🇨🇾How to verify a supplier in Cyprus
To verify a supplier in Cyprus, look the company up for free in the official Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR / Έφορος Εταιρειών) and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns registered name, HE number, entity type, status, and the registered office address; the free organisation card also lists the directors and secretary, so you can check WHO is entitled to sign before wiring anything.
The official registry
- Registry
- Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR / Έφορος Εταιρειών)
- Company ID
- registration number (HE / ΗΕ for limited companies) and the VAT number (CY + 9 characters)
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- Status must read Registered (Εγγεγραμμένη); a company shown as struck off (Διαγραμμένη) or dissolved no longer exists. Also open the filings tab: a live trading company files annual returns (HE32), and years of missing filings mean a dormant shell.
- Cyprus is in the EU, so validate the CY VAT number for free on VIES. A supplier that invoