Official company records for Zambia, on demand

The Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) describes itself as the official registry for business entities, intellectual property and securities in Zambia. Its existence is continued by the Patents and Companies Registration Agency Act, 2020, which repealed and replaced the 2010 Agency Act. Companies are governed by the Companies Act, 2017 (No. 10 of 2017), which repealed and replaced the Companies Act, 1994; the Act is administered by the Agency, a Companies Office is established under it, and the Agency's Registrar exercises the registration powers. Registration and company search run online through PACRA's portal and search service.

Where an applicant meets the requirements, the Registrar has five days to register the company, issue a certificate of incorporation, issue a certificate of share capital where the company has share capital, and assign a designating number to the company as its registration number. The Registrar maintains a Register of Companies and a Register of Beneficial Owners: every application for incorporation must include a statement of beneficial ownership giving each beneficial owner's full names, date of birth, nationality, residence and residential address, and a company must notify changes in shareholding or beneficial ownership within fourteen days.

Under section 326, the registers and documents lodged at the Companies Office are, subject to the Act, open to public inspection on payment of the prescribed fees, and the Register of Companies is prima facie evidence of the matters entered in it. The Company Records report for Zambia includes the registry extract sourced from the official register.