How to Access the Business Entities Registry

Any person may view public information on this website including all of the Help sections. Additionally, non-registered users may conduct basic searches for free. However, to submit filings or to view detailed information held in the registry you will need to establish a client account.

To gain access to the additional features, select the Log In tab from the top navigation bar if you already have an account, or follow the guide below to create an account.

Viewing Details and Documents for a Business Entity

If you wish to research other entities, clients of the registry have the ability to see full details for business entities, and then order documents relating to the entity.

In order to see the entirety of an entity record a fee must be paid (there are various ways to pay, see the How to Make a Payment section).

Additional Information Regarding Data Migration

All the data associated with companies and business names has now been migrated into the new system. The images of past filings will follow in the next few weeks. Migrating images takes much longer due to the size of the image database.

For companies, while all data has been migrated, the migration will have a slightly different impact on any given company based upon the status of the company. For example, the data migration process will affect companies that have re-registered versus companies that have not re-registered somewhat differently.

There is a similar impact of the data migration on business name registrations, depending upon their current status.

Create and Manage Alerts

This feature allows logged-in users to create “alerts” for registered entities or account profiles. These alerts can be set for a future date or time, helping task owners stay informed about key deadlines. When the alert date or time is met, an email will be sent to the user's email.

To access the Alerts feature, first log in to your client account. Once you are logged in, a bell icon displays next to your name in the navigation bar. Click on the bell and a drop-down menu appears which will allow you to create and manage alerts for yourself and the account. Another bell icon can be found when you visit an account or entity profile. The bell will be grey and located below your name. It operates the same way as the bell in the navigation bar; however, notice there is an additional field that includes the account's or entity's name.

1. Click the green + button in the upper right corner of the Alerts menu to open the form for creating a new alert.
2. Select a radio button to assign the alert to either yourself or all users on the account. The choices available will be your name or “Alert all users on account”. This will tell the alert whether to notify only yourself or to notify everyone on your account.
3. Next, set the date and time you would like the user(s) to be notified.
4. Add a note to provide more context, a description, or special instructions for the user(s) who receives the alert.
5. Click the green disk button to save the alert. Or, click the red X button to delete the alert and exit the form.

When an alert has activated and you have completed what you need to do, you can move the alert to the Completed tab by clicking the checkbox labeled Complete. Please note, if an alert has passed its scheduled date and time, the assigned user(s) will receive a system generated email that will include the alert details. The email will only be sent once and no emails will be sent for alerts marked as Completed.

If you need to reassign, reschedule, and/or modify notes to an alert, you can click the green pencil button to edit the alert. After editing, make sure to click the green disk button to save the changes. (Note: The orange X button will exit the form and not make any changes to the current alert. The red trash button will delete the current alert. It will no longer appear on any of the tabs.)

Making a Payment

Transactions completed for the Business Entities Registry may use pre-funded amounts or payments made online at the time of purchase. All payments in the registry will be made in Papua New Guinea Kina. An account may be pre-funded by credit card or BSP online, and cash or cheque at BSP.

To view your Account Balance and Transaction History, view your Client Account Statement by clicking on the Account Profile link on your account home page, then click the Financial tab.

1. Log in and click on the Account tab in the top navigation menu.
2. From the Account Home Page, click the Fund Account / Payment link.
3. This will open a page with the option for payment with Credit Card and BSP Pay.
4. Enter the amount to fund, and press Submit.
5. Enter the credit card or BSP details on the hosted payment gateway page and submit. No credit card or BSP information is ever relayed over the registry server environment.
6. Once the payment is complete, a transaction receipt will display to confirm the payment.

You can add funds to your account by making a payment at IPA.

Managing your Registered Business Entity

You will manage your business entity via the online system, as most paper filings will no longer be accepted by IPA.

Once you log in to your online account you will land on a client account dashboard. There you will see the entities over which your account has the authority to manage, meaning, submit filings. The person who registered the entity automatically has authority to submit future filings for that entity.

This feature would be used where, for example, one director of a company forms the company and then another director also wants the ability to submit filings. All persons with authority over an entity can view all details about the entity.

Obtaining Authority to Manage a Business Entity

You must have authority over a registered entity in order to submit change filings against it.

For a newly created business entity the person submitting the application is automatically granted authority. That person, the applicant, can then give out authority to other persons. For example, an applicant might be a director. Other directors can request authority from the original director with authority. The requestor will search for the entity, open the entity profile, select the Request Entity Authority button, and then submit the reason that authority should be granted to them.

