Due diligence

Where we can check an applicant's registration

Plinth checks a grant applicant against the official register in 51 countries. Registers vary wildly in what they publish, so each is ranked by how much it actually tells you.

51

Countries covered

55

Official registers wired in

41

Report current standing

6

Jurisdictions blocked

Depth of registry data

Full profileStanding plus detailStanding confirmedDetail without standingExistence onlyCorroboration only

Everywhere else

No registry — web research fallbackBlocked — sanctions

How the ranking works

Each register is graded on what its lookup returns: current standing, the people responsible, and accounts or filings. Every card below lists the fields it actually parses, so you can check the grade.

Full profile7

Current standing, the people responsible, and accounts or filings.

Standing plus detail12

Current standing, plus the governing body or the filings — not both.

Standing confirmed21

Says whether the organisation is active, dissolved, struck off or revoked. Nothing on governance or money.

Detail without standing6

Names the governing body or carries filings, but publishes no status — so it cannot tell you the registration is still live.

Existence only5

Confirms the organisation is on the register under that identifier, and nothing more.

Corroboration only4

Supports a claim but cannot settle one: partial coverage, name-only matching, or adverse entries alone. Absence proves nothing.

Catalogued, no lookup1

The identifier format is known, so an application is classified correctly, but no lookup runs.

Every register, ranked

Showing 56 of 56 registers.

Australia

ACNC Charity Register

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission

Full profileOpen-data query
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Published weekly rather than live, so a very recent registration or revocation may not appear yet.

What the lookup returns (12 fields)
abnnameotherNamesaddresswebsiteregistrationDateestablishedDatecharitySizeresponsiblePersonsfinancialYearEndoperatingStatesoperatingCountries

Estonia

e-Business Register

Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK)

Full profileOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Covers companies, non-profit associations and foundations. The official record carries officers' personal identification codes; those are discarded rather than stored.

What the lookup returns (9 fields)
nameregistryCodelegalFormlegalFormSubtypestatusregisteredOnaddressofficerslatestAnnualReport

Guernsey

Guernsey Registry

Guernsey Registry

Full profileLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

A Crown Dependency with its own registry, not a UK register. One portal spans several sub-registers and the number's prefix says which: CH a charity, NP or NPO a non-profit, FND a foundation, CMP a company, LP a partnership. An NR number is a name reservation rather than an organisation, and is reported as such instead of as a missing entity. Standing distinguishes default, winding up, dissolution and succession.

What the lookup returns (9 fields)
registrationNumbernamestatusstatusEffectiveDateentityTyperegisteredDateaddressannualReturnDueDateofficers

Latvia

Register of Enterprises

Uzņēmumu reģistrs

Full profileOpen-data query
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Officers with their positions and governing body, which annual reports have been filed, and a standing that separates liquidation from reorganisation. The Register of Enterprises covers several registers at once — associations and foundations are the usual Latvian NGO forms and share a number space with companies, so read the entity type rather than assuming.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
registrationNumbernameregisterNameentityTyperegisteredterminatedclosedCodeaddressofficersfilings

United Kingdom

Charity Commission

Charity Commission for England and Wales

Full profileLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Trustees and regulatory flags are requested explicitly. Accounts-basis rules differ by legal form — a non-company charity below the threshold using receipts-and-payments is exercising a legal option, not a compliance gap.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
charityNumbernamestatustrusteesregulatoryFlagsfinancialHistorygoverningDocumentareaOfOperation

United Kingdom

Companies House

Companies House

Full profileLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The company register, not a charity one — a charitable company appears here, but its charity status and trustee duties sit with the Charity Commission.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
companyNumbercompanyNamecompanyStatusdirectorsincorporationDateregisteredOfficeaccountsfilingHistory

Zambia

PACRA

Patents and Companies Registration Agency

Full profileLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

This is the companies register — right for a company limited by guarantee, which is the usual Zambian NGO form, but an organisation registered only under the NGO Act with the Registrar of NGOs will not appear.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
entityNumbernamecompanyTypestatusregistrationDatenatureOfBusinessisicClassificationannualReturnnominalCapitalbeneficialOwnercomplianceFlags

Belgium

KBO / BCE

Crossroads Bank for Enterprises

Standing plus detailOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

KBO/BCE registers every Belgian legal entity, so it covers a VZW/ASBL non-profit as well as a company — the legal form on the record is what tells them apart. It names directors and reports both status and legal situation, and it distinguishes a number that was never issued from one that fails its check digits, so a typo is not reported as "not registered".

