Marshall Islands Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify an RMI Business

TL;DR. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) maintains one of the Pacific’s most internationally active offshore corporation registries, administered through International Registries, Inc. (IRI) and searchable free of charge at register.iri.com with no account required. RMI is a major jurisdiction for non-resident (offshore) corporations and ship registrations. As of May 2026, the RMI has historical grey-list exposure from the OECD Global Forum and the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, though its status has fluctuated following legislative reforms. The RMI has a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States and uses USD.

What is the official Marshall Islands business registry?

The RMI Office of the Registrar of Corporations is the statutory body responsible for company registration in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. By statute, the registrar function has been delegated to International Registries, Inc. (IRI), a private company incorporated in the United States that administers the RMI registry from offices in Reston, Virginia (US) and other locations worldwide.

IRI operates the public registry portal at register.iri.com and its legacy domain registeredagent.mh, both of which provide access to entity search for the RMI Corporations Registry. The dual-portal structure reflects IRI’s long-standing contractual role: the RMI was one of the earliest offshore jurisdictions to outsource its registrar function to a private administrator.

The Marshall Islands offshore corporation framework was established under the Business Corporations Act (BCA) of 1990. The RMI Non-Resident Domestic Corporation (NRDC) is the primary vehicle used by offshore clients: international shipping companies, private equity holding structures, and tax-neutral holding entities. The RMI Ship Registry, operated by the same IRI infrastructure, is one of the largest ship registries in the world by gross tonnage.

The RMI has a Compact of Free Association with the United States, in effect since 1986 and renewed under the updated COFA signed in 2023. The compact provides for US defense rights and economic assistance; citizens of the RMI may live and work in the US without a visa. The RMI uses the US dollar (USD) as its official currency.

Domestic companies (those conducting business within the RMI) are registered separately from non-resident domestic corporations under local company law. Compliance buyers are most likely to encounter RMI-registered entities in the NRDC category, given the scale of the offshore sector.

What can you search?

The IRI public registry search at register.iri.com allows free searches by:

• Corporation name (full or partial)
• Corporation number

Search results display entity name, registration number, incorporation date, current status (active, dissolved, cancelled), and the entity type. The basic public search does not return officer, director, or shareholder information for non-resident domestic corporations; those details are held by the registered agent and are not publicly disclosed as part of the offshore privacy framework.

The IRI portal also supports searches of the RMI Ship Registry and the Yacht Registry, which are separate from the corporations register.

For domestic companies operating within the RMI, additional filing information may be available through the RMI government directly, though domestic companies constitute a small fraction of total registrations.

How much does it cost?

Public entity search through register.iri.com is free and requires no account. The fees above for registration are costs borne by the entity being incorporated, not by a compliance buyer conducting a search. Registered agent fees for incorporation and annual maintenance (paid to IRI or another licensed agent) are additional to government fees and typically USD 800-2,000+ per year depending on service level.

USD/USD conversion: the RMI uses USD directly, so no conversion is needed.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No. The IRI public search portal at register.iri.com is accessible without registration. No RMI identity document and no account creation is required for a basic entity name or number search. An account may be available for registered agents who manage entity filings, but compliance buyers conducting lookups do not need to register.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The IRI portal is English-only. The RMI’s government language is English (alongside Marshallese); all corporate registration documents, BCA filings, and registry records are in English.

What’s the turnaround time?

Public entity searches return results instantly. Status confirmation (active, dissolved, or cancelled) is available immediately from the search result.

For detailed entity information beyond name and status, such as corporate resolution certified copies or good-standing certificates, requests must be submitted to IRI through their service desk. Processing times for certified documents are typically 2-5 business days.

Is there an API?

No public API is documented for external developer access to the RMI corporations registry as of May 2026. IRI provides institutional services to registered agents and may offer data feed arrangements under commercial agreement, but there is no open API for compliance platforms.

What you legally cannot do

The BCA and RMI law impose confidentiality obligations on registered agents regarding NRDC shareholder and director information. The privacy architecture of the RMI offshore framework is intentional: registered agents are prohibited from disclosing beneficial ownership information except under lawful compulsion (court order, MLAT, or regulatory demand). Attempting to extract beneficial ownership data by bypassing the registered agent through informal means is not a permitted approach.

