gov.ls the register?
No. obrs.gov.ls no longer resolves. The live host is companies.org.ls.
Does Lesotho have a public UBO register on this portal?
Not on this portal.
Last verified: 2026-09-04. Source: https://www.companies.org.ls, the Catalyst portal, which states Search the Register (FREE) on its homepage. obrs.gov.ls no longer resolves. Extract fees are not published on that page. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.