Europephase 3

Malta: what can be established about a company

The Malta Business Registry's online portal shows company name, registration number, registered office, status, share capital and officers free of charge, and sells filed documents, annual returns and annual accounts for a small per-document fee; accounts are filed by every company, which is more than most jurisdictions here offer. The register of beneficial owners was closed to the general public after the Court of Justice of the EU's November 2022 judgment and is now accessible, under the 2026 amendments, to authorities, obliged entities and persons who demonstrate a legitimate interest. Court judgments are published online, mostly in Maltese.

Identifiers

Identifier	Format	Note
Company registration number	C followed by digits, e.g. C 12345	Issued by the Malta Business Registry; partnerships use P, foundations and associations other prefixes
VAT number	MT + 8 digits	Issued by the Commissioner for Revenue; checkable through VIES
MFSA licence or registration number	varies	Entities on the MFSA Financial Services Register
LEI	20-character ISO 17442	Regulated and listed entities

Sources

Each with what it discloses, how it is accessed, and our coverage level.

Registry

Malta Business Registry online portalFree search by name or number showing registered office, status, incorporation date, share capital and company officials; filed documents, annual returns and annual accounts purchasable per item.Malta Business Registry (MBR) · Document fees are small but per item (check the authority). Shareholders appear in the annual return and in share transfer notifications rather than in the free view.

paid per document
partial

Registry

European e-Justice Portal, business registers (BRIS)Cross-border access to core company data for EU registers through the Business Registers Interconnection System, including Malta.European Commission, with the Malta Business Registry · Core data only; documents are bought from the national register.

open web
planned

Beneficial ownership

Register of Beneficial OwnersBeneficial owners (name, month and year of birth, nationality, country of residence, nature and extent of interest) of every Maltese company. Access is tiered: free direct access for authorities, cost-based access for obliged entities, and access on written request with a fee for persons demonstrating a legitimate interest.Malta Business Registry (MBR), under the Companies Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) Regulations · General public access was suspended after the CJEU judgment of 22 November 2022. Legal Notice 184 of 2026 introduced presumed legitimate interest for journalists, civil society, prospective counterparties and others; requests go to the MBR with identification.

restricted
planned

Securities filings

Malta Stock Exchange company announcementsCompany announcements, annual and interim reports and prospectuses of listed and admitted issuers.Malta Stock Exchange (Borza ta' Malta) · A small market; many issuers are banks, property and bond issuers. Regulated information is also filed with the MFSA as listing authority.

open web
planned

Regulators

MFSA Financial Services Register and enforcement noticesLicensed and registered financial entities with licence type and status; administrative penalties and warnings are published in the MFSA's news and enforcement sections.Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) · Gaming operators are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, which keeps a separate register and publishes its own enforcement.

open web
partial

Regulators

FIAU administrative measuresAdministrative penalties and remedial directives imposed on subject persons for AML/CFT breaches, published with the entity's name.Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) · Publications may be anonymised where the penalty is below a threshold or on appeal.

open web
planned

Courts

Court judgments online (eCourts)Judgments of the superior and inferior courts, searchable by party name, with civil and commercial decisions including winding-up and company law matters.Courts of Malta, Court Services Agency · Judgments are largely in Maltese; some are in English. Party names appear as filed and may be anonymised in some case types.

open web
planned

Sanctions

Sanctions Monitoring Board and EU consolidated listMalta implements EU restrictive measures and UN sanctions directly; the SMB publishes guidance, national designations under the National Interest (Enabling Powers) Act and links to the EU consolidated list.Sanctions Monitoring Board (SMB), Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Council of the EU · OpenDossier screens the EU consolidated financial sanctions list as the operative list for Malta, with SMB notices for national measures.

open web
partial

Insolvency

Company status, liquidation filings and Government Gazette noticesThere is no separate corporate insolvency register. Dissolution, winding-up and liquidator appointments appear as status changes and filed forms at the MBR, and statutory notices are published in the Government Gazette.Malta Business Registry; Department of Information (Government Gazette) · The Insolvency Practitioners Register was introduced in 2022 under the Pre-Insolvency Act; court-ordered winding up is also visible in eCourts decisions.

paid per document
planned

IP offices

Industrial Property Registrations DirectorateMaltese trade marks, patents and designs. National records are being brought online; EU trade marks and designs covering Malta are searchable at EUIPO and in the WIPO Global Brand Database.Commerce Department, Ministry for the Economy · Online search of national marks is limited (check the authority); most commercially significant marks in Malta are EU marks.

open web
planned

Procurement

ePPS (eTenders)Public procurement notices and contract awards for Maltese contracting authorities, with supplier names.Department of Contracts, Ministry for Finance · Above-threshold notices are also on EU TED. Blacklisted economic operators are published by the Department of Contracts.

open web
planned

Caveats

Beneficial ownership is no longer freely public; access requires authority status, obliged-entity status or a demonstrated legitimate interest and a written request to the MBR.
The free register view omits shareholders; they must be taken from the latest annual return or share transfer filings, bought per document.
Judgments and many filings are in Maltese; English translations are not provided by the courts.
Malta has a high density of holding and licensed entities relative to its size; registered office addresses are shared by many companies managed by the same corporate service provider.
The registry has been migrating to a new portal; document reference numbers and URLs may change (check the authority).

Questions

Can I see the beneficial owners of a Maltese company?

Not freely. Since the CJEU judgment of November 2022 the register is open to authorities and obliged entities, and under the 2026 amendments to persons with a legitimate interest, including prospective counterparties, on written request with identification and a fee. OpenDossier records that status and uses shareholder filings where available.

Are Maltese company accounts public?

Yes. Every company files annual accounts with the Malta Business Registry, which can be bought per document through the online portal.

What does the free MBR search show?

Company name, registration number, registered office, status, incorporation date, share capital and company officials. Shareholders and documents are paid.

Which sanctions lists apply in Malta?

EU restrictive measures apply directly, together with UN sanctions. The Sanctions Monitoring Board publishes national guidance and any national designations.

Sources

Reviewed 26 October 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm with the authority before relying on them.

A brief on a company in Malta

Coverage stated by section; official document fees at cost.

Request a brief