Commercial redistribution of registry search results without IRI authorization is not permitted. Using director or shareholder data obtained from registry records for unsolicited solicitation is prohibited.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Offshore framework: very limited public disclosure. The RMI NRDC structure provides strong privacy for shareholders and directors. The public registry confirms name and status only. For compliance-grade UBO verification of an RMI-registered entity, you must engage the registered agent directly under a lawful request, obtain notarized declarations from the entity, or rely on information exchange through a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) channel if in a law enforcement or regulatory context.
• OECD Global Forum history. The RMI has had a complex history with the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. It was placed on the OECD grey list for jurisdictions rated “Non-Compliant” or “Partially Compliant” in earlier evaluation rounds, primarily due to deficiencies in effective exchange of information. Legislative reforms (amendments to the BCA in 2013, 2017, and subsequent years) were introduced in response. As of May 2026, verify the current OECD Global Forum rating directly at oecd.org/tax/transparency, as ratings are updated following peer review rounds.
• EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. The RMI has been listed on and removed from the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (Annex I) at various points. The status reflects the EU’s assessment of the RMI’s commitment to tax transparency and substance requirements. Compliance buyers at EU-regulated financial institutions should confirm the current listing status before onboarding an RMI-registered entity, as enhanced due diligence obligations may apply. Check consilium.europa.eu for the current Annex I list.
• FATF status. The RMI is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. The APG covers the RMI in its Asia-Pacific evaluation program. See fatf-gafi.org for current status.
• COFA economic context. The RMI’s Compact of Free Association with the United States provides material US economic assistance and shapes the country’s regulatory environment. US Treasury and FinCEN guidance on Pacific Island COFA jurisdictions is relevant for US-regulated institutions.
• Ship registry context. Many RMI-registered entities in international trade databases are ship-owning special purpose vehicles (SPVs). The RMI Ship Registry is one of the world’s largest; an RMI-incorporated entity with no visible commercial footprint may simply be a shipping SPV rather than a trading company.
• Substance requirements. In response to OECD and EU pressure, the RMI introduced economic substance requirements for certain entity types. Non-resident domestic corporations engaged in relevant activities (banking, insurance, fund management, headquarters, shipping, intellectual property, distribution, and service centers) may be subject to substance requirements under the Non-Resident Domestic Corporation (Substance) Act, depending on their activities.
• Registered agent is mandatory. All RMI NRDCs must maintain a registered agent on the islands. The registered agent is IRI or another licensed provider. The registered agent’s name is the most reliable point of contact for compliance information requests.

Alternatives if you cannot access register.iri.com directly

• IRI legacy portal (registeredagent.mh) provides the same corporation search function and is an alternative access point.
• OpenCorporates indexes some RMI corporate data but coverage is partial for NRDCs, given limited public disclosure requirements.

Local data suppliers

• International Registries, Inc. (IRI) (register.iri.com) is both the registrar and the primary source of certified company documentation for RMI-registered entities. For good-standing certificates, certified corporate extracts, or document retrieval, IRI’s corporate services team is the direct contact.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the RMI registry directly?

Yes, for basic name and status searches. The IRI portal at register.iri.com is publicly accessible without registration or a local account. Searches return entity name, number, incorporation date, and status. No director, shareholder, or beneficial owner information is available through the public portal.

What is a Non-Resident Domestic Corporation (NRDC)?

An NRDC is the primary vehicle under the RMI Business Corporations Act for offshore incorporation. An NRDC is incorporated in the RMI but is not permitted to conduct business within the RMI itself (other than holding meetings, maintaining records, or other incidental activities). NRDCs are used for international holding structures, ship ownership, and tax-neutral intercompany financing. They pay a fixed annual government fee regardless of size or activity.

What entity types are registered in the RMI?

The RMI registers Non-Resident Domestic Corporations (NRDCs), domestic companies (for local operations), limited partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and foreign companies. The Ship Registry is a separate function administered by IRI but recorded in different registers.

Does the RMI have a beneficial ownership registry?

No public UBO registry exists. Beneficial ownership information for NRDCs is held by the registered agent and is not publicly disclosed. The RMI has introduced legislative measures to give regulators access to beneficial ownership data through the registered agent in response to FATF and OECD requirements, but these are not publicly accessible registers.

Is the RMI on the FATF grey list?

No, as of May 2026. The RMI has not been on the FATF grey list. The OECD Global Forum and EU listing history is separate from FATF monitoring. See fatf-gafi.org for current status and oecd.org/tax/transparency for the OECD peer review ratings.

Why is the RMI registry operated by a US company?

IRI, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, has administered the RMI corporations and ship registries under contract since the establishment of the offshore framework in the early 1990s. This model was adopted to provide professional administrative capacity that a small island state could not maintain independently. Similar outsourcing arrangements exist in other small jurisdictions globally.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: International Registries Inc. / RMI Office of the Registrar (register.iri.com); OECD Global Forum on Tax Transparency (oecd.org/tax/transparency); FATF (fatf-gafi.org); Asian Development Bank Marshall Islands (adb.org/countries/marshall-islands/overview). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.