Beneficial-Ownership Transparency by Jurisdiction

Name: Beneficial-Ownership Transparency by Jurisdiction
Creator: Andrew Pierce
Published: 2026-09-13

Who can actually look up the owner of a company in each jurisdiction — register access and public-or-restricted status, nominee rules, automatic exchange participation, and how searchable the registry is.

Short answer

Who can see who owns a company differs by jurisdiction across several separate surfaces: a beneficial-ownership register and who may query it, the ordinary public company register and whether directors and members appear on it, whether nominees are permitted, and whether the jurisdiction exchanges financial-account data automatically. This matrix records each of those as its own field, from each jurisdiction's official source, without collapsing them into a privacy score.

The matrix

Last updated: 2026-09-13 · International and US jurisdictions from the pp jurisdiction roster, with divergent sub-regimes shown as their own rows

State	Bo Register Access	Bo Register Public Or Restricted	Directors Members On Public Register	Nominees Permitted	Bank Secrecy Status	Crs Aeoi Participation	Crs First Exchange Year	Fatca Status	Fatca Iga Type	Organizer Only Filing	Annual Report Disclosure	Registry Searchability	Cta Status	Fatf List Status	Eu List Status
Cook Islandschecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Restricted to competent authorities (FSC Commissioner / Financial Intelligence Unit) on request; no public-facing beneficial-ownership register exists.	N	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	No FATCA IGA in force — absent from Treasury's own jurisdiction table.	none — no intergovernmental agreement in force (see fatca_status)	Yes -- the Articles of Organisation (LLC Act 2008 s.12) require only the LLC's name, the registered agent's name/business address, and the duration period. No member, manager, or beneficial owner is named on the formation filing.	nothing-public. The annual LLC report (s.20) discloses only: (a) the LLC's name and place of organisation; (b) the name and business address of the registered agent. No member, manager, or beneficial-owner information is required or disclosed. Nominees sub-note: silent -- the report does not ask about directors/managers at all, so no nominee-standing-in question arises on this specific filing.	Not freely self-service searchable. Per the FSC (Registrar)'s own published policy, the Registrar may confirm the name of an entity, date of registration, registration number, registered office and the relevant administering trustee company contact details on request -- a request-based confirmation process, not an open public search portal.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list and black list as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I and Annex II per the 17 February 2026 Council update.
St. Kitts & Nevis — Nevischecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A -- no register exists to be public or restricted. BO information is held privately by licensed TCSPs as KYC/CDD records, disclosed only to competent authorities and AML/CFT due-diligence counterparties, never made public or available to third parties on a legitimate-interest basis.	Yes. The Articles of Incorporation must state the names and addresses of the initial directors and the incorporator (NBCO ss.19/22/24), and any person who has paid the prescribed fee is entitled, during normal hours, to examine and copy all documents filed with the Registrar of Corporations (s.28) -- a fee-based but open public-inspection right, not restricted to authorities.	Y	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	Y — participating via bilateral Model 1 IGA with the United States	Model 1, non-reciprocal (informally 'Model 1B')	No. The Articles of Incorporation require both the incorporator's name/address AND the names/addresses of initial directors (NBCO ss.19/22/24) -- not organizer-only.	Not yet researched	Public, fee-based, in-person access -- not necessarily an online searchable portal. Any person paying the prescribed fee may examine and copy documents filed with the Registrar of Corporations during normal hours (NBCO s.28).	N/A	Not on either FATF list as of the 19 June 2026 list-publication cycle. Most recent SKN-specific FATF publication: 30 Jan 2026 Mutual Evaluation Follow-Up Report ('some progress' on 2022 ME deficiencies).	Not on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions as of the 17 Feb 2026 update. Historical note: SKN was briefly added to Annex I on 2018-03-13 and removed 2018-05-25.
St. Kitts & Nevis — Federationchecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A -- no beneficial-ownership register exists to be public or restricted (see bo_register_access). The Companies Act's separate register of MEMBERS is two-tier (ordinary companies: fee-gated + declared-purpose inspection by any person, ss.45-46; private EXEMPT companies: no third-party inspection at all, ss.45(1)) but this concerns shareholders of record, not beneficial owners.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	none	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	Y -- participating via bilateral Model 1 IGA with the United States	Model 1, non-reciprocal	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	N/A	Not on either FATF list as of the 19 June 2026 list-publication cycle. Most recent SKN-specific FATF publication: 30 Jan 2026 Mutual Evaluation Follow-Up Report ('some progress' on 2022 ME deficiencies).	Not on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions as of the 17 Feb 2026 update. Historical note: SKN was briefly added to Annex I on 2018-03-13 and removed 2018-05-25.