What the lookup returns (9 fields)
enterpriseNumbernamestatuslegalSituationlegalFormentityTypestartDateaddressdirectors

Bulgaria

Commercial Register and Register of NPLEs

Търговски регистър и регистър на ЮЛНЦ

Standing plus detailLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Non-profit legal entities were merged into the commercial register in 2018, so one source covers Bulgarian NGOs and companies alike, and the non-profit records are the richer of the two. Standing separates a struck-off entity from one winding up, and names a successor where there is one.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
uicnamefullNamelegalFormofficersactivitiesstandingsuccessor

Croatia

Court Register

Ministry of Justice (Sudski registar)

Standing plus detailOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Croatian associations are registered separately, so this covers only legal persons in the Court Register. Representatives are counted, not named.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
namembsoibeuidcourtproceedingsStatuslegalFormaddressfinancialReportYearspublicRepresentativeCount

Ecuador

Supercias

Superintendencia de Compañías

Standing plus detailScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The published export excludes companies whose registration was cancelled, so absence is never proof of non-existence or of a clean strike-off.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
rucexpedientenamelegalStatuscompanyTypeincorporationDateprovincecantonrepresentativerepresentativeRolelastBalanceYear

Israel

Registrar of Associations

רשם העמותות, Ministry of Justice

Standing plus detailOpen-data query
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Alongside status and real income and expenditure figures, this returns the אישור ניהול תקין (proper-management certificate) year by year — the signal an Israeli funder actually asks for, since most public funding is conditional on holding one. A failed certificate query is reported as unknown rather than as none held. Amuta numbers begin 58; a 51-prefixed number is a public-benefit company under a different registrar.

What the lookup returns (14 fields)
amutaNumbernameHebrewnameEnglishstatusstatusUpdatedregisteredDateobjectsactivityClassificationincomeShekelsexpenditureShekelsfinancialYearemployeesvolunteersmembers

Jersey

Jersey Charity Register

Jersey Charity Commissioner

Standing plus detailOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

A Crown Dependency with its own regulator — this is not one of the UK registers, and a Jersey charity will not appear in the Charity Commission's. Covers registered Jersey charities only, and publishes annual-return status alongside registry status.

What the lookup returns (5 fields)
registrationNumbernameregistrationDateregistryStatusannualReturnStatus

New Zealand

Charities Register

Charities Services

Standing plus detailLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

An official OData feed with deregistration dates and reasons — one of the more complete negative signals available anywhere.

What the lookup returns (12 fields)
organisationIdnamecharityRegistrationNumberregistrationStatusdateRegisteredderegistrationDatederegistrationReasonsannualReturnDueDatelegalStructureentityStructurecharitablePurposecompaniesOfficeNumber

Singapore

Charity Portal

Commissioner of Charities

Standing plus detailLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The richest governance data of any registry in the catalogue — named governing members and key officers, plus charity and IPC status with validity dates.

What the lookup returns (13 fields)
charityNameuenregistrationTypecharityStatusipcStatusipcValidFromipcValidTillprimarySectoractivitiesregistrationDatederegistrationDategoverningMemberskeyOfficers

Taiwan

MOEA company registration

Ministry of Economic Affairs

Standing plus detailOpen-data query
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Company data with revocation and suspension dates, plus the responsible person. It cannot speak to foundation, association, charity or fundraising-permission status.

