🇧🇲How to verify a supplier in Bermuda
To verify a supplier in Bermuda, look the company up for free in the official Bermuda Registrar of Companies (ROC) and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns the status, registered office and directors or officers of any registered Bermuda entity (both local and exempt companies) through the government ROC portal; basic search is free but you must create a user account, and there is no free bulk or JSON download.
The official registry
- Registry
- Bermuda Registrar of Companies (ROC)
- Company ID
- company registration number
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- A company shown as active in the ROC portal is a currently-registered Bermuda entity; note whether it is a Local company (at least 60 percent Bermudian owned or controlled, allowed to trade on-island) or an Exempt company (formed by non-residents to do business outside Bermuda).
- Bermuda has NO VAT and NO general sales tax and NO corporate income tax for most entities: government revenue comes from customs duties (often about 25 percent on imported goods) plus payroll tax, so there is no VAT number to validate. A large multinational may fall under the new global-minimum-tax rules.
- Because the economy is import-driven, most consumer goods reach the island through a handful of big wholesalers (for example Butterfield and Vallis, BIECO); a producer rarely publishes a Where to Buy list because the wholesalers service almost every retailer directly.
- Many Bermuda artisan makers are micro-enterprises that trade only through Instagram or the Hamilton Farmers Market; the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce directory and the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation (BSBDC) member lists are the free places to cross-check a small local maker.
Before you sign: five asks no registry can answer
The register proves the company exists and who signs. It says nothing about whether the supplier survives a bad quarter, a fire or a key person leaving. Serious suppliers answer these five asks without friction; hesitation on any of them is information too.
- Business continuity: what happens to your order if their plant loses power, a strike hits or their systems go down? Ask for the plan, not a reassurance.
- Liability insurance: is product or professional liability insured, with which insurer and to what ceiling? A certificate of insurance is a one-page email for a real firm.
- Exit terms: how do you terminate if it goes wrong, what notice and fees apply, and how do you get your tooling, molds or data back?
- Support in numbers: ask for response and resolution times as figures, not adjectives. A supplier who commits to hours in writing has a support process; one who writes fast support does not.
- Named people: who exactly runs production and who owns your account? Continuity of a named team matters more than a polished sales deck, and employee-review sites often show whether that team stays.
General commercial hygiene, not legal advice.
Verify it in four steps
- 1
Open the Bermuda Registrar of Companies (ROC)
Bermuda Registrar of Companies (ROC) is the official government record of companies in Bermuda. Basic name or number search is free.
- 2
Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its company registration number. If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
- 3
Confirm it is active, not struck off
A company shown as active in the ROC portal is a currently-registered Bermuda entity; note whether it is a Local company (at least 60 percent Bermudian owned or controlled, allowed to trade on-island) or an Exempt company (formed by non-residents to do business outside Bermuda).
- 4
Check it makes what it sells
A real factory carries a manufacturing activity code and a consistent trade history; a middleman reselling everything is the most common mismatch.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
We do this check for you
On every Bermuda company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine Bermuda suppliers, not just the loudest.
Bermuda suppliers by sector
Every company on these pages shows what the open record says about it, each fact linked to its free public source.
Related guides
Questions
Is checking a Bermuda supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Bermuda Registrar of Companies (ROC) is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a Bermuda company have?
Its company registration number. Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Bermuda Registrar of Companies (ROC) and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a Bermuda supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the tell: a manufacturing code means a real maker, a wholesale or retail code means a trader. Bermuda has NO VAT and NO general sales tax and NO corporate income tax for most entities: government revenue comes from customs duties (often about 25 percent on imported goods) plus payroll tax, so there is no VAT number to validate. A large multinational may fall under the new global-minimum-tax rules.