Liechtensteinchecked 2026-09-13	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (1-22-2015)	Model 1, in force since 1-22-2015 per Treasury's own list	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Cypruschecked 2026-09-13	Unverified (no primary source yet)	Not yet researched	Y. The Companies Register maintains officer records; DRCOR's own official UBO guidance explicitly cross-references section 327(2A) of Companies Law, Cap.113 governing companies left without officers, confirming officer status is a tracked, referenceable register fact.	Y (recognized and regulated via the AML/UBO framework, NOT via Companies Law Cap.113 -- Cap.113 itself does not use or define the term nominee, verified zero occurrences in the fetched English statute text). The Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Law (188(I)/2007, as amended for AMLD4/5) defines Beneficial Owner as distinct from the registered shareholder/officer, and DRCOR's own official UBO FAQ explicitly anticipates and answers the scenario of a registered shareholder differing from the beneficial owner, treating non-identity as a normal, regulated case.	Not yet researched	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (9-21-2015)	Model 1, in force since 9-21-2015 per Treasury's own list	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	public. The Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR) operates an official eSearch in Business Entity's Registry e-service.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Jerseychecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Restricted to permitted individuals within Jersey-regulated obliged entities (and their authorised representatives), accessed via myJFSC, strictly for CDD/AML purposes under the MLO 2008 -- not public, and (per this exact page) not yet open on a legitimate-interest basis either.	Nuanced by company type. Register of MEMBERS: open during business hours to any member without charge, and to any other person on payment of a fee (Art.45(1)) -- no public/private company distinction. Register of DIRECTORS AND SECRETARIES: for a PRIVATE company, open only to the registrar, members, and directors (Art.83(2)) -- not the general public; for a PUBLIC company or a subsidiary of one, any other person may inspect on payment of a fee. Since most privacy-shopping-relevant Jersey entities are private companies, the practical default is: members register accessible to any person (on payment); directors register not accessible to the general public.	Y -- Jersey company law expressly recognizes and regulates nominee shareholding (rights held by a person as nominee for another are treated as held by the beneficial holder for multiple statutory purposes) and expressly permits corporate directors (Art.84A), a distinct, affirmative statutory authorization functioning in practice as a professional/nominee-director mechanism.	Not yet researched	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (10-28-2015)	Model 1, in force since 10-28-2015 per Treasury's own list	N -- a Jersey company's formation filing (the memorandum of association) must state actual share-subscriber details, not merely an organizer/agent; the memorandum cannot be filed naming only an agent with no subscriber/beneficial-owner information.	nothing-public for beneficial owners specifically. The Financial Services (Disclosure and Provision of Information) (Jersey) Law 2020 Art.5 requires an annual confirmation statement verifying beneficial-owner and significant-person information already held by the Jersey Financial Services Commission -- a private verification event with the Commission, not a public disclosure. The only Regulations made under this Law's public-inspection power (Art.20) cover the narrower significant person category (foundation council members, general partners -- officeholder-type roles), explicitly NOT beneficial owner (0 occurrences of beneficial owner in RO_138_2020's text). Nominees sub-note: silent on this specific filing.	Not yet researched	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Switzerlandchecked 2026-09-13	none (until TJPG enters into force)	N/A	GmbH: yes, company members (Gesellschafter) appear on the public commercial register (Art. 790). AG: directors/board members yes; shareholders generally no (see the 25% threshold exception in annual_report_disclosure, which is a private company-held register, not public).	Not yet researched	Still in force. Banking Act (SR 952.0) Art. 47: criminal offense to disclose client information entrusted in a banking/audit capacity — up to 3 years imprisonment; up to 5 years if the discloser profits; negligent disclosure fined up to CHF 250,000; duty survives termination of employment; cantonal duty-to-testify/authority-disclosure provisions expressly reserved (does not block AEOI/mutual legal assistance). Scope narrowed in substance by AEOI/CRS reporting, but the criminal secrecy provision remains codified and in force.	Y	2018	Active FATCA partner; Model 2 agreement currently in force.	Model 2 (currently in force). Model 1 signed 2024-06-27, but not expected in force before 2029-01-01 — Model 1 is NOT operative.	N -- no organizer-only anonymous formation route exists. GmbH formation requires the actual company members (Gesellschafter) to be named; Art. 790 OR: the company members, together with the number and nominal value of their capital contributions, must be entered in the commercial register.	owners-disclosed for GmbH (continuously, not via a periodic filing -- Switzerland has no US-style annual report; GmbH member identities and capital contributions are entered in the commercial register on formation and on any subsequent change, per Art. 790); officers-only for AG (directors are registered; shareholders are not, except that anyone crossing a 25% threshold must notify the COMPANY -- not the public register -- of the beneficial owner under Art. 697j-697m, retained in a private company-held register, not public). Nominees sub-note: silent (no primary provision located affirming or prohibiting nominee arrangements in this filing context).	Yes -- Zefix (the Central Business Name Index, operated by the Federal Office of Justice) is freely, publicly searchable online by business name or UID with no registration required.	N/A	Not listed. Switzerland is a FATF full member (since 1990) and does not appear on either the 19 June 2026 "Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring" (grey) list or the High-Risk Jurisdictions Call-for-Action (black) list.	NOT on Annex I (10 jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Viet Nam) or Annex II (9 jurisdictions) per the 17 February 2026 update. Switzerland previously sat on Annex II but was removed 2019-11-08 and has not reappeared since.
Monacochecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Restricted to the AML-obliged organisations/individuals named in Act 1.362/2009 Arts. 1-2, accessed only after submitting a signed declaration to the Trade and Industry Directory confirming the due-diligence purpose -- not public.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	No FATCA IGA in force — absent from Treasury's own jurisdiction table.	none — no intergovernmental agreement in force (see fatca_status)	N -- genuine associates who make real capital contributions are structurally required from formation; Art. 35-1: a SARL is constituted between two or more persons who bear losses only up to their contribution. No organizer-only formation mechanism is described.	nothing-public (as to beneficial owners specifically). Monaco's Code de Commerce requires the gerant (manager) of a SARL to submit to the RCI Service the balance sheet, profit-and-loss account, and a signed attestation each year -- a purely financial filing with no beneficial-owner, member, or shareholder disclosure content. Nominees sub-note: silent (not addressed in this provision).	Not yet researched	N/A	Listed on the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Italychecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A -- no third-party access of any kind currently exists (fully suspended, not merely public-vs-restricted). When the suspension eventually lifts under D.Lgs. 122/2026, access will be legitimate-interest gated, not public.	Y. The Registro Imprese's standard company extract (visura camerale) includes both Cariche attuali e storiche (current/historical corporate offices -- directors) and Partecipazioni attuali e storiche (current/historical shareholdings) as official register data categories.	Y, via a distinct licensed mechanism, not a generic nominee concept. Italy has no generic nominee-shareholder concept in ordinary company law, but Legge 23 novembre 1939, n.1966 licenses societa fiduciarie (fiduciary companies), supervised by Banca d'Italia, whose statutory purpose includes holding registered shares/bonds in their own name on behalf of an undisclosed principal.	none (no customer/account-holder bank-secrecy criminal statute). Art.7 of the Testo Unico Bancario (D.Lgs 385/1993) establishes only regulatory/supervisory secrecy -- confidentiality of the Bank of Italy's own supervisory data vis-a-vis other public administrations -- not a customer-facing secrecy shield, and it explicitly yields to judicial authorities investigating criminal violations and to tax authorities investigating a tax violation.	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (8-17-2015)	Model 1, in force since 8-17-2015 per Treasury's own list	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	public. The Registro delle Imprese (Register of Enterprises) is established by law and is expressly public.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Greecechecked 2026-09-13	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y. Director appointments are among the filing types published via the official GEMI publicity portal.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (12-13-2017)	Model 1, in force since 12-13-2017 per Treasury's own list	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	public, free. GEMI (the General Commercial Registry) filings and announcements -- incorporation, capital changes, director appointments, mergers, dissolution -- are freely browsable via the official publicity.businessportal.gr portal without an account.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Uruguaychecked 2026-09-13	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	No FATCA IGA in force — absent from Treasury's own jurisdiction table.	none — no intergovernmental agreement in force (see fatca_status)	No -- Ley 16.060 (Ley de Sociedades Comerciales) Art.6 requires the company contract to contain the precise identification of the parties who enter into it (individualizacion precisa de quienes lo celebren), along with company type, name, domicile, purpose, capital, contributions, and management terms. An organizer/agent-only filing that omits the actual founders does not satisfy this article.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Panamachecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Private, limited-access system (Art. 8): access restricted to (a) the legal entity's own resident agent and (b) two officials specifically designated by the Superintendencia de Sujetos no Financieros, for AML/CFT-competent-authority purposes only (Art. 14). Not searchable by the public.	Directors/officers (dignatarios) ARE on Panama's public Registro Público — Ley 32/1927 Art. 2(9) requires their names/addresses in the pacto social; NOT shareholders — shareholder identity is not a public filing requirement.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	Participating — bilateral FATCA IGA signed and in force	Model 1	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	N/A	Not listed — on neither the FATF black list nor grey list as of the current published list; removed from the grey list Oct 2023.	Listed on EU Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes), per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
United Arab Emirateschecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Split register: general 'basic data' (existence, entity type, licensing status) is public per Art.13(5)-(6); actual Beneficial Owner identity/ownership data is filed only with the Registrar and licensing authority and not published.	Unverified (no primary source yet)	Y	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	In force	Model 1, in force since 2016-02-19 per Treasury's own list (UAE MOF separately describes the underlying agreement as signed 2015-06-17, codified domestically via Federal Law No. 9 of 2016)	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	N/A	Not listed — absent from FATF's 'Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring' as of the 13 February 2026 publication (removed 2024-02-23).	Not listed on either Annex I or Annex II as of the 17 February 2026 update. UAE historically appeared on this list in earlier years (per the same historical-timeline document) but is absent from the current snapshot.
Singaporechecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Restricted to two channels only: (a) public agencies, for administering/enforcing any written law or conducting public procurement, and (b) financial institutions, for customer due diligence to prevent money laundering/terrorism financing or to comply with Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 directions. No general public access to the Central Register of Controllers.	Yes -- directors, company secretary, and members (shareholders) are on ACRA's business register and searchable/purchasable via Bizfile; distinct from the RORC beneficial-owner register, which is private.	Y -- Singapore's Companies Act and these Regulations dedicate entire statutory apparatus to nominee arrangements: Part 3 establishes a Register of Nominee Directors (ss.9-10, particulars of the person for whom a director is nominee under s.386AL of the Act) and Part 3A establishes a Register of Nominee Shareholders (ss.10A-10B, particulars of the person for whom a shareholder is nominee under s.386ALB of the Act). A dedicated statutory register-and-disclosure regime built specifically around nominee directors/shareholders is affirmative recognition that such arrangements are permitted, not mere silence or presupposition.	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	In force (1-1-2021)	Model 1, in force since 1-1-2021 per Treasury's own list (supersedes an earlier Model 1 arrangement in force 3-28-2015 to 12-31-2020)	No -- Singapore's incorporation process via Bizfile requires naming position holders (director/company secretary) and shareholders at Step 3, and since 16 June 2025 also requires filing beneficial-owner (Register of Registrable Controllers) information on the same day as registration. There is no organizer-only path that omits beneficial-owner identification.	officers-and-registered-members-only, not beneficial owners. The annual return contains key details including directors, the company secretary, and members -- registered directors/secretary/shareholders publicly, but not beneficial-owner (RORC) status, which is a separate, private register. Nominees sub-note: silent (not independently confirmed whether nominee officers may stand in on the annual return itself).	Yes, freely searchable without login for basic information (status, registered address); a paid Business Profile (S$5.50) is required for full particulars including officer/shareholder names.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Hong Kongchecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Company-held (at the registered office), not filed centrally with the Companies Registry; open to inspection by law enforcement officers on demand only per this official overview page. No general public or 'legitimate interest' access tier is described.	Yes for ordinary directors/members (via the annual return filed with the Registrar, a public record) -- but no for the deeper beneficial-ownership layer: the Significant Controllers Register is company-held and only the significant controller named in it may inspect their own entry; the public has no inspection right, and law-enforcement access requires a Court order.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	In force (7-6-2016)	Model 2, in force since 7-6-2016 per Treasury's own list	No -- the incorporation form for a Hong Kong company must, in relation to each founder member of the company, contain the particulars specified in section 2 of Schedule 2 (Companies Ordinance Cap 622 s.68(1)(b)). Founder members (the real initial shareholders) must be named on the public incorporation filing; there is no organizer-only path.	officers-and-registered-members-only, not beneficial owners. Schedule 6 Part 1 requires the annual return to contain particulars relating to members and share capital and particulars with respect to any person who at the date of the return is a director or reserve director, and any person who is a company secretary. The Significant Controllers Register (true beneficial-owner register) is separate and not part of the annual return. Nominees sub-note: silent on the annual-return question itself.	Not yet researched	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Estoniachecked 2026-09-13	authorities-only	Restricted to authenticated users with a legal right/contract to view BO data, or to an approved legitimate-interest applicant; unauthenticated/public users see only that access is restricted, not any BO identity.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (7-9-2014)	Model 1, in force since 7-9-2014 per Treasury's own list	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Yes -- Estonia's e-Business Register (Ariregister, operated by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems, Registration Department of Tartu County Court as registrar) offers free public Quick search and Detailed search of entity records, requiring no login, separate from the restricted beneficial-owners-specific query (which this row's existing bo_register_access cell already documents as authorities-only).	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Vanuatuchecked 2026-09-13	none. The public Register of Foundations (s.46(2)) does not include founder or beneficial-owner details -- only councillor/secretary names. Beneficial-owner information is collected confidentially by the Commissioner at the application stage (s.6(2)(d)(ia)-(ib)) but is not published into the public Register, and is itself confidential information under Part 7A (ss.34A-34B), disclosable only via enumerated statutory gateways (court order, AML/CFT authorities, law enforcement, regulators, sanctions body) -- not a public or authorities-general-access BO register.	