For existing entities, if someone previously obtained authority over them then they should still have authority. However, if for some reason they do not have authority, a person who wishes authority must submit a request to the Registrar. The Registrar will review the request and either grant authority or else ask for additional information to make certain the grant of authority is made to a proper person.

The registrar and the person first granted authority over an entity may revoke authority for any other person, and other users may revoke their own authority. When the authority is revoked, the user with the revoked account can no longer manage the entity.

The authority of a client account over an entity can be obtained and revoked.

1. Begin on the Business Entities home page.
2. Under the Searches menu, click the Entity Search link.
3. Enter the entity name or registration number and press the search icon.
4. Select the name for the business entity.
5. Click the Request Entity Authority button.
6. Enter a reason as to why the request for authority is being made and any additional information (such as, “I am a director”).
7. Upload identification.
8. Click on the Request button.
9. Wait for approval of the request.
   • If the requesting user has the same email address as a director (or equivalent) on the entity, the user will be granted authority automatically by the system.
   • Otherwise, the current authorities on the entity will be sent an email notification advising them of the request for authority. In the “My Tasks” list, a pending task will be created for them to approve or reject the request.
   • For entities that have no person with authority over them, the request will be sent to the Registrar.

1. Begin on the Business Entities home page.
2. Click the My Entities tab.
3. Enter the search criteria to find the Entity.
4. Select the Registration Number.
5. Click on the Entity Authority tab.
6. Click on the Revoke button.

Registering an association

Incorporating an association is an online process, completed in three stages:

How to Register a Business Group

A Business Group is an incorporated entity that acts on behalf of certain customary and other groups (such as extended families).

Registering a Business Name

Once you have created your account, log into the registry, select Business Entities from the top navigation bar, and proceed to the business name registration link. After all information is collected, you will be able to review your work before it is submitted to the Registrar for review.

Incorporate a New Company or Register an Overseas Company

Once you have created your account, log into the registry and select Business Entities from the top navigation bar. Under the Company section, reserve a name for the type of company you want to register. Once the name reservation is submitted and approved, you may proceed to register.

Selecting the entity type will cause the correct application form to appear for you. The entity registration forms have tabs for the types of information that you must provide. After all information is collected, you will be able to review your work before it is submitted to the Registrar for approval.

Application for Foreign Investor Certification

All “foreign enterprises” must obtain a Foreign Investor Certification in order to transact business in Papua New Guinea.

Once you have created your account, you can complete your online application to obtain the necessary certification. After logging into the registry, select Business Entities from the top navigation bar and then navigate to Foreign Certification. After all information is collected, you will be able to review your work before it is submitted to the Registrar for review.

Restoring a Company that has been Struck Off for failing to Reregister

From your dashboard, search for the business entity you are after, find the profile and click on + New Filing at the top left. At Form Category, click on Restoration, then click on Initiate Filing. Fill in the form, upload outstanding annual returns (refer to the hint below) and, once satisfied, click on Check Out and make payment.

Revocation of cancellation of a Business Entity

Effective 7 September 2023, the grace period for business names (BN) to file their outstanding Renewals had lapsed. As a result, BNs having old expiry dates expire as of 7 September 2023, and their status will be shown as either “Lapsed” or “Not Yet Updated – Lapsed”. The owners of these lapsed businesses who wish to maintain the same registration numbers may apply for a “Revocation of Cancellation”, and in the process renew their business names for a total fee of K450, a breakup of which includes K250 penalty fee, K50 restoration fee and a K150 usual renewal fee.

Please note that by law, since 2014, a penalty fee of K250 is applicable for BN owners who fail to renew their BNs within their allocated renewal months. However, this was not applied in the previous Online Registry System (ORS), for which the current ORS has now been corrected to apply the penalty fee.

Once you have registered your account, you will have your own dashboard. From your dashboard, search for the business name you are after, find the profile and click on New Filings on the top left of the page, then select “Winding up” > “J-53 – Application for Revocation of Business Name Cancellation”.

Searching the Business Entity Registry

The Business Entity Search feature allows a user to search the Registry for information on active as well as inactive entities.

If you have filing authority over a given entity (such as being a director of a company) then you always have total access to your entity.

Update an Existing Business Entity

Once you have registered your account, you will have your own dashboard. From your dashboard, search for the business name you are after, find the profile, and click on Update Notice at the top right of the page.