What the lookup returns (12 fields)
businessAccountingNumbernamestatuscaseStatusresponsibleNamelocationregisterOrganisationsetupDatechangeApprovalDaterevokeDatesuspensionStartDatesuspensionEndDate

United Kingdom

OSCR

Scottish Charity Regulator

Standing plus detailLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Scottish audit thresholds differ from England and Wales — do not apply the £1m figure to an OSCR-registered charity.

What the lookup returns (7 fields)
charityNumbernamestatusconstitutionalFormannualReturnmostRecentYearIncomemostRecentYearExpenditure

United Kingdom

CCNI

Charity Commission for Northern Ireland

Standing plus detailLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Northern Irish thresholds track Scotland's rather than England and Wales'.

What the lookup returns (7 fields)
registrationNumbernamestatuscharityTypetotalIncometotalSpendingdateRegistered

United States

IRS / Form 990

Internal Revenue Service (via ProPublica)

Standing plus detailLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

By far the deepest financial data in the catalogue — the full 990 series, plus computed months-of-cash, programme-expense and fundraising-efficiency ratios. Board members are counted, not named.

What the lookup returns (12 fields)
einnameaddresssubsectionCodefilingstotalRevenuetotalFunctionalExpensestotalAssetstotalLiabilitiesnetAssetsvotingMembersindependentVotingMembers

Bangladesh

NGO Affairs Bureau

NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB)

Standing confirmedScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Registration validity is date-bounded — check validUntil rather than assuming a listed NGO is current.

What the lookup returns (5 fields)
registrationNumberregistrationDaterenewedOnvalidUntilcancelledDate

Brazil

CNPJ

Receita Federal

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Every Brazilian legal entity resolves here, so there is no charity/company split to reconcile. Awards are also screened against the CEPIM, CEIS and CNEP debarment lists.

What the lookup returns (12 fields)
cnpjlegalNametradingNameregistrationStatusregistrationStatusDateregistrationStatusReasonlegalFormlegalFormCodeincorporationDateprimaryActivitysecondaryActivitiesmunicipality

Colombia

RUES

Confecámaras / chambers of commerce

Standing confirmedScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The NIT is usually written with a check digit after a hyphen. That digit is a checksum rather than part of the identifier, and is not treated as one.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
nitcheckDigitlegalNamematriculachamberOfCommercechamberCoderegistrationCategoryentityTypelegalFormprimaryActivityCode

Costa Rica

Hacienda taxpayer status

Ministerio de Hacienda

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Tax registration and compliance flags only. The National Registry extract remains the corporate registration source of record.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
namelegalPersonIdidentificationTyperegimeCoderegimeDescriptiontaxDebtormissingReturnstaxStatustaxAdministrationactivities

Czechia

ARES

Ministry of Finance

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Collates the underlying public registers, covering public-benefit companies, foundations and associations.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
iconameaddresslegalFormCodecreatedDatedissolvedDatelastUpdatedvatNumberprimarySourcenaceCodessourceStatuses

Finland

PRH / YTJ

Finnish Patent and Registration Office

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Carries several independent status fields — trade-register status, business-ID status and 'situations' such as bankruptcy — which must be read together.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
businessIdnamealiaseslegalFormCodelegalForminTradeRegistertradeRegisterStatusbusinessIdStatussituationsregistrationDateendDate

France

Annuaire des Entreprises

French state (SIRENE / RNA)

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Establishes legal-unit existence, administrative status, the association flag and the RNA identifier. It does not expose governing documents or filings.

What the lookup returns (12 fields)
sirensiretrnanamesigleadministrativeStatusisAssociationisSocialAndSolidarityEconomylegalFormCodeactivityCodecreationDateclosureDate

Georgia

NAPR Business Registry

National Agency of Public Registry

Standing confirmedOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Four fields only. Results are published in Georgian even from the English page.

What the lookup returns (4 fields)
identificationCodenamelegalFormstatus

Ghana

NPO Secretariat

Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Licence-based: check the expiry date rather than treating a listing as evidence of a current licence.