N/A	Yes. The Register of Foundations, which the Commissioner must make available for public inspection during business hours (s.46(3)), must contain the names of the foundation's councillors and secretary (s.46(2)(e)).	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2018 (first exchange September 2018)	No FATCA IGA in force — absent from Treasury's own jurisdiction table.	none — no intergovernmental agreement in force (see fatca_status)	No. The mandatory application for registration (s.6(2)(d)(ia)-(ib)) requires the details of each key person and the details of any beneficial owner of a key person -- a foundation cannot be formed on an organizer/agent-only filing. (This BO information is collected confidentially by the Commissioner and does not itself appear on the public s.46 Register -- see bo_register_access; the two fields answer different questions and are not in tension.)	officers-only. The annual return (s.52) must contain the full name and address of each councillor who is an individual and, for a corporate councillor, its name/place of incorporation/registered-office address -- councillor (officer-equivalent) detail, not a confirmed beneficial owner. Nominees sub-note: silent -- s.4A's beneficial-owner look-through provision presupposes nominee/proxy councillor arrangements can occur, but does not itself state that such arrangements are affirmatively PERMITTED (only how to attribute beneficial ownership if they occur); per ruling (f) this falls short of an affirmative permission finding.	Public inspection confirmed (s.46(3): the Commissioner must make the Register available for inspection by the public during the Commissioner's business hours) -- but a two-tier split applies: the Register's own contents (name, dates, private/public status, councillor/secretary names, charter copy) are public; the underlying filed documents are separately restricted (s.46(4)) to the guardian/councillor or an authorised agent only (s.46(5)). Business-hours access, not confirmed as an online searchable database.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update. Historically grey-listed in the past (pre-2026); the current list does not include it.	Listed on Annex I (EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes)
United Kingdomchecked 2026-09-13	public	A registrable person's usual residential address, and the fact that their service address IS their residential address, are protected from public disclosure (the same protection given to directors' residential addresses under ss.240-244) -- shown only as a service address on the public register. Other required particulars (name, service address, country of residence, nationality, nature of control) are on the public register.	Y -- required particulars of a registrable person (a person with significant control) are filed and form part of the public register (subject to the residential-address protections above); the regime is centrally held and Companies House-published, materially restructured by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which repealed the older company-held-register provisions ss.161A-167F and Part 21A Chapter 3 in favour of the central register.	Not yet researched	Not yet researched	Y	2017 (first exchange September 2017)	In force (8-11-2014)	Model 1, in force since 8-11-2014 per Treasury's own list	N -- Companies Act 2006 s.9 requires the application for registration to include a statement of required information about each of the memorandum's actual subscribers, even when an agent delivers the application on the subscribers' behalf; an application naming only an agent/organizer with no subscriber information does not satisfy the section.	Not yet researched	Y -- Companies House's Find and Update service is the UK's free, public company-search portal, requiring no login.	N/A	Not listed — absent from both the FATF grey list (Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring) and black list (High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action) as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not listed — absent from both Annex I (non-cooperative jurisdictions) and Annex II (cooperative jurisdictions with pending commitments) per the 17 February 2026 Council/Commission update.
Wyomingchecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A -- no BO register exists to be public or restricted. The state's general entity registry (name/registered agent/sometimes manager, per organizer_only_filing/annual_report_disclosure above) is separate from beneficial-ownership disclosure and does not capture beneficial owners as such.	No -- neither at formation nor on the annual report/list (see organizer_only_filing, annual_report_disclosure).	Y	No state-level bank-secrecy criminal statute exists or would be operative -- banking/AML regulation of this kind is occupied by federal law. The federal Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. Sec.5311 et seq.) is, despite its name, a DISCLOSURE/reporting-mandate statute (requiring banks to report suspicious activity and large transactions), not a secrecy-protection statute -- the opposite of the Swiss-style criminal-secrecy regime this field is designed to capture.	N	N/A	Not a foreign IGA-partner jurisdiction -- as a US State, this jurisdiction's LLCs/entities are domestic US entities for FATCA purposes (26 U.S.C. ch. 4); FATCA is unilateral US federal law here, not a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.	N/A	Organizer-only at formation -- no member/manager names required in the formation filing itself.	Annual report does not require member/manager names -- no disclosure provision found on this filing.	Publicly and freely searchable by entity name at the Secretary of State's online business-entity search portal (no login/fee for a basic name search).	Exempt -- under FinCEN's March 26, 2025 interim final rule (made permanent by the August 11, 2026 final rule, effective August 14, 2026), 'reporting company' now means only entities formed under FOREIGN law and registered to do business in a US State; all US-formed ('domestic') entities, including those formed under this State's own LLC/corporation act, are exempt from federal Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting entirely.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- FATF lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States (of which this State is a constituent part) is not listed on either the FATF black list or grey list as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- the EU lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States is not listed on either Annex I or Annex II as of the 17 February 2026 Council update.
Nevadachecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A	Yes, but may show a non-owner manager rather than the true beneficial owner -- NRS 86.161(1)(d) requires the initial manager or member on the Articles; the Annual List (NRS 86.263) yearly identifies managers or managing members under a perjury declaration that bars only fraudulent-intent concealment, not bona fide non-owner management.	Y	No state-level bank-secrecy criminal statute exists or would be operative -- banking/AML regulation of this kind is occupied by federal law. The federal Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. Sec.5311 et seq.) is, despite its name, a DISCLOSURE/reporting-mandate statute (requiring banks to report suspicious activity and large transactions), not a secrecy-protection statute -- the opposite of the Swiss-style criminal-secrecy regime this field is designed to capture.	N	N/A	Not a foreign IGA-partner jurisdiction -- as a US State, this jurisdiction's LLCs/entities are domestic US entities for FATCA purposes (26 U.S.C. ch. 4); FATCA is unilateral US federal law here, not a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.	N/A	Not literally organizer-alone -- NRS 86.161(1) always requires both an organizer's name/address AND either an initial manager's or initial member's name/address. However, if manager-managed is elected, only the manager need be named, and NRS 86.291(3) confirms a manager may but need not be a member -- so a true beneficial owner need never appear on the Articles of Organization even though the field's strict organizer-alone condition is not met.	officers-only -- the Annual List (NRS 86.263) publicly names managers/managing members, not necessarily beneficial owners, since a manager need not be a member (NRS 86.291(3)). Nominees sub-note: Y.	Yes -- Nevada's SilverFlume/SoS entity search (esos.nv.gov) is public and free, no login required.	Exempt -- under FinCEN's March 26, 2025 interim final rule (made permanent by the August 11, 2026 final rule, effective August 14, 2026), 'reporting company' now means only entities formed under FOREIGN law and registered to do business in a US State; all US-formed ('domestic') entities, including those formed under this State's own LLC/corporation act, are exempt from federal Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting entirely.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- FATF lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States (of which this State is a constituent part) is not listed on either the FATF black list or grey list as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- the EU lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States is not listed on either Annex I or Annex II as of the 17 February 2026 Council update.
South Dakotachecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A	Depends on management structure -- if manager-managed, managers' names/addresses appear on both the Articles (47-34A-203(a)(6)) and the Annual Report. If member-managed, SDCL 59-11-24(5)(b) explicitly exempts the LLC from naming any governors on the annual report at all -- the strongest ownership-non-disclosure mechanism found across the US states researched this pass.	Not yet researched	No state-level bank-secrecy criminal statute exists or would be operative -- banking/AML regulation of this kind is occupied by federal law. The federal Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. Sec.5311 et seq.) is, despite its name, a DISCLOSURE/reporting-mandate statute (requiring banks to report suspicious activity and large transactions), not a secrecy-protection statute -- the opposite of the Swiss-style criminal-secrecy regime this field is designed to capture.	N	N/A	Not a foreign IGA-partner jurisdiction -- as a US State, this jurisdiction's LLCs/entities are domestic US entities for FATCA purposes (26 U.S.C. ch. 4); FATCA is unilateral US federal law here, not a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.	N/A	Yes -- SDCL 47-34A-203(a) requires the name, registered-office address, registered-agent info, and organizer name/address; member names are never required regardless of management structure, and manager names are required only if manager-managed.	nothing-public if member-managed (governors need not be named at all, SDCL 59-11-24(5)(b)); officers-only if manager-managed (governors = managers, named, but need not be owners under general LLC principle). Nominees sub-note: silent.	Yes -- South Dakota's SoS business filing search (sosenterprise.sd.gov) is public and free, no login required.	Exempt -- under FinCEN's March 26, 2025 interim final rule (made permanent by the August 11, 2026 final rule, effective August 14, 2026), 'reporting company' now means only entities formed under FOREIGN law and registered to do business in a US State; all US-formed ('domestic') entities, including those formed under this State's own LLC/corporation act, are exempt from federal Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting entirely.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- FATF lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States (of which this State is a constituent part) is not listed on either the FATF black list or grey list as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- the EU lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States is not listed on either Annex I or Annex II as of the 17 February 2026 Council update.
Delawarechecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A	No -- Sec.18-201(a) never requires naming members or managers on the Certificate of Formation, and Delaware LLCs file no separate ownership-disclosure document.	Not yet researched	No state-level bank-secrecy criminal statute exists or would be operative -- banking/AML regulation of this kind is occupied by federal law. The federal Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. Sec.5311 et seq.) is, despite its name, a DISCLOSURE/reporting-mandate statute (requiring banks to report suspicious activity and large transactions), not a secrecy-protection statute -- the opposite of the Swiss-style criminal-secrecy regime this field is designed to capture.	N	N/A	Not a foreign IGA-partner jurisdiction -- as a US State, this jurisdiction's LLCs/entities are domestic US entities for FATCA purposes (26 U.S.C. ch. 4); FATCA is unilateral US federal law here, not a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.	N/A	Yes -- Delaware's Certificate of Formation (6 Del. C. Sec.18-201(a)) requires only the LLC's name, registered agent name/address, and any other matters the members determine to include -- no member, manager, or beneficial owner need ever be named.	nothing-public -- Delaware LLCs do not file a substantive annual report at all; 6 Del. C. Sec.18-1107(b) requires only a flat $400 annual tax payment, with no ownership or management disclosure of any kind. Nominees sub-note: silent (no filing exists to name anyone).	Yes -- Delaware's Division of Corporations entity-name search (ICIS) is public and free, no login required.	Exempt -- under FinCEN's March 26, 2025 interim final rule (made permanent by the August 11, 2026 final rule, effective August 14, 2026), 'reporting company' now means only entities formed under FOREIGN law and registered to do business in a US State; all US-formed ('domestic') entities, including those formed under this State's own LLC/corporation act, are exempt from federal Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting entirely.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- FATF lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States (of which this State is a constituent part) is not listed on either the FATF black list or grey list as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- the EU lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States is not listed on either Annex I or Annex II as of the 17 February 2026 Council update.
Floridachecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A -- no BO register exists to be public or restricted. The state's general entity registry (name/registered agent/sometimes manager, per organizer_only_filing/annual_report_disclosure above) is separate from beneficial-ownership disclosure and does not capture beneficial owners as such.	Annual report DOES require manager/managing-member disclosure: Fla. Stat. 605.0212(1)(e): '(e) The name, title or capacity, and address of at least one person who has the authority to manage the company.' -- required on the annual report.	Not yet researched	No state-level bank-secrecy criminal statute exists or would be operative -- banking/AML regulation of this kind is occupied by federal law. The federal Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. Sec.5311 et seq.) is, despite its name, a DISCLOSURE/reporting-mandate statute (requiring banks to report suspicious activity and large transactions), not a secrecy-protection statute -- the opposite of the Swiss-style criminal-secrecy regime this field is designed to capture.	N	N/A	Not a foreign IGA-partner jurisdiction -- as a US State, this jurisdiction's LLCs/entities are domestic US entities for FATCA purposes (26 U.S.C. ch. 4); FATCA is unilateral US federal law here, not a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.	N/A	Organizer-only at formation -- no member/manager names required in the formation filing itself.	Annual report DOES require manager/managing-member disclosure: Fla. Stat. 605.0212(1)(e): '(e) The name, title or capacity, and address of at least one person who has the authority to manage the company.' -- required on the annual report.	Publicly and freely searchable by entity name at the Secretary of State's online business-entity search portal (no login/fee for a basic name search).	Exempt -- under FinCEN's March 26, 2025 interim final rule (made permanent by the August 11, 2026 final rule, effective August 14, 2026), 'reporting company' now means only entities formed under FOREIGN law and registered to do business in a US State; all US-formed ('domestic') entities, including those formed under this State's own LLC/corporation act, are exempt from federal Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting entirely.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- FATF lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States (of which this State is a constituent part) is not listed on either the FATF black list or grey list as of the 19 June 2026 update.	Not applicable at the sub-national level -- the EU lists sovereign jurisdictions; the United States is not listed on either Annex I or Annex II as of the 17 February 2026 Council update.
Puerto Ricochecked 2026-09-13	none	N/A	Unverified (no primary source yet)	Not yet researched	Unverified (no primary source yet)	N	N/A	Not a foreign IGA-partner jurisdiction -- as a US territory, this jurisdiction's entities are domestic US entities for FATCA purposes (26 U.S.C. ch. 4); FATCA is unilateral US federal law here, not a bilateral intergovernmental agreement.	N/A	Unverified (no primary source yet)	Unverified (no primary source yet)	Unverified (no primary source yet)	Exempt — Puerto Rico is a 'State' under 31 U.S.C. §5336(a)(12), so a PR-formed LLC is a domestic (not foreign) entity; under FinCEN's March 26, 2025 interim final rule (made permanent by the August 11, 2026 final rule, effective August 14, 2026), 'reporting company' now means only foreign-formed entities registered to do business in a US State — all domestic entities, PR-formed ones included, are exempt from BOI reporting entirely.	Not listed — the US (which PR falls under for FATF purposes) is a FATF member country, not on the black list.	Not listed — Puerto Rico does not appear on the EU's Annex I non-cooperative list, notably unlike three other US territories (American Samoa, Guam, US Virgin Islands) which are listed.

