Egypt Company Lookup: A Certificate of Non-Confusion

An Egypt company lookup involves two authorities: الهيئة العامة للاستثمار والمناطق الحرة, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), and السجل التجاري, the Commercial Register, under جهاز تنمية التجارة الداخلية, the Internal Trade Development Authority. This guide covers which of them holds what, how trade names are reserved, and what GAFI's one-stop shop does. If you need the Egyptian population rather than one company at a time, the Egypt company directory covers the same registered entities with industry, size and contact breakdowns attached, and the Egypt business database is the same file described as a dataset.

What this guide does not cover: a public search route for Egyptian companies. The sources consulted describe how companies are formed and which authority does what; none of them describes a public company lookup. If a route exists, the place to look is the السجل التجاري side — the Commercial Register under the Internal Trade Development Authority — rather than GAFI, which is the investment authority. This page does not say what is there.

Egypt company lookup: the short version

• Egypt splits the job between two authorities: GAFI handles investment and company formation, and the Commercial Register sits under the Internal Trade Development Authority.
• GAFI is not the register. It issues recommendations to other bodies, the commercial register among them — a reader looking for register data at GAFI is at the wrong authority.
• GAFI, in coordination with the Internal Trade Development Authority, offers online a شهادة عدم الالتباس — a certificate of non-confusion — alongside trade-name reservation: a separately named document whose subject is the risk of confusion between names.
• Companies more than a year past incorporation must produce documents proving their seriousness; where they cannot, an executive status committee is formed.

A certificate of non-confusion

GAFI announced the service in these words:

"أتاحت الهيئة العامة للاستثمار والمناطق الحرة، بالتنسيق مع جهاز تنمية التجارة الداخلية، خدمة استخراج شهادة عدم الالتباس وحجز الاسم التجاري إلكترونيا، عبر الموقع الإلكتروني: nonconfusion.gafi.gov.eg."

The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, in coordination with the Internal Trade Development Authority, has made available the service of obtaining a certificate of non-confusion and reserving a trade name electronically, through nonconfusion.gafi.gov.eg.

What makes it notable is the name of the document. It is a named, separately issued document, and its subject is the risk of confusion between names — not simply whether a name is available.

GAFI states the service was opened first for companies incorporating at the main investor services centre in Cairo, to be extended gradually to the other centres in the governorates.

This page does not describe how the certificate is obtained, what it costs, how long it lasts, or what test of confusion is applied. None of that was sourced.

Where the Australia company lookup guide covers an index that offers a check of whether a name is available, Egypt issues a certificate of non-confusion, whose subject is the risk of confusion between names.

"All company data is already registered electronically"

In the same announcement, GAFI gives the reason it could offer the certificate online:

"خاصة أن جميع بيانات الشركات مسجلة إلكترونيا بالفعل."

Especially as all company data is already registered electronically. That is GAFI's own aside, and it is attributed as such. It is a statement about how the data is held. It is not a statement about public access, and this page does not treat it as one.

Two authorities, and GAFI is not the register

GAFI — الهيئة العامة للاستثمار والمناطق الحرة, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones — is the investment authority. Company formation runs electronically through its portal: an applicant registers, creates an account and workspace at gafi.gov.eg, chooses the service and submits the documents.

السجل التجاري — the Commercial Register — sits under جهاز تنمية التجارة الداخلية, the Internal Trade Development Authority.

The relationship between them shows in what GAFI's one-stop shop issues:

"توصية لدى جهات مختلفة مثل (جهاز مدينة/السجل التجاري/ضرائب الاستثمار/الجمارك/الكهرباء)"

A recommendation to various bodies, such as a city authority, the commercial register, investment taxes, customs and electricity.

GAFI recommends to the commercial register; it is not the register. A reader looking for register data at GAFI is at the wrong authority.

One more document points the same way. Among the documents GAFI requires of a founder that is itself a legal person is:

"مستخرج حديث من السجل التجاري للشخص الاعتباري"

A recent extract from the commercial register for the legal person. The extract comes from the register, not from GAFI. How one is obtained is not described here.

What an Egyptian company register entry contains

A self-contained summary. Egypt divides company matters between two authorities: الهيئة العامة للاستثمار والمناطق الحرة, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), and السجل التجاري, the Commercial Register, under جهاز تنمية التجارة الداخلية, the Internal Trade Development Authority. GAFI's one-stop shop issues recommendations to various bodies, including the commercial register, and handles approval for foreign company branches: registration, amendment and striking off. Company formation runs electronically through GAFI's portal at gafi.gov.eg, where an applicant registers, creates an account and workspace, chooses the service and submits the documents. GAFI, in coordination with the Internal Trade Development Authority, offers electronically the certificate of non-confusion, شهادة عدم الالتباس, together with trade-name reservation, at nonconfusion.gafi.gov.eg; the service was opened first for companies incorporating at the main investor services centre in Cairo, to be extended gradually to the other centres in the governorates. GAFI states that all company data is already registered electronically. A founder that is a legal person must provide a recent extract from the commercial register. Companies more than a year past incorporation must provide documents proving their seriousness, and where these are not available an executive status committee is formed. This summary does not describe the fields of a Commercial Register entry or how one is searched, because neither was established from the sources read on the date shown.

The seriousness test

GAFI's one-stop shop states a rule that applies to companies after their first year:

"في حالة الشركات التي مر على تأسيسها أكثر عام يتطلب من الشركة مستندات لأثبات جديتها، وفي حالة عدم توافرها يتم تشكيل لجنة موقف تنفيذي."

For companies more than a year past incorporation, the company is required to provide documents proving its seriousness; where those are not available, an executive status committee is formed.

What it suggests to a data user is that dormancy has an administrative consequence in Egypt. A company that cannot show it is serious, a year on, is not simply left on file.

This page does not describe what the committee does, what counts as proof of seriousness, or what follows from the committee's work. None of that was sourced.

Foreign branches

GAFI handles "الموافقة على فروع الشركات الأجنبية (قيد- تعديل – شطب)" — approval for foreign company branches: registration, amendment and striking off.

Where an Egypt lookup stops

On searching: this page sets out no public search route, because none of the sources consulted describes one. If a route exists, the Commercial Register side, under the Internal Trade Development Authority, is the place to look.

On what a register entry contains: no field of a Commercial Register entry is described here.

On the certificate of non-confusion: named, located and dated in its rollout; how it is obtained, what it costs, how long it lasts and what test it applies are not described.

On cost: no figures appear on this page.

For other registers in the Middle East and North Africa, see the Saudi Arabia company lookup guide, the Israel company lookup guide and the Turkey company lookup guide.

Where the question is a population rather than a company, a firmographic directory covers the same registered entities with classification, size and contact data attached and queryable as a set; the Africa company directory breaks the regional file down by market.

Data quality pitfalls to avoid in Egypt

Looking for register data at GAFI. GAFI is the investment authority and recommends to the commercial register; the register sits under the Internal Trade Development Authority.

Reading "all company data is registered electronically" as public access. It is GAFI's statement about how data is held, given as the reason the certificate could be offered online.

Treating the certificate of non-confusion as an availability check. Its name is about the risk of confusion between names; the test it applies is not described here.

Assuming the online certificate service is available everywhere. GAFI opened it first at the main investor services centre in Cairo, to be extended gradually to the governorates.

Reading an older company's record without the seriousness rule in mind. Companies more than a year past incorporation must prove their seriousness, or an executive status committee is formed.

A repeatable Egypt company lookup workflow

1. Decide which authority your question belongs to — investment and formation at GAFI, or the register at the Internal Trade Development Authority.
2. For register data, go to the Commercial Register side and establish there what it offers; this page does not describe it.
3. For a trade name, note that a certificate of non-confusion exists and is offered online at nonconfusion.gafi.gov.eg.
4. For a foreign company's Egyptian branch, look to GAFI, which handles registration, amendment and striking off.
5. For a company more than a year old, keep the seriousness rule in view when reading its status.

Frequently asked questions

How do I look up an Egyptian company?

This page does not set out a public search route, because none of the sources consulted describes one. If a route exists, the place to look is the Commercial Register — السجل التجاري — under the Internal Trade Development Authority, rather than GAFI.

Is GAFI Egypt's company register?

No. GAFI is the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones. It issues recommendations to various bodies, the commercial register among them. The Commercial Register sits under the Internal Trade Development Authority.

What is a certificate of non-confusion?

شهادة عدم الالتباس is a document GAFI offers electronically, in coordination with the Internal Trade Development Authority, together with trade-name reservation, at nonconfusion.gafi.gov.eg. How it is obtained, what it costs, how long it lasts and what test it applies are not described here.

What happens to a company more than a year after incorporation?

It must provide documents proving its seriousness. Where those are not available, an executive status committee is formed. What the committee does is not described here.

Where are foreign company branches registered?

GAFI handles approval for foreign company branches: registration, amendment and striking off.

Source Register

Every Arabic passage above is the publisher's own wording, reproduced exactly as read on the date shown; the English beside each is ours. No amount appears anywhere in this page's prose.

This page does not describe a public search route for Egyptian companies, what a Commercial Register entry contains, or whether a search is free. That is the page's own subject, and it is the most important gap in it. The place to look is the Commercial Register side, under the Internal Trade Development Authority, rather than GAFI.

The readings that are InfobelPRO's rather than GAFI's: that GAFI is not the register and a reader looking for register data there is at the wrong authority; that the certificate is notable because its subject is the risk of confusion rather than availability; and that the seriousness rule means dormancy has an administrative consequence. Those are ours. The comparison with Australia on names notes a difference and ranks neither.