« Back to Glossary Index

A public registry is an official database of Legal Entities within a jurisdiction. Public registries can include company information, addresses, directors, beneficial owners, and other related and relevant information. 

Corporate registries and government records (such as Companies House in the UK) do not verify the data submitted to them, which makes them an unsuitable and unreliable source for identity verification. While public registries can be used as a data point, they are not to be considered a source of truth.

The registries who perform identity verification require face-to-face contact with a local notary, which makes it difficult to do business with these jurisdictions from abroad—and often impossible during COVID-19.

« Back to Glossary Index