Extracts from commercial register of Azores

Schmidt & Schmidt provides extracts from the commercial register of Azores with a translation and an apostille.

The Azores (Açores) are one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal, along with Madeira. It is located on an archipelago of the same name, which consists of nine islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Azores are divided into 19 municipalities; it has got three capital cities, the largest city of which is Ponta Delgada. The region is headed by the President of the Regional Government of the Azores. Local currency is the Euro. Official language is Portuguese. Azores are officially the part of the European Union, in the category of Outermost regions.

The main industries in the Azores are agriculture, fishing, and tourism. The Azores used to be one of the poorest regions both of Portugal and the European Union, but nowadays their economy is developing quite dynamically. In 2013 the Society for Development of the Azores (SDEA) was created in 2013, in order to reinforce competitiveness of local companies and promote entrepreneurship.

The Azores are neither blacklisted as a tax haven by the European Union or the OECD, nor mentioned in other lists of offshore jurisdictions (unlike Madeira).

Business activities in the Azores is regulated by the Portuguese Companies Act and local laws.

Azores are an autonomy integrated within the framework of Portuguese legislation, which is adapted to the local characteristics. At the same time, the region enjoys broad legislative autonomy.

Main types of businesses in the Azores

• Sociedade anónima (S.A.) – joint-stock company
• Limitada unipessoal por Quotas (Lda. unipessoal) – limited liability company with one founder
• Sociedade por Quotas Limitada (Lda.) – limited liability company
• Sociedade em comandita por acções (SCA) – joint-stock partnership in commendam
• Sociedade civil – full partnership
• Sociedade em nome colectivo (SNC) – registered partnership
• Sociedade em comandita simples (SCS) – limited partnership

Registration of companies in the Azores is a responsibility of the Institute of Registries and Notaries (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado), a subordinate of the Ministry of Justice of the Portuguese Republic.

In addition, there is a separate register of companies in the tourism sector. It was created in the Azores by the special Act in 2009.

Extract from commercial register of Azores contains the following information:

• Full legal name
• Date of foundation
• Type of business
• Contact information
• Main activity
• Registered capital
• Board members and founders
• Balance sheets
• Shareholders and their reports
• Appointment of a bankruptcy commissioner
• Copies of corporate documents

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 3-5 days after request submission.

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

• Full legal name
• Registration number

An extract from business register of the Azores can be used in order to:

• Obtain detailed information about potential business partners
• Negotiate foreign trade agreements
• Check solvency of prospective counterparties
• File legal claims

Apostille for extracts from commercial register of Azores

The Azores acceded to the The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents on 6 December 1968, as a part of Portugal.

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

Apostilling usually takes about two weeks.

In addition, you can order notarised translation from Portuguese.

We provide extracts from the commercial register in strict compliance with the legislation of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Republic of Portugal, and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Inquiries are processed within one working day. Courier delivery of apostilled documents is paid separately by courier service tariffs.

You can order free preliminary availability check of required information on our website.