Niger Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Niger Business

TL;DR. Niger’s official commercial registry is the RCCM (Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier), accessible via the OHADA portal at rccm.ohada.org. The interface is in French only. A military coup in July 2023 overthrew the elected government; Niger has since joined the Alliance des Etats du Sahel (AES) with Mali and Burkina Faso and withdrawn from ECOWAS. [VERIFY: current political status and registry operational continuity.] Niger is on the FATF increased monitoring (grey) list. This is a high-difficulty, high-risk jurisdiction; engage a local legal representative in Niamey for any material counterparty verification.

What is the official Niger business registry?

Niger’s commercial registry is the Registre du Commerce et du Credit Mobilier (RCCM), established under OHADA’s Uniform Act Relating to General Commercial Law. Niger ratified the OHADA treaty in 1994 and the RCCM became operational in-country in the late 1990s. OHADA Uniform Acts are directly applicable in Niger.

Operationally, the RCCM is administered by the Chambre de Commerce, d’Agriculture, d’Industrie et d’Artisanat du Niger (CCIAN), Niger’s chamber of commerce, in coordination with the Tribunal de Commerce de Niamey. The CCIAN provides administrative registry services and coordinates company formation through its one-stop-shop framework. The Centre de Formalites des Entreprises (CFE) within CCIAN handles multi-agency registration formalities.

Online search access is provided via the OHADA federated RCCM portal at rccm.ohada.org. Coverage for Niger in the OHADA portal is partial; digitization of records outside Niamey is limited.

Political context. On July 26, 2023, a military coup overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who had been democratically elected in 2021. The military junta (Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie, CNSP) suspended the constitution and assumed power. Niger joined the Alliance des Etats du Sahel with Mali and Burkina Faso and formally withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025. ECOWAS imposed sanctions following the coup (since partially lifted). The political situation continues to evolve; institutional continuity, including at courts and commercial registries, should be verified at the time of any engagement. [VERIFY: current operational status of CCIAN and Tribunal de Commerce de Niamey.]

Niger uses the XOF (CFA Franc West Africa) as its currency through UEMOA membership, which it has retained despite ECOWAS withdrawal.

What can you search?

Where digitized records are available on the OHADA RCCM portal, searches support:

• Corporate name (denomination sociale)
• Trade name (nom commercial)
• RCCM number
• Legal form

Records include: corporate name, RCCM number, legal form, registration court, entry date, and formalities filed. Private company (SARL) records may not be fully available online; physical searches at CCIAN or the Tribunal de Commerce de Niamey are needed for complete verification.

[VERIFY: current availability of Niger’s RCCM data on the OHADA portal, as digitization progress and current administrative continuity are uncertain given the political situation.]

How much does it cost?

[VERIFY: current CCIAN fee schedule and availability of services given political context.] EUR/XOF: 1 EUR = 655.96 XOF (fixed peg). Niger uses XOF through UEMOA membership.

Do you need a local account or ID?

An OHADA portal account requires only email registration. No Nigerien national ID is required for portal access. For physical court searches and certified extract requests, a local legal representative in Niamey is effectively required. Given the political context, confirm operational access with a local representative before committing to any registry-dependent workflow.

Is the website in English?

No. The OHADA RCCM portal is in French (English navigation available via lang=en). All entity data is in French. No English-language interface exists for Niger registry access.

What’s the turnaround time?

Highly variable and operationally uncertain. Under pre-coup normal conditions, Niamey RCCM searches via CCIAN took 10 to 21 business days. Post-coup institutional changes may have affected processing capacity. [VERIFY: current turnaround with a local contact before committing.]

Is there an API?

No. No public API exists for Niger’s RCCM data as of May 2026.

What you legally cannot do

OHADA registries prohibit bulk automated scraping. Commercial redistribution of RCCM records without authorization is restricted. Niger’s data protection framework is limited; apply international best-practice data minimization and document all access purposes. Given the FATF grey list status, EDD documentation is especially important.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• FATF grey list. Niger is on FATF’s increased monitoring (grey) list as of May 2026. [VERIFY: current status at fatf-gafi.org.] Enhanced due diligence is required for transactions with Nigerien counterparties under most institutional AML frameworks.
• Coup and AES context. Niger’s July 2023 coup fundamentally altered its political-risk profile. The withdrawal from ECOWAS and alignment with the AES (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) signals divergence from West African institutional norms. This affects correspondent banking relationships, sanctions exposure monitoring, and operational access to government services including the commercial registry.
• Uranium sector. Niger is among the world’s top uranium producers (Arlit mines), with material French, Chinese, and Canadian mining investment historically. Following the coup, the junta revoked Orano (French)‘s uranium mining license. Companies in the uranium and extractive sectors face elevated political-risk complexity. Apply heightened UBO and sanctions screening for any mining-sector counterparty. [VERIFY: current status of uranium sector companies given post-coup license disputes.]
• XOF/UEMOA continuity. Despite ECOWAS withdrawal, Niger remains in UEMOA and continues using XOF. BCEAO (the West African central bank) has maintained monetary operations in Niger, though there were temporary restrictions post-coup that have since been partially resolved. Verify current banking correspondent availability for Niger transactions.
• French-language documents only. All official registry documents are in French. Budget for certified translation for international compliance use.
• CCIAN as practical entry point. CCIAN’s chamber of commerce services have historically been more responsive to business queries than the court system directly. [VERIFY: current operational status of CCIAN’s registry services.]

Alternatives if you cannot access the RCCM directly

• OHADA RCCM portal (rccm.ohada.org): partial Niger coverage. Free at the search level.
• CCIAN Niger (ccian.ne): [VERIFY: current operational status of CCIAN website and services.]
• International due-diligence providers: firms with Sahel experience (Control Risks, Kroll) for higher-risk counterparty checks.
• Local legal firms in Niamey: direct engagement is the most reliable route for any verified entity data.

Local data suppliers

No major international credit bureau operates a Niger-specific service as of May 2026. Due diligence for Niger counterparties should engage international providers with Francophone Africa and Sahel experience.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Niger registry directly?

Foreign users can access the OHADA RCCM portal for available digitized records. Physical searches and certified extracts require a local Niamey representative. Given the political context, operational access should be confirmed before any commitment.

What entity types are registered with the RCCM in Niger?

SA, SARL, SNC, GIE, individual traders, and branches of foreign companies, all governed by OHADA Uniform Acts.

Does Niger have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Niger does not operate a publicly searchable UBO register as of May 2026. Given the FATF grey list status and political context, enhanced UBO verification using RCCM filings, direct counterparty declaration, and supplementary EDD is essential.

Is Niger on the FATF grey list?

Yes, as of May 2026. [VERIFY: fatf-gafi.org.] EDD is required for transactions with Nigerien counterparties.

What is the RCCM number in Niger?

The RCCM number encodes the registration court and year, following the OHADA format. Niamey-registered entities carry “NE-NIA” as the court prefix. This is the primary anchor identifier.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: OHADA RCCM portal (rccm.ohada.org), FATF (fatf-gafi.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.