What the lookup returns (9 fields)
namelicenceNumbercategorynpoTyperegiondistrictissueDateexpiryDatestatus

India

FCRA

Ministry of Home Affairs

Standing confirmedScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

FCRA is a gate, not one check among several: an Indian organisation may only receive foreign money if it holds live FCRA registration, and only about 14,400 do. This queries the active register, so a hit is evidence of current clearance. A miss is not — the cancelled and lapsed lists were withdrawn in 2022, so absence is reported as "not on the active register", never as "not FCRA-registered".

What the lookup returns (6 fields)
registrationNumbernameaddressnatureOfActivitiesstateCodestateName

Japan

Corporate Number

National Tax Agency

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

A corporate-number verification. It is not a charity, NPO-corporation, tax, accounts or governance register.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
corporateNumbernamekindaddresspostCodeassignmentDateupdateDatecloseDatecloseCausesuccessorCorporateNumberenName

Malawi

NGORA

NGO Regulatory Authority

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Covers organisations registered with the NGO Regulatory Authority only.

What the lookup returns (5 fields)
idnameabbreviationstatusregistrationNumber

Malta

Voluntary Organisations register

Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Enrolment is the whole answer here: the register is published as two lists, enrolled and cancelled, rather than as a status field, and those two are the entire register. It covers enrolled voluntary organisations, so a Maltese body that never enrolled is simply outside it.

What the lookup returns (5 fields)
voNumbervoReferencenameaddressenrolled

Mexico

Donatarias Autorizadas

Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT)

Standing confirmedScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Keyed on the RFC, and one of the few registers that answers in both directions: SAT publishes the authorised donees and, separately, those whose authorisation was revoked, cancelled or allowed to lapse, with effective dates. Authorisation to issue tax-deductible receipts is the question it settles — it covers organisations and trusts holding that status, not every Mexican nonprofit.

What the lookup returns (7 fields)
rfcnameactivitiesfederalEntitystatuseffectiveDatepublishedOn

Netherlands

ANBI register

Belastingdienst

Standing confirmedScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The weekly publication is the current ANBI list, so an entry means the public-benefit designation is live today. It is a tax determination, not a corporate register — this is not the KVK, and plenty of sound Dutch bodies hold no ANBI status at all, so absence is not adverse.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
fiscalNumberdossierNumbernamealiasNameplacewebsitestartDatecultureStartDate

Norway

Brønnøysundregistrene

Brønnøysund Register Centre

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Carries the flags that matter for diligence — voluntary-register and foundation-register membership, bankruptcy, liquidation and compulsory dissolution.

What the lookup returns (13 fields)
organisationNumbernameorganisationFormwebsitebusinessAddresspostalAddressregisteredDatevoluntaryRegisterDatefoundationDateactivityCodebankruptcyliquidationcompulsoryDissolution

Peru

SUNAT RUC

Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Taxpayer status and fiscal-address condition. APCI registration as an NGO for development is a separate check.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
namerucestadocondicionaddressdistrictprovincedepartment

Singapore

ACRA / UEN

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority

Standing confirmedOpen-data query
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

ACRA-registered entities only. Societies registered with the ROS and charities under the Commissioner of Charities are absent, so a miss is never proof of non-registration.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
uennamestatusentityTypeissueDateaddresspostalCodeissuanceAgency

Slovenia

AJPES eNO

Agency for Public Legal Records and Related Services

Standing confirmedScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The free ePRS interface needs an account and the full restPrsInfo integration is a paid contract, so this uses the open eNO publication instead.

What the lookup returns (8 fields)
registrationNumbertaxNumbernamelegalFormmunicipalityenteredAtremovedFromRegisterAtpublicBenefitStatuses

Tanzania

NGOs Information System

Registrar of NGOs

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Searched by name and disambiguated by registration number rather than keyed directly.

