Extracts from the commercial register of São Tomé and Príncipe

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

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, in the Atlantic west of Central Africa. São Tomé and Príncipe is a semi-presidential republic, with the president as head of state. Local currency is the Dobra (STD), the official language is Portuguese. São Tomé and Príncipe is a member of the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the AKT-Group, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and other international organisations.

The service sector is the leading economical sector (roughly 62% of the GDP), however in fact the economy heavily relies on exporting cocoa (95% of total exports). In 2000, petrol was discovered for the first time in São Tomé and Príncipe. Western Petrol enterprises plan on gradually searching for more petrol across the various islands of the country. Ever since commercial laws came into effect, more than 700 companies have been registered in São Tomé and Príncipe.

São Tomé and Príncipe has a romanic-germanic legal system, based mostly on portuguese law.

Corporate practice is regulated in the Commercial Code, the Decrees on Registration in 2010 and 2011 and other legal statutes.

Main types of businesses:

• Sociedade por quotas – Limited liability company
• Sociedade anónima – Limited company

Additionally, registered merchants may operate in São Tomé and Príncipe (seguindo as unipessoais).

The Directorate of the Formation of Enterprises (Direcção do Guiché Único para Empresas de São Tomé e Príncipe) is responsible for registration in the commercial register. It was created in 2010 and is a department of the Ministry of Justice.

Registration is partially available online and usually takes about 4 days to complete.

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.

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

• Full legal name
• Registration number

Apostille for extracts from São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe acceded to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents in 2001.

Therefore, the documents issued in São Tomé and Príncipe are subject to a simplified apostilling procedure, thus the documents gain full legal value in Convention member states after notarised translation.

An extract from the business register of São Tomé and Príncipe 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