Beneficial-Ownership Transparency by Jurisdiction
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
| 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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/A | N/A | N/A | 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. | Not yet researched | 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') | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | Not yet researched | Not yet researched | 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 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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. | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Not yet researched | 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 | N/A | N/A | 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) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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/A | N/A | N/A | 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. | Not yet researched | Not yet researched | Not yet researched | Y | 2017 (first exchange September 2017) | In force (8-17-2015) | Model 1, in force since 8-17-2015 per Treasury's own list | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | Not yet researched | 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 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | Central RORC (Register of Registrable Controllers) is filed with ACRA but disclosure is governed by 'prescribed circumstances' (s.10D of the 2017 Regulations), not general public access; ACRA's own RORC guidance describes it as a private register used for regulatory/AML purposes. | Not yet researched | Y | 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) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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. | Not yet researched | 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 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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. | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Not yet researched | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Y | 2017 (first exchange September 2017) | In force (7-9-2014) | Model 1, in force since 7-9-2014 per Treasury's own list | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | 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) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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/A | N/A | N/A | 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). | 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 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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 | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Unverified (no primary source yet) | 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 | Not yet researched | Unverified (no primary source yet) | Not yet researched | Unverified (no primary source yet) | N | N/A | N/A | 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. |
Hover column headers to see field definitions. Hover cell text to see source notes. 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.
Go deeper with source-backed research
Explore methodology, datasets, and related matrices cited on this page.