Israel Company Lookup: The Single Record Costs, the Set Is Free

An Israel company lookup runs through רשות התאגידים, the Corporations Authority, within משרד המשפטים — the Ministry of Justice. The relevant unit is יחידת רשם החברות, the Registrar of Companies, alongside רשם השותפויות, the Registrar of Partnerships. Services run through ica.justice.gov.il, and open datasets appear on data.gov.il. This guide covers an access model that runs opposite to most registers in this series, what the corporation file holds, and what an incorporation certificate proves. If you need the Israeli population rather than one company at a time, the Israel company directory covers the same registered companies with industry, size and contact breakdowns attached, and the Israel business database is the same file described as a dataset.

Israel company lookup: the short version

• Establishing information and filings submitted to the Registrar of Companies or of Partnerships — including the company's address — means consulting the corporation file, which is a paid service.
• Producing a נסח חברה, a company extract, in Hebrew and English, is likewise a paid service open to any person.
• Separately, the Companies and Partnerships Unit publishes information files on certain subjects covering all registered companies and partnerships, and the companies database appears on the government's open data portal.
• Documents in the corporation file are scanned and signed with a secure electronic signature, and are admissible in court and in all government units after printing.

Paid for one, published for all

Most registers in this series let you look up a single company for nothing and make you work, pay or apply for the whole set. Israel runs the other way.

On the single record, the Authority is explicit — and names the field that makes it land:

"לבירור המידע והדיווחים שהוגשו לרשם החברות או לרשם השותפויות כנדרש בחוק, לרבות לעניין כתובת החברה/השותפות, יש לעיין בתיק התאגיד (שירות בתשלום)"

To establish the information and the filings submitted to the Registrar of Companies or to the Registrar of Partnerships as required by law — including in respect of the address of the company or partnership — one must consult the corporation file (a paid service).

The address clause is the detail that lands it. A reader arriving from almost any other register in this series will assume a registered address is free to look up; it is the most basic field a company register holds. Here the source names it specifically as inside the paid file.

Producing a company extract is the same shape: "הפקת נסח חברה (עברית ואנגלית) … שירות זה מאפשר לכל אדם לעיין בנסח חברה בתשלום." — production of a נסח חברה (Hebrew and English): this service allows any person to consult a company extract for a fee. Note both halves: open to any person, and paid. The constraint is price, not standing.

Now the other direction:

"שירות זה מאפשר לכל אדם לעיין בקבצי מידע בנושאים מסוימים שיחידת החברות והשותפויות מפרסמת עבור כלל החברות והשותפויות הרשומות במרשם."

This service allows any person to consult information files on certain subjects which the Companies and Partnerships Unit publishes for all the companies and partnerships registered in the register.

And the Ministry of Justice publishes "מאגר חברות - רשם החברות" — the Registrar of Companies' companies database — as a dataset on Israel's government data portal.

Single record paid, whole set published. That is the shape, and it is worth stating plainly because it inverts the default assumption almost everyone brings to a national register.

What this page does not say is which is better value, or that the published files substitute for the extract. The sources do not compare them, and they are not obviously substitutes: one is a per-entity consultation of filings, the other is files on certain subjects across the whole register. ISRAEL_REPORT.md flags the most useful missing piece — what the free files actually contain — as the thing a reader needs next.

The person search, sold by the record

Israel also answers the person question, and it is a paid service like the others:

"שירות זה מאפשר לכל אדם לקבל מידע בתשלום על אדם או חברה ממאגרי החברות והשותפויות. המידע המתקבל יכלול מידע על בעלי תפקידים שמכהנים או כיהנו בעבר. המידע לא כולל תוצאות חל"צ."

This service allows any person to receive information, for a fee, about a person or a company from the companies and partnerships databases. The information received will include information on office-holders who currently serve or served in the past. The information does not include results for public-benefit companies (חל"צ).

Two things worth carrying. It reaches former office-holders, not only current ones. And it carries a stated exclusion — public-benefit company results are not included — which is the kind of limit that silently distorts a search if you do not know it.

Three registers in this series answer the person question three different ways. The Croatia company lookup guide covers a register that publishes the person-level view by personal identification number, with functions and the periods held. The Slovenia company lookup guide covers a register that offers the search, across four named roles. Israel sells it, to any person, including past office-holders.

Three states, three access models for the same question, and this page does not rank them. Publishing, offering and selling are three positions on who bears the cost and who gets the view, not three degrees of one thing.

What an Israeli company register entry contains

A self-contained summary. Israel's company register is held by רשות התאגידים, the Corporations Authority, within the Ministry of Justice, through יחידת רשם החברות, the Registrar of Companies, alongside רשם השותפויות, the Registrar of Partnerships, with services at ica.justice.gov.il. To establish the information and filings submitted to the Registrar of Companies or the Registrar of Partnerships as required by law, including in respect of the company's or partnership's address, one must consult the corporation file, which is a paid service. Producing a company extract (נסח חברה) in Hebrew and English is a service allowing any person to consult a company extract for a fee. A further paid service allows any person to receive information about a person or a company from the companies and partnerships databases, including information on office-holders who currently serve or served in the past; that information does not include results for public-benefit companies. A service allows any person to consult documents held in the file of a company or a public-benefit company; the file includes the documents submitted to the Registrar of Companies unit by the corporation from the day of its registration in the unit's registers, such as the certificate of incorporation, a certificate of change of name, articles of association and more. The documents in the file are scanned and signed with a secure electronic signature and are admissible for submission in court and in all government units after printing. Under section 10(d) of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, the Corporations Authority issues companies a certificate of incorporation which serves as conclusive evidence that the company was lawfully registered in the companies register of the State of Israel. A separate service allows any person to consult information files on certain subjects which the Companies and Partnerships Unit publishes for all the companies and partnerships registered in the register, and the Ministry of Justice publishes the Registrar of Companies' companies database as a dataset on Israel's government data portal. An online enquiry service to the Registrar of Companies unit is handled within two business days, except for requests with a specifically defined handling time. This summary does not describe what the paid extract returns or what fields the published information files contain, because neither was established from the Authority's own pages on the date shown.

The certificate is conclusive evidence

One rule states what an Israeli incorporation certificate actually proves, and it is worth having exactly:

"בהתאם לסעיף 10(ד) לחוק החברות, התשנ"ט - 1999, רשות התאגידים מנפיקה לחברות תעודת התאגדות המשמשת ראיה חלוטה לכך שהחברה נרשמה כדין במרשם החברות של מדינת ישראל."

In accordance with section 10(d) of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, the Corporations Authority issues companies a תעודת התאגדות — certificate of incorporation — which serves as conclusive evidence (ראיה חלוטה) that the company was lawfully registered in the companies register of the State of Israel.

Read the object of that sentence carefully, because it is narrow and precise: the certificate is conclusive evidence that the company was lawfully registered. It is a statement about the fact of registration, not about the company's current state, its filings, or the accuracy of anything in them.

Israel joins a set this series has been assembling, and the four members attach their answers to four different objects — which is why they cannot be read as stronger and weaker versions of one rule. The Spain company lookup guide covers a register whose content is presumed exact and valid. The Austria company lookup guide covers a register granting statutory reliance on a query. Israel's certificate is conclusive evidence of lawful registration. Different objects, different scopes, not ranked.

The file is scanned, signed and admissible

For anyone doing diligence on an Israeli counterparty, this is the practical section.

"שירות זה מאפשר לכל אדם לעיין במסמכים המצויים בתיק חברה או חברה לתועלת הציבור. התיק כולל את המסמכים שהוגשו ליחידת רשם החברות על ידי התאגיד מיום רישומו במרשמי יחידת רשם החברות, כגון: תעודת התאגדות, תעודת שינוי שם, תקנון ועוד. המסמכים בתיק סרוקים וחתומים בחתימה אלקטרונית מאובטחת והם קבילים להגשה בבית משפט ובכל היחידות הממשלתיות לאחר הדפסתם."

This service allows any person to consult the documents held in the file of a company or a public-benefit company. The file includes the documents submitted by the corporation from the day of its registration, such as the certificate of incorporation, a certificate of change of name, the articles of association and more. The documents in the file are scanned and signed with a secure electronic signature, and they are admissible for submission in court and in all government units after printing.

Three things in one passage. The file runs from the day of registration, so it is a history rather than a snapshot. The documents carry a secure electronic signature. And they are admissible in court and across government after printing — which means a printed copy from this file is not a photocopy of a record but a document that stands on its own.

Where an Israel lookup stops

An online enquiry to the Registrar of Companies unit is handled "תוך שני ימי עסקים" — within two business days — except for requests with a specifically defined handling time. That is a useful planning number for anything the self-service routes do not answer.

This page does not describe what the paid extract returns, or what fields the published information files contain, or how often those files are updated. None was sourced. The second of those is the most consequential: the free/paid inversion is this page's finding, and knowing what the free files hold is exactly what a reader needs next. ISRAEL_REPORT.md flags it first.

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

Data quality pitfalls to avoid in Israel

Expecting a free address lookup. The source names the address specifically as something established by consulting the corporation file, which is a paid service.

Assuming the published files replace the extract. The sources do not compare them, and one is a per-entity consultation while the other is files on certain subjects across the register.

Reading the incorporation certificate as a warranty about the company. Under section 10(d) it is conclusive evidence that the company was lawfully registered — a statement about registration, not about current state or filings.

Running a person search and expecting complete coverage. The information does not include results for public-benefit companies.

Treating the person search as current-only. It includes office-holders who currently serve or served in the past.

Assuming a printed file document needs certifying. The documents are scanned, signed with a secure electronic signature, and admissible in court and in all government units after printing.

A repeatable Israel company lookup workflow

1. Decide whether your question is about one entity or the whole register, because the cost model differs by direction.
2. Go to the published information files and the government data portal for population work.
3. Consult the corporation file when you need filings or the address, and budget for a paid service.
4. Use the person search for office-holders, expecting past holders and no public-benefit company results.
5. Print file documents directly when you need something admissible, rather than seeking separate certification.
6. Allow two business days for an online enquiry that the self-service routes do not answer.

Frequently asked questions

Is an Israeli company's address free to look up?

The Authority states that establishing the information and filings submitted to the Registrar — including in respect of the company's or partnership's address — means consulting the corporation file, which is a paid service.

Can anyone get a company extract?

Yes. The service allows any person to consult a company extract, in Hebrew and English, for a fee.

Is anything published for free?

The Companies and Partnerships Unit publishes information files on certain subjects for all registered companies and partnerships, and the Ministry of Justice publishes the companies database as a dataset on the government data portal.

What do those free files contain?

This page does not say, because it was not established from the Authority's own pages. It is the first item in the report.

What does a certificate of incorporation prove?

Under section 10(d) of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, it serves as conclusive evidence that the company was lawfully registered in the companies register of the State of Israel.

Can I search by person?

Yes, as a paid service open to any person, covering office-holders who currently serve or served in the past. The information does not include results for public-benefit companies.

Are file documents usable as evidence?

The documents in the file are scanned and signed with a secure electronic signature and are admissible for submission in court and in all government units after printing.

How long does an enquiry take?

An online enquiry to the Registrar of Companies unit is handled within two business days, except for requests with a specifically defined handling time.

Source Register

Every Hebrew sentence quoted above is the publisher's own wording, read on the date shown, with an English gloss beside it rather than in place of it. No amount appears anywhere in this page's prose — the fees are named as fees and never as figures.

This page does not describe what the paid extract returns, what fields the published information files contain, or how often they are updated. ISRAEL_REPORT.md flags the second first: the free/paid inversion is the finding, and what the free files hold is what a reader most needs next.

The readings that are InfobelPRO's rather than the Authority's: that "single record paid, whole set published" inverts the default assumption most readers bring to a national register; that the address clause is what makes the inversion land, because a registered address is the field a reader is least likely to expect behind a paywall; that section 10(d) is narrow, proving the fact of lawful registration rather than anything about the company's current state; and that publishing, offering and selling the person view are three positions on who bears the cost rather than three degrees of one thing. Those are ours, and no comparison here is a ranking.