PNG IPA Company Search: Look Up Any PNG Business in 2026

TL;DR. Papua New Guinea’s official business registry is the IPA Online Registry System, operated by the Investment Promotion Authority. Basic public searches are free and require no account; a free account unlocks more detailed filing records. Papua New Guinea was added to the FATF grey list (increased monitoring) in February 2026, which compliance teams must note when assessing counterparty risk.

What is the official Papua New Guinea business registry?

The Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) is the statutory body responsible for company registration and regulation in Papua New Guinea. It operates under the Companies Act 1997 and administers registrations of companies, business names, foreign companies, overseas companies, and personal property securities through its IPA Online Registry System, accessible at ipa.gov.pg.

The IPA was established under the Investment Promotion Act 1992. Its mandate covers both investment facilitation and corporate governance. The Companies Act 1997 governs the legal framework for company formation, director duties, and annual filing obligations in PNG.

The registry underwent a major system upgrade between 2022 and 2023, migrating from an older legacy platform to a new fully electronic solution hosting both the Business Entities Registry and the Personal Property Securities Registry (PPSR). The new system operates 24/7 and supports online registration and filing without requiring a physical visit to IPA offices.

Coverage includes companies incorporated in PNG, foreign companies registered to operate in PNG, and business names registered by individuals and sole traders. Historical records from the legacy system were transferred to the new platform during migration.

What can you search?

The IPA Online Registry System supports searches across the following dimensions:

• Business entity name (keyword and exact match)
• Registration or incorporation number
• Name availability check (to determine whether a proposed name is already taken)
• Name reservation status

Basic public searches return entity name, registration number, entity type, registration status, and date of incorporation or registration. To access more detailed filing records, including officer lists, shareholders, and historical filings, a free IPA client account is required. Creating an account requires a photo ID but is open to both local and foreign applicants.

The Personal Property Securities Registry (PPSR) is also searchable via the same platform, allowing secured creditors and lenders to check whether assets held by a counterparty are subject to registered security interests.

Data freshness depends on filing activity. Entities are required to file annual returns and update officer information with IPA; the registry reflects filings as they are processed.

How much does it cost?

Registry searches are free. Registration fees are paid by entities registering or filing, not by compliance buyers conducting searches. PGK/USD conversion used: 1 PGK = approximately USD 0.27 (May 2026; verify at point of use as the kina floats against major currencies). Fee schedule as published by IPA at ipa.gov.pg; verify current fees before relying on these figures for budgeting.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Basic name and entity searches are publicly accessible without any account. For detailed filing data, officer lists, and document downloads, IPA requires a free client account. Account creation is open to foreign applicants and requires a government-issued photo ID (passport accepted). No Papua New Guinea national ID or business registration is required to create a search account.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The IPA Online Registry System is fully in English. PNG’s official working language for government and legal purposes is English, and all registry interfaces, search results, and downloadable documents are in English.

What’s the turnaround time?

Basic search results are returned instantly. Detailed entity records accessible via a client account are also available in real-time once the account is active. Document downloads (where available for electronically filed documents) are immediate. Physical certified extracts may require contacting IPA’s offices in Port Moresby and can take several business days.

Is there an API?

No. IPA does not currently offer a public API for programmatic access to registry data. Bulk data access arrangements are not publicly described. Compliance platforms needing automated lookups should use the web portal for individual searches. Screen-scraping the IPA portal is not recommended and likely violates IPA’s terms of use.

OpenCorporates indexes PNG filings as part of its global dataset and may be a secondary aggregator source, though it will lag official data and should not be used for compliance-grade verification.

What you legally cannot do

The IPA’s terms of service restrict bulk scraping and unauthorized reproduction of registry data. Commercial redistribution of IPA data without authorization is prohibited. Use of company search results for unsolicited marketing or spam is not a permitted purpose.

PNG does not have a standalone data protection act equivalent to GDPR, but the use of IPA data must align with the stated purpose of the search. Compliance buyers conducting KYC, AML, or counterparty due diligence are within the scope of legitimate use; document this purpose in your audit trail.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• PNG is on the FATF grey list as of February 2026. The FATF added Papua New Guinea to its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring on 13 February 2026, alongside Kuwait. PNG’s 2024 APG Mutual Evaluation Report identified persistent deficiencies in ML/TF risk assessment, beneficial ownership transparency, cross-border currency reporting, and law enforcement capacity. No successful money laundering prosecutions had been recorded in the sectors identified as high-risk. PNG has made a high-level political commitment to work with FATF and APG to address these deficiencies. See fatf-gafi.org for the current action plan. Apply enhanced due diligence when onboarding PNG-registered counterparties.
• Anchor identifier is the registration number. PNG company numbers are assigned at incorporation by IPA and do not change with name changes. Use the number as the primary search key.
• Beneficial ownership reforms are in progress. IPA is implementing amendments to the Companies Act to mandate beneficial ownership reporting. As of May 2026, a public UBO register does not yet exist; KYC processes must rely on the corporate extract and additional documentary evidence.
• Foreign company filing is separate. Overseas companies operating in PNG register as foreign companies with IPA under Chapter 8 of the Companies Act. These appear in the same registry but carry a different registration category.
• APG mutual evaluation (2024). The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering adopted PNG’s third-round Mutual Evaluation Report in September 2024. The report is publicly available and provides a detailed picture of PNG’s AML/CFT framework strengths and weaknesses. Review it as part of any enhanced due diligence on PNG entities. See apgml.org for APG membership and reports.
• System migration gap. The 2022-2023 registry migration may have introduced data gaps for very old entities or those whose records were not fully digitized. If a search returns no result for a company you believe exists, contact IPA directly to confirm.

Alternatives if you cannot access the IPA registry directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes PNG filings but lags official data. Useful for a quick name check; not for compliance-grade verification.
• OCCRP Aleph (aleph.occrp.org) maintains a Papua New Guinea Company Registry dataset from IPA data, useful as a secondary reference for investigative due diligence.

Local data suppliers

• Schmidt and Schmidt (schmidt-export.com). A European registry data reseller that offers company extracts from PNG. Useful when direct IPA portal access is difficult. Output is based on IPA data and should be cross-checked against the live registry.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Papua New Guinea registry directly?

Yes. The IPA Online Registry System is publicly accessible to foreign buyers. Basic searches are free and require no account. A free client account (requiring a photo ID, passports accepted) unlocks detailed entity data and document downloads.

What is the TIN or company number format in Papua New Guinea?

IPA assigns a registration number at incorporation, composed of alphanumeric characters (e.g., 1-0012345 for companies). Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) are issued separately by the Internal Revenue Commission and are not displayed in the IPA registry. For AML purposes, the IPA registration number is the primary identifier.

What entity types are registered with IPA?

IPA registers companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies, business names registered by individuals, foreign companies (overseas entities operating in PNG), and overseas companies. Industrial organizations and other specialist entities have their own registration frameworks.

Does Papua New Guinea have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Not yet in a public-facing form. IPA is implementing amendments to the Companies Act to introduce mandatory beneficial ownership reporting, in line with FATF Recommendation 24. As of May 2026, no public UBO register is available. The lack of an effective UBO framework was highlighted as a key deficiency in PNG’s 2024 APG Mutual Evaluation Report.

How current is the data in the IPA registry?

Data reflects filings as processed by IPA. Annual returns and officer changes appear in the registry after IPA processes the submission. The registry does not operate in real-time; for critical compliance decisions, confirm the status directly with IPA or request a fresh certified extract.

Is Papua New Guinea on the FATF grey list?

Yes. Papua New Guinea was added to the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (grey list) on 13 February 2026. The FATF identified deficiencies in AML/CFT effectiveness, including gaps in ML risk assessment, beneficial ownership data quality, and law enforcement capacity. PNG has committed to an action plan with FATF and APG. Compliance teams should apply enhanced due diligence standards for PNG-registered entities until PNG exits the grey list. Reference: fatf-gafi.org.

What’s the difference between the registry and tax/financial filings?

IPA holds corporate registry data: incorporation documents, officer lists, share capital, and filing history. Tax records are managed by the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) and are not publicly accessible. The Bank of Papua New Guinea supervises financial institutions and maintains a separate licensing register. For a full global due diligence framework, compliance teams should consult all three sources when assessing PNG counterparties.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: Investment Promotion Authority (ipa.gov.pg); FATF (fatf-gafi.org); Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (apgml.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.