Field definitions

Bo Register Access: Beneficial-ownership register access tier.
Bo Register Public Or Restricted: Descriptive detail on the access restriction mechanism, where bo_register_access is not a bare 'public' or 'none'.
Directors Members On Public Register: Whether directors, shareholders, or members appear on a public register.
Nominees Permitted: Whether nominee directors/shareholders/members are permitted.
Bank Secrecy Status: Whether a bank-secrecy criminal statute remains in force, and its scope.
Crs Aeoi Participation: Whether the jurisdiction participates in the Common Reporting Standard / Automatic Exchange of Information.
Crs First Exchange Year: The year of first CRS exchange, if participating.
Fatca Status: FATCA participation status.
Fatca Iga Type: The FATCA intergovernmental-agreement model (Model 1 / Model 2 / none).
Organizer Only Filing: Whether an entity can be formed with only an organizer/agent/incorporator named on the public formation filing, with no beneficial owner named. Jurisdiction-neutral (amended 2026-09-13; was US-specific).
Annual Report Disclosure: What the periodic filing (US annual report; UK confirmation statement; annual return elsewhere) discloses to the PUBLIC about BENEFICIAL OWNERS specifically, and whether nominee officers/directors are permitted to stand in place of the real controllers on that filing. Encode: owners-disclosed | officers-only | nothing-public, plus nominees-permitted Y/N/silent with pinpoint. Jurisdiction-neutral (amended 2026-09-13 per operator; was US-specific 'managers/members').
Registry Searchability: Whether the jurisdiction's company/entity register is publicly and freely searchable by entity name (e.g. a US Secretary of State portal, Companies House, Zefix, ACRA, the DIFC/ADGM registers). Jurisdiction-neutral (amended 2026-09-13; was US-specific).
Cta Status: US Corporate Transparency Act applicability/exemption status post the March-2025 domestic-entity exemption.
Fatf List Status: FATF grey-list / black-list status and date.
Eu List Status: EU Annex I/II non-cooperative-jurisdiction list status and date.

Field definitions are listed below the table. Hover a cell for its source note. Typed unknowns (e.g., “Portal not observable”) are methodological limits, not data gaps.

Research scope

Rows are the jurisdictions on the Private Pierce international roster, plus six US jurisdictions — Wyoming, Nevada, South Dakota, Delaware, Florida, and Puerto Rico. The US rows are here because they legislate on this same axis and are the jurisdictions readers most often hold up against an offshore option; putting them in the same table on the same fields lets the statutory terms be read against each other instead of described in two separate vocabularies. Where a jurisdiction runs more than one regime, the divergent regimes appear as their own rows directly beneath the parent. Cells that read as not established or unknown are typed unknowns — the research pass did not confirm that field against an official source, the reason is on hover, and they will be backfilled through this same data file rather than by rewriting this page.

How to read this matrix

Each row is a jurisdiction. bo_register_access and bo_register_public_or_restricted describe the beneficial-ownership register and who may query it; directors_members_on_public_register covers the separate ordinary company register. nominees_permitted records whether nominee shareholders or directors are allowed. bank_secrecy_status, crs_aeoi_participation, crs_first_exchange_year, fatca_status, and fatca_iga_type describe cross-border financial information exchange, which is a different surface from public searchability. organizer_only_filing, annual_report_disclosure, and registry_searchability describe what formation and ongoing filings put on the record and how findable it is. cta_status, fatf_list_status, and eu_list_status record external reporting and listing status. Sub-rows carry values for a divergent regime inside a parent jurisdiction.

What this page does not claim

It does not claim anonymity. A restricted register limits public searchability; it does not limit regulator, law-enforcement, or bank access, and this page makes no claim about what any authority can obtain.
It does not score or rank privacy. The fields are recorded separately precisely because they are not commensurable, and no composite is published.
It does not guarantee currency. Register-access rules and listing statuses change frequently; foreign law is described as published and may have changed since it was read.

Sources

Each row links to one primary official domain for that jurisdiction, chosen as its lead source. Every published cell carries its own pinpoint citation, source URL, and the first segment of the snapshot hash of the document it was read from, visible on hover; the snapshots themselves are retained on file. Where a jurisdiction publishes a consolidated text, the consolidation date it was read at is recorded with the underlying matrix rather than restated here. The full source taxonomy lives at /about/source-registry/, and the research method at /about/methodology/.

Not legal advice

Private Pierce is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or immigration advice, and it is not a recommendation to use any jurisdiction; foreign law is described from official sources as published and may have changed — consult counsel licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

What does register access measure?

Whether a beneficial-ownership register exists in the jurisdiction and who may query it — the general public, a legitimate-interest class, or authorities only. A separate field records whether directors and members appear on the ordinary public company register, which is a different disclosure surface from the beneficial-ownership register.

How do CRS and FATCA fit into ownership visibility?

They describe automatic exchange of financial-account information between tax authorities, not public registry visibility. A jurisdiction can have a restricted beneficial-ownership register and still exchange account data under CRS or a FATCA agreement, so the matrix records those as their own fields rather than folding them into a single privacy score.

Does this matrix rank jurisdictions by privacy?

No. It records each field as published by the jurisdiction's own official source, with sub-regime rows shown separately where a jurisdiction's rules diverge. There is no composite score and no ordering; reading across the fields is the reader's own exercise.

Why do so many cells read as unknown?

Registry-access and listing-status facts are the hardest fields to source to a primary official document, and a cell publishes only when this pass confirmed it there. Everything else is held as an unknown with its reason visible rather than filled from secondary summaries. Those cells are queued for backfill through this same data file.