What the lookup returns (4 fields)
registrationNumbernamestatusregistrationDate

Uganda

URSB eRegistry

Uganda Registration Services Bureau

Standing confirmedLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Name-matched with a similarity score, so a weak match needs a human read before it is treated as identity confirmation.

What the lookup returns (6 fields)
nameregistrationNumberentityTypeentitySubTypestatussimilarity

Chile

Registros 19862

Ministerio de Hacienda

Detail without standingOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Evidence that an organisation appears in the central public-recipient register. It is not the SII tax authority and does not prove tax standing.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
rutnameinstitutionKindobjectpublicFundsRelationshipconstitutionDatelegalRepresentativeNamelegalRepresentativeRutinstitutionTypethemeArea

Honduras

DIRRSAC

Secretaría de Gobernación, Justicia y Descentralización

Detail without standingScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Board terms are published, but no current-status field is. org-id.guide has no DIRRSAC list, so 360Giving export omits Honduras rather than emitting a wrong-scheme identifier.

What the lookup returns (7 fields)
registrationNumbernametyperegistrationDatedepartmentmunicipalityboardTerms

Kazakhstan

Реестр НПО

National NGO reporting register (RNPO)

Detail without standingLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The NGO reporting register, not the register of legal existence. It records approved annual reports — which periods were filed, and whether they were filed on time — and names the director, but it publishes no dissolution status. Evidence of active reporting rather than of legal standing; the Ministry of Justice register is a separate question.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
binnameRunameKzlegalFormactivityDirectionregiondirectorreportPeriodsubmissionDatetimeliness

Poland

National Court Register (KRS)

Ministry of Justice

Detail without standingLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Includes the public-benefit-organisation flag and the representation body. KRS numbers are ten digits and leading zeroes are significant.

What the lookup returns (10 fields)
krslegalNamelegalFormpublicBenefitOrganisationnipregistrationDatelastEntryDateaddresssupervisoryAuthorityrepresentationBody

Saudi Arabia

Nawa directory

National Center for Non-Profit Sector (NCNP)

Detail without standingLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

A national directory that names members and their positions, but publishes no status or licence field — so it establishes who is involved, not whether the body is in good standing.

What the lookup returns (5 fields)
unifiedNumber700nameregionsectormembers

Slovakia

NGO Register (RMNO)

Ministry of Interior

Detail without standingOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Current and former statutory members are both published. Matching is exact on the IČO, and an unreachable register is reported as unavailable rather than as a negative result.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
nameicolegalFormregisteredAddressregistrationNumberregistryOfficeestablishedOncurrentStatutoryMembersformerStatutoryMemberspurposeelectronicDocumentCount

Argentina

National Register of Societies

Registro Nacional de Sociedades

Existence onlyScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Keyed on the CUIT, and covers civil associations, foreign civil associations, foundations and simple associations — not every Argentine legal entity. No current-standing field is published.

What the lookup returns (7 fields)
cuitnamelegalTyperegistrationNumberincorporationDatefiscalProvincelegalProvince

Canada

CRA List of Charities

Canada Revenue Agency

Existence onlyOpen-data query
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The Identification table carries no revocation or suspension field. Absence and standing questions must be treated as unresolved, never as an adverse finding.

What the lookup returns (11 fields)
businessNumberprogrammeAccountlegalNameaccountNamecategorysubCategorydesignationaddresscityprovincepostalCode

Kenya

PBORA public PBO list

Public Benefit Organisations Regulatory Authority

Existence onlyOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

The published table is a registration number and a name, nothing else — no legal status, annual return, accounts, board or governing documents.

What the lookup returns (2 fields)
registrationNumbername

Serbia

APR NGO Register

Serbian Business Registers Agency (APR)

Existence onlyScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

No current-status field is published in the snapshot.

What the lookup returns (7 fields)
registrationNumbernamelegalTypeformationDatemunicipalityCodeactivityCodepurposeAreas

Sri Lanka

NGO Secretariat

National Secretariat for NGOs

Existence onlyScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

A registration number and a name. Nothing published about status, renewal, governance or accounts.

