Bosnia and Herzegovina has no single state-level business register. Registration is a competence of the entities and of the Brčko District, so three separate regimes coexist: the court register of the Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), the register of Republika Srpska operated through APIF as a one-stop shop with the commercial courts, and the register of the Brčko distrikt BiH (Brčko District of BiH). A common viewing portal, bizreg.pravosudje.ba, allows all three to be searched from one place for information purposes.

The company registries in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Registar poslovnih subjekata u Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine (Register of Business Entities in the Federation of BiH) is kept by the registarski sud (registration court), which is the competent općinski sud (municipal court) of the entity’s seat, under the Zakon o registraciji poslovnih subjekata u FBiH (Law on the Registration of Business Entities in FBiH). The register consists of the glavna knjiga (main book) and the zbirka isprava (collection of documents), and its keeping is regulated by a 2023 government uredba (regulation). A 2021 amendment introduced electronic registration and required a free internet portal for register data; the new Federation portal bizreg.ba is being rolled out court by court and was live for only part of the municipal courts at the time of writing.

Republika Srpska

In Republika Srpska registration follows the Zakon o registraciji poslovnih subjekata u Republici Srpskoj (Law on the Registration of Business Entities in Republika Srpska). Since December 2013 it runs as a jednošalterski sistem (one-stop system): applications are lodged at counters of APIF — Agencija za posredničke, informatičke i finansijske usluge (Agency for Intermediary, IT and Financial Services) at some eleven locations, while the registration decision is taken by the competent okružni privredni sud (district commercial court). The unified information system for the registration of business entities publishes the register online.

Brčko District

The Brčko District keeps its own register under its own Zakon o registraciji poslovnih subjekata Brčko distrikta BiH, likewise composed of a main book and a collection of documents, with its own portal maintained by the District’s Judicial Commission. A notable difference is that preduzetnici (entrepreneurs) are among the subjects entered in the District’s court register.

Where sole traders are registered

Outside Brčko, sole traders are not in the court register. In the Federation, crafts and related activities are registered by the municipal or city administration under the Zakon o obrtu i srodnim djelatnostima (Law on Crafts and Related Activities), and the electronic Obrtni registar (Crafts Register) is kept by the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, with public and free electronic searching without proof of legal interest. In Republika Srpska entrepreneurs are registered by the municipal or city administration under the law on crafts and entrepreneurial activity, and APIF maintains the Centralni registar preduzetnika (Central Register of Entrepreneurs), from which extracts are issued to anyone without proof of legal interest.

The statistički poslovni registar (statistical business register) kept by the statistical institutes is fed from the court register but is a statistical instrument only; it is not a registration register and offers no entity-level public lookup.

Legal forms that can be registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Company forms are set by the two entity company laws, the Zakon o privrednim društvima Federacije BiH (Law on Business Companies of FBiH) and the Zakon o privrednim društvima Republike Srpske (Law on Business Companies of Republika Srpska), with terminology differing slightly between the entities. Legal personality is acquired on registration.

  • Društvo sa ograničenom odgovornošću — d.o.o. (Limited liability company) — members are not liable for the company’s obligations save in the statutory exceptions. The dominant form in both entities.
  • Dioničko društvo — d.d. (FBiH) / akcionarsko društvo — a.d. (RS) (Joint-stock company) — the company is not liable for its shareholders’ obligations and shareholders are not liable for the company’s; in Republika Srpska the form exists in open and closed variants.
  • Društvo sa neograničenom solidarnom odgovornošću — d.n.o. (FBiH) / ortačko društvo — o.d. (RS) (General partnership) — every member is liable for the company’s obligations without limitation, jointly and severally.
  • Komanditno društvo — k.d. (Limited partnership) — the komplementari (general partners) are unlimitedly liable while the komanditori (limited partners) are not liable beyond their contribution, subject to the statutory exceptions.
  • Podružnica (FBiH) / poslovna jedinica (RS) (Branch) — a part of a company established outside its seat; it has no separate legal personality and the company remains liable.
  • Zadruga i zadružni savez (Cooperative and cooperative association) — registered in the court register under the state-level Zakon o zadrugama (Law on Cooperatives) and the entity legislation; members participate on a cooperative basis.
  • Obrt (FBiH) / preduzetnik (RS) (Craft business / entrepreneur) — the sole-trader forms, registered by municipal authorities and recorded in the crafts register or the central register of entrepreneurs rather than in the court register, except in Brčko District where entrepreneurs are court-registered.
  • Predstavništvo stranog lica (Representative office of a foreign person) — recorded by the competent entity ministry of trade or economy rather than in the court business register.

