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Registry guide
How to check a company in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has no public online company registry you can search. The Unified State Register of Legal Entities is kept by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, and information from it is released only as an extract, on a written request. In practice you check a company by reading its own extract, its registration certificate and its tax number.
Quick answer
Checking a Turkmen company in one view
- No official website lets you search Turkmen companies by name, registration number or tax number.
- The register is the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The Ministry of Finance and Economy holds it, and its Tax Department has registered companies since 1 January 2023.
- The register is open by law, but only on a written request. The answer is an extract, which the Eurasian Group’s 2023 report says comes within 10 days.
- Every company and branch holds a registration certificate and a register extract. A branch or representative office is registered for three years at a time. A company’s register extract also runs for three years and is then extended, as the Eurasian Group’s 2023 report records.
- The tax number is a separate number, issued by the tax office within three days of a complete application.
Key facts
- Register
- Unified State Register of Legal Entities
- Held by
- Ministry of Finance and Economy
- Registrar
- Its Tax Department, since 1 January 2023
- Online search
- None
- Branch registered for
- Three years at a time
- Main laws
- Law on Enterprises, article 15. Civil Code, article 52. Tax Code, articles 24 and 25
Online search
Is there a company registry search online?
No. There is no official website where you can type in a company name, a registration number or a tax number and see the record. Three sources point the same way.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| US State Department, investment climate statement 2026 | Turkmenistan “does not have a business registration website for use by domestic or foreign companies”. |
| Eurasian Group, mutual evaluation report 2023 | “Basic information on all legal persons is not publicly available and is provided to the general public upon request in form of extracts.” |
| Tax Department website, read on 9 October 2026 | Laws, forms and accounts for registered taxpayers. No search of companies or tax numbers. |
Business directories are not the register. Sites that offer a “Turkmenistan company search” are private lists. A listing there does not prove that a company is registered today.
The register
Who keeps the business registry in Turkmenistan?
Under article 15 of the Law on Enterprises the Ministry of Finance and Economy holds the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, and registration itself is done by the Ministry’s Tax Department and its local tax offices. Branches and representative offices are entered in the same register (article 23).
A registered company receives a certificate of state registration and an extract from the register. The extract is issued for three years and then extended (Eurasian Group report, 2023). Under the 2011 registration procedure (paragraphs 15 and 16) the certificate and the extract carry the same registry number, and the certificate is not valid without the extract. That registry number, with its date, is the company registration number.
| Entry in the register | What to check it against |
|---|---|
| Name and legal form | The name in your contract and on the seal |
| Date of state registration | The date on the certificate |
| Legal address | The address in the contract and on invoices |
| Director | The person who signs, or the power of attorney they act under |
| Founders or participants | Who you were told owns the company |
| Charter capital | The figure in the charter |
| Statistical codes, tax and bank details | The tax number and bank account on the invoice |
The entries are those listed in the Eurasian Group’s 2023 evaluation. A company must report a change to its founding documents within a week (Law on Enterprises, article 21), so a recent extract should match the charter.
Getting an extract
How do you get a register extract?
Article 52 of the Civil Code says the register is open for anyone to consult. In practice that means a written request to the registrar: there is no online order.
From request to extract
- 1
Ask the company for its own extract
This is the fastest route. Every registered company holds one.
- 2
Read the date and compare
The Eurasian Group found in 2023 that banks stop serving a company when its extract has expired or no longer matches its founding documents.
- 3
Or request an extract yourself
The Eurasian Group’s 2023 report records that any person may ask.
- 4
Have it filed in Turkmenistan
The request is filed on paper, so a company abroad needs someone in Turkmenistan to file it. We obtain registry extracts for clients on request.
- 5
Allow for the answer
The Eurasian Group’s 2023 report says the extract comes within 10 days, usually within three.
The same registrar decides on your own entry if you set up here. A company with foreign investment or a branch is entered in the register only after a state agency and an interdepartmental commission have reviewed the file. Our page on company registration in Turkmenistan sets out the steps.
Tax number
What does a Turkmenistan tax number look like?
The tax number is the individual tax number: in Turkmen hususy salgyt belgisi, shortened to HSB, and in Russian ИНН. It is a different number from the registration number.
Articles 24 and 25 of the Tax Code set the rules. A company, or a foreign company that has registered a branch or representative office, applies within 10 days of state registration. The tax office registers it and issues a certificate within three days of receiving the documents. The number then goes on every return, application and payment document.