What the lookup returns (2 fields)
registrationNumbername

Guatemala

REPEJU

Registro de las Personas Jurídicas

Corroboration onlyScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Publishes recent-registration flows, not a current standing register. It cannot show that an older organisation is absent, inactive or dissolved, and its ledger reference is a book location rather than an organisation identifier.

What the lookup returns (3 fields)
ledgerReferencenamecoverageWindow

Italy

RUNTS

Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali

Corroboration onlyOfficial record page
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

RUNTS covers registered third-sector entities (ETS), not every Italian nonprofit. The public search matches on organisation name rather than the fiscal code, so a result narrows the field rather than confirming identity — the section and status it returns still have to be read against a namesake risk.

What the lookup returns (6 fields)
namefiscalCoderepertoryNumbersectionprovincestatus

Mongolia

Dissolved entities list

General Authority for State Registration

Corroboration onlyScheduled snapshot
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

An adverse-only check: the dissolved and struck-off lists are public, the ordinary entity search is not. It reports an identifier appearing on those lists, and never reads absence as good standing.

What the lookup returns (4 fields)
registrationNumbernamelegalFormdissolvedAt

South Africa

NPO Register

Department of Social Development

Corroboration onlyLive official API
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

Only registration number, name and address are published openly; fuller detail is not. Corroborates NPO Directorate registration alone — CIPC company registration is a separate question.

What the lookup returns (3 fields)
npoNumbernamephysicalAddressText

Hong Kong

Companies Registry

Companies Registry / Inland Revenue Department

Catalogued, no lookupNo automated lookup
IdentityCurrent standingPeopleAccounts / filingsName search

A Business Registration Number is recognised and validated, but no automated check runs against it: the Companies Registry's published data could not be shown to give a truthful answer, and a check that guesses is worse than none. Diligence falls back to web research.

Jurisdictions we block outright

No automated lookup runs here. An award needs sanctions clearance first, so a green registry result would be actively misleading.

North Korea

Comprehensive UK, EU, US and UN measures. No general licence route for grant funding.

Iran

Comprehensive US embargo; extensive UK and EU financial and sectoral measures.

Syria

Long-standing comprehensive US embargo and broad UK/EU measures, with humanitarian carve-outs that must be licensed explicitly.

Russia

Extensive UK, EU and US financial-sector measures. Not a blanket embargo, but payment routes are effectively closed without specific clearance.

Belarus

UK, EU and US measures closely mirroring the Russia regime.

Cuba

Comprehensive US embargo. Not sanctioned by the UK or EU — see the Blocking Statute note above before applying this to an EU-established funder.

A default, not legal advice. UK, EU and US regimes diverge and change often. Cuba is sanctioned by the US but not the UK or EU, where the Blocking Statute cuts the other way. The comprehensive Ukraine measures are territorial — Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk — so Ukraine as a whole is not blocked. Confirm against your own compliance position before this governs a payment.

Name-level screening is separate and always runs: the organisation and each director are screened against the US Consolidated Screening List whatever the country.

What happens everywhere else

The lightly shaded countries have no register we can check automatically. Diligence still runs, on general research rather than an authoritative record — and the assessment says which it was.

AI web research

An agent reads public sources under an explicit trust boundary: page content is grounding data, never instructions. Every fetch is SSRF-guarded and logged.

Sanctions screening

The organisation and each named director are screened against the US Consolidated Screening List.

Funding history

The IATI Datastore is searched for aid activity naming the organisation — evidence that other funders have transacted with it.

Honest outcomes, not green lights

A check never returns a bare pass. It comes back as a confirmed match, a match on name alone, a mismatch between the name and the identifier, an adverse finding, an identifier that cannot be valid, an organisation absent from the register, or a source we could not reach — and the last of those is shown as a gap in the evidence, not a clean light. Where a register lists adverse entries only, absence from it is never reported as good standing.