Information available from the registers

All three court registers are public in the strong sense. The Federation law provides that anyone may inspect the data entered in the main book without proving a legal interest, and the Brčko District law contains the same rule; the 2021 Federation amendment additionally requires a free internet portal carrying main-book data and published decisions, with announcements searchable for a year. In practice this means free online search on the common portal for all three registers, on the Federation’s new portal for the courts already migrated, on the Republika Srpska information system, and on the Brčko District portal. Registrations are also published in the official gazettes of the Federation, of Republika Srpska and of the Brčko District.

Annual financial statements are held outside the court register, by a dedicated agency in each entity. In Republika Srpska the Registar finansijskih izvještaja (Register of Financial Statements) is kept by APIF under its own law, and APIF states that the data are available without proof of legal interest, excluding data classified as secret by special laws, with aggregated annual data sets published. In the Federation, financial statements are filed with FIA — Finansijsko-informatička agencija (Financial and Information Agency) under the law on the register of financial statements.

What could not be confirmed

Two points deserve caution. First, the data on the common viewing portal is expressly informative and does not replace a certified extract issued by the court. Second, no official source could be identified establishing or operating a register of beneficial owners in either entity: no such register appears on the court register portals, at APIF, at FIA or in the gazettes, and only a pre-draft law was traceable. Anyone needing beneficial ownership data from Bosnia and Herzegovina should verify the current position directly with the entity ministries of justice rather than relying on secondary reports.

Documents that can be obtained from the registers

  • Izvod iz sudskog registra (Extract from the court register) — the core document, issued as a certified instrument at the request of an interested person and containing the main-book data for a given entity and period. The aktuelni izvod (current extract) shows the name, seat, identification number, legal form, capital, founders or members, the persons authorised to represent the company and the scope of their authority, and the registered activities; the historijski izvod (historical extract) shows the full chronology of entries and changes. Used for banking, tenders, notarial and court proceedings and counterparty checks.
  • Rješenje o registraciji (Registration decision) — the court’s decision constituting the registration of the company or of a change; under the Federation’s electronic registration rules it may be issued electronically with a qualified signature and seal and has the quality of a public document.
  • Uvjerenje iz službene evidencije (Certificate from official records) — confirms a specific fact from the register, for example that an entity is or is not registered or that no changes are recorded.
  • Kopije isprava iz zbirke isprava (Copies of documents from the collection of documents) — the founding act or decision or agreement on establishment, the statute, appointment decisions, the director’s statement of acceptance of duty and specimen signature forms. Used for due diligence and to verify ownership and authority.
  • Izvod iz Centralnog registra preduzetnika (Extract from the Central Register of Entrepreneurs) — the sole-trader extract issued by APIF in Republika Srpska to any applicant without proof of legal interest; in the Federation, the equivalent is an extract from the crafts register.
  • Finansijski izvještaji (Financial statements) — obtained from FIA in the Federation and from APIF in Republika Srpska, as individual online reports, as whole or partial data sets, or as signed printouts and stamped photocopies.
  • Obavještenje o razvrstavanju (Notice of activity classification) — issued in Republika Srpska, confirming the entity’s classification by principal activity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a single company register for Bosnia and Herzegovina?

No. Registration is an entity and district competence: the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska and the Brčko District each have their own register. A common portal allows all three to be searched for information purposes, but it does not replace a certified extract.

Who registers companies in Republika Srpska?

Applications are filed at APIF counters under the one-stop system, while the registration decision is issued by the competent district commercial court.

Are sole traders in the court register?

Generally no. In the Federation crafts businesses are registered by municipalities and recorded in the crafts register; in Republika Srpska entrepreneurs are registered by municipalities and recorded in APIF’s central register of entrepreneurs. The Brčko District is the exception, where entrepreneurs are court-registered.

Is the register free to search?

Yes. The laws allow anyone to inspect main-book data without proving a legal interest, and the registers are searchable online free of charge.

Where are financial statements of Bosnian companies published?

Not in the court register. They are filed with FIA in the Federation and with APIF in Republika Srpska, which keeps a dedicated register of financial statements.

Is there a beneficial ownership register?

No official source could be found establishing or operating one in either entity. Beneficial ownership data should be verified directly with the competent ministries of justice.

Sources

Keywords

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