Time limits for a tax number
- 10 daysThe company appliesFrom state registration
- 3 daysThe tax office issues the certificateFrom receipt of the documents
Registration instructions issued in 2006 and still published on the Tax Department’s site describe one permanent number, the same for every tax and in every part of the country. No law we could open states its length. The certificate form attached to those 2006 instructions has twelve boxes for the number. Tax numbers issued today have 12 digits.
No official online tool validates a tax number. To confirm one, ask for the tax registration certificate. A licence also states its holder’s tax number.
| Number | Issued by | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Registration number | The registrar, on entry in the register | Certificate of state registration and register extract |
| Individual tax number | The tax office where the company is registered for tax | Tax registration certificate, returns, payment documents and licences |
| Statistical codes | Assigned on registration with the statistics office | Register extract and statistical registration card |
What the company then pays is set out in our Turkmenistan tax guide.
Other checks
How else can you check a company in Turkmenistan?
AshgabatBecause the register cannot be searched, a check here is built from documents. Ask the company for these.
- The certificate of state registration and a current register extract
- The charter, to see what the director may sign alone
- The tax registration certificate, with the tax number
- The licence, if the activity is a licensed one. See business licence requirements in Turkmenistan
- For an importer or exporter, the certificate for foreign trade
- The order appointing the director, or the power of attorney of whoever signs
Contract registration and licence lists
Import and export contracts are registered at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, with a review of the price, according to the US State Department’s 2026 statement. A counterparty that proposes to skip this step is a warning sign.
Licensing bodies must publish information about their licence holders (licensing law, article 9). The Ministry of Finance and Economy, for example, lists licensed auditors, insurers, valuers, securities firms and tourism companies (lists dated 1 April 2025).
The Eurasian Group found that banks stop serving a company whose extract has lapsed, so a working account is a further sign.
Is beneficial ownership information collected?
Yes, but it is not public. Founders declare the beneficial owners in a separate section of the registration application, and an order of July 2022 requires a company to report a change within seven working days. In 2023 the Eurasian Group found that the registrar did not verify what it was told and that the information “is not always accurate”. Banks identify the beneficial owners again when they open an account. Ask for the ownership chain in writing.
Mistakes
Five mistakes when checking a Turkmen company
Each one comes from expecting the register to work like a searchable database.
- 01
Treating a directory listing as proof
Only an extract shows what is registered, and on what date.
- 02
Not reading the date on the extract
The Eurasian Group found in 2023 that banks stop serving a company whose extract has lapsed. An old extract is a warning.
- 03
Mixing up the two numbers
The registration number is on the certificate and the extract. The tax number is on the tax certificate. Ask for both and match each to its own document.
- 04
Not checking who signs
The director is named in the register. Anyone else needs a power of attorney. The head of a branch always acts under one from the parent company (Civil Code, article 56). See branch registration in Turkmenistan.
- 05
Reading the founders as the owners
The register lists founders. The beneficial owners behind them are declared, and in 2023 the Eurasian Group found that the registrar did not verify them. Ask for the ownership chain and check it yourself.
Questions
Company registry questions
Short answers, each with the rule behind it.
Ask us something elseIs there a Turkmenistan company registry search online?
No. Turkmenistan has no public website for searching companies. Information from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities is given only as an extract, on a written request.
How do I get an extract from the Turkmenistan business registry?
Ask the company for a copy of its own extract, or file a written request with the registrar. Article 52 of the Civil Code makes the register open to anyone. The Eurasian Group’s 2023 report says an extract comes within 10 days, usually within three.
What is a company registration number in Turkmenistan?
It is the registry number under which the company was entered in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. It appears, with the date of registration, on the certificate of state registration and on the register extract. It is not the same as the tax number.
What is a Turkmenistan tax identification number?
It is the individual tax number that the tax office assigns when a company registers as a taxpayer, within three days of a complete application (Tax Code, article 25). Registration instructions issued in 2006 and still published on the Tax Department’s site describe one permanent number for all taxes.
How long is a register extract valid in Turkmenistan?
A company’s extract is issued for three years and then extended. The 2011 registration procedure sets that term (paragraph 70), and the Eurasian Group’s 2023 report records the same. Always read the date on the copy you are given.
Can I find out who owns a Turkmen company?
The register records the founders or participants. Beneficial owners are declared to the registrar at registration, but that information is not public, and the Eurasian Group found in 2023 that the registrar did not verify it. Ask the company for its ownership chain in writing.
Is a branch of a foreign company in the register?
Yes. Branches and representative offices are registered in the same way as companies and entered in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (Law on Enterprises, article 23). The foreign company is then registered for tax through its branch and receives a tax number.
Setting up in Turkmenistan yourself?
We register branches and companies from Ashgabat and prepare the documents the registrar asks for. Tell us what you plan and we will quote in writing.