Extracts from commercial register of DR Congo

Schmidt & Schmidt provides extracts from the commercial register of DR Congo with a translation and an apostille as pdf-file via e-mail.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, is a state in Central Africa. The country is a semi-presidential republic with the president as head of state. Local currency is the Congolese Franc (CDF). The official language is French, there is however a huge diversity of languages spoken by the different ethnic groups of Congo. Approximately 242 languages exist around the country, but only four have earned the status of national languages besides French. DR Congo is a member of the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and other international organisations.

Despite the country's abundance of natural resources, making DR Congo the worlds largest producer of cobalt ore and a major producer of copper and diamonds as well as others like uranium, gold, silver, iron, tin and zinc, it ranks among the poorest countries in the world. The substantial economic problems are partially caused by the complicated political situation.

DR Congo has a mixed legal system, mainly inspired by french law and african unwritten law.

Corporate practice is regulated in the Statute on Corporations of 1997, the Law on Industrial Property in 1982 and other legal statutes.

Main types of businesses in DR Congo:

• Société A Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) – Limited liability company
• Société A Responsabilité Limitée Unipersonnelle (SARLU) – One-man company
• Société Anonyme avec Conseil d’Administration – Public limited company with a board of directors
• Société Anonyme avec Administrateur Général – Public limited company with CEO
• Société Anonyme Unipersonnelle – One-man public limited company
• Société par Action Simplifiée (SAS) – Simplified corporation
• Société en Commandite Simple (SCS) – Simplified limited partnership
• Société en Nom Collectif (SNC) - General partnership
• Société en Participation – Dormant partnership
• Contrat de Groupement d’Intérêt Economique (GIE) – Economic interest grouping

The Centre for Formation of Enterprises (Guichet Unique de la Création d'Entreprises) is responsible for registration in the commercial register. In reality, the registration itself is carried out by district courts (local aswell as commercial).

The commercial register was first established in 1951. In 1979, a new register was created, now managed by judges. During the process of legal harmonisation in Africa, the commercial register was once again reformed at the start of 2013.

Contents of the register:

• Full legal name
• Representatives
• Director and proprietors
• Current status (active/inactive)
• Type of business
• Full address
• Additional data

NB: Information about some companies may be unavailable, or available for a fee.

Search in the register is not free of charge. Search results are sent to you within 7-14 days after request submission, however the possibility of information disclosure has to be checked by sending a preliminary request.

To get a required document, we will need the following information about a company:

• Full legal name
• Registration number

Legalization of extracts from DR Congo

DR Congo did not accede to The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents in 1966. Therefore, all congolese documents are subject to legalization.

An extract from the commercial register of DR Congo can be used in order to:

• Obtain detailed information about potential business partners
• Negotiate foreign trade agreements
• File legal claims
• Register legal entities with foreign participation
• Check potential employers

You can order an extract without mandatory registration or subscription. Just complete our form and our employees will investigate for missing information, provide you with the extract, translate it to English and deliver the original, the translation as well as the bill for our services to you via mail.
There is no risk involved for you as we provide you with the documents in question on a fixed price. If requested, we will have the extract verified and apostilled. The documents are sent to you by mail. Special fees for the apostille apply.

Our Offer:

• Quick and reliable inquiry processing
• Convenient order via online form
• Required document is sent as a PDF-file via e-mail
• Notarised translation
• No charge if required information is unavailable
• Apostille for extracts from commercial registers
• Confidentiality and personal data protection
• Quality service and happy customers