BVI Court Records Search
Banks, lawyers and compliance officers ask for a court records search before they lend to, buy from or contract with a British Virgin Islands company: it shows whether the company appears as a party in a case before the High Court of the Virgin Islands, including an application to appoint liquidators. After you pay by card, we file a search with the Registry of the Supreme Court in Road Town. The stamped result, with the case numbers found and a copy of the originating filing when a case exists, is sent to your email and to your customer area as a PDF, in up to 2 business days.
What you get: sample document
The sample is a British Virgin Islands Supreme Court search form together with a High Court originating application filed on 24 June 2022 for appointment of joint liquidators over Three Arrows Capital Ltd. It shows the case number, parties, Insolvency Act 2003 grounds, a quantified crypto-loan claim exceeding USD 80 million, the registered office and the solicitors’ filing details. 6 pages in the sample document.
- JurisdictionBritish Virgin Islands
- FormatElectronic PDF by e-mail
- DeliveryUp to 2 business days
- Official sourceRegistry of the Supreme Court of the British Virgin Islands (Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court)
What it confirms
The Registry of the Supreme Court of the British Virgin Islands searches its records for the company name and states, on the stamped search form, whether a case exists, with the case number and the date found. A civil case is numbered BVIHCV and a case of the Commercial Division BVIHC(COM). When a case exists, the result includes a copy of the originating filing available at the Registry, such as an application for the appointment of liquidators under the Insolvency Act 2003.
Full list of what the document contains
- Registry of the Supreme Court, Government of the Virgin Islands, Road Town, Tortola
- Supreme Court Search Form with the date of the application and the Registry's PAID stamp
- Company name searched and the type of search (Commercial, Civil and the other registers of the Registry)
- Result: whether a case exists, the case number (BVIHCV or BVIHC(COM)) and the date
- When a case exists: a copy of the originating filing held by the Registry (claim, application or petition), with its case number, filing date and the parties
How we obtain and deliver it
After you pay by card through Stripe, we file the search application with the Registry of the Supreme Court in Road Town and pay the Registry's search fee on your behalf. The Registry stamps the form and returns the result; when a case exists we obtain a copy of the originating filing. The PDF is sent to your email and is available for download in the customer area, with delivery in up to 2 business days.
Who asks for it
Banks and payment institutions order the search during onboarding and credit reviews of a BVI company. Lawyers and insolvency practitioners use it to check for pending claims, liquidation applications and judgments before a transaction, a share purchase or a financing, and to confirm whether a counterparty is already in liquidation. Creditors use it to see whether another creditor has applied to wind the company up. Investors and fund administrators meet it in due diligence on a BVI holding company or fund vehicle.
Validity, apostille and related documents
The result states the position of the Registry's records on the date stamped on the form. A case filed after that date does not appear, so receiving parties normally want a recent search; a bank or a counterparty commonly asks for one made within the last one to three months. The search is a Registry record, not a judgment: the copy of a filing shows what was filed, and the outcome of the case is in the later orders and judgments, which can be ordered separately.
What the BVI court records search is
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is the superior court of the British Virgin Islands. Its High Court sits in Road Town, Tortola, and hears civil and criminal cases; the Commercial Division, established in May 2009, hears the commercial disputes and the insolvency cases of BVI companies, including applications to appoint liquidators under the Insolvency Act 2003. The Registry of the Supreme Court keeps the record of every case filed. A court records search is an application to the Registry to search those records for a name: the Registry stamps the search form and writes the result on it, with the case number and the date when a case exists.
What the search covers
The Registry searches by company name in the registers it keeps: commercial, civil, admiralty, appeal, probate, caveat, wills and deeds. The standard search for a company covers the Commercial and Civil registers, where a claim, a liquidation application or an enforcement against the company is filed. Cases of the Commercial Division filed since November 2018 are kept in the court's electronic filing system, the ECSC e-Litigation Portal; the Registry's search covers the electronic and the paper records.
What you receive
The stamped Supreme Court Search Form with the Registry's result. When the Registry finds a case, we add the case number and a copy of the originating filing available at the Registry, such as the application for the appointment of joint liquidators of a BVI company, which names the applicant, the respondent company, the grounds and the legal practitioners. When no case is found, the stamped form with the nil result is the document, and it is the evidence that a bank or a counterparty usually asks for.
What the search does not cover
Magistrate's Court matters, arbitrations and cases in courts outside the British Virgin Islands are not in the Registry's records. A search by name finds the cases filed under that name; a case filed under a former name of the company needs a second search, which you can order by giving us the former name.
Frequently asked questions
What is a BVI court records search?
It is a search of the records of the Registry of the Supreme Court of the British Virgin Islands for the name of a company. The Registry stamps the search form and states whether a case exists, with the case number (BVIHCV for a civil case, BVIHC(COM) for the Commercial Division) and the date. When a case exists, we add a copy of the originating filing held by the Registry.
How to find out if a BVI company is being sued or is in liquidation?
Order the search on this page. We file the application with the Registry of the Supreme Court in Road Town, pay the Registry's fee and send you the stamped result as a PDF in up to 2 business days. A liquidation application under the Insolvency Act 2003 is filed in the Commercial Division and appears in the search.
What does the result look like when there is no case?
The Registry returns the stamped Supreme Court Search Form with a nil result for the name searched. That stamped form is the document a bank or a counterparty asks for as evidence that no case was on record on the date of the search.
Which courts does the search cover?
The High Court of the Virgin Islands, which is the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court sitting in the BVI: its Civil and Commercial Divisions, and the other registers kept by the Registry (admiralty, appeal, probate, caveat, wills and deeds). Magistrate's Court matters, arbitrations and foreign courts are not covered.
How long is a BVI court search valid?
It states the position on the date stamped by the Registry; a case filed later does not appear. Receiving parties usually want a search made within the last one to three months, so check the acceptable age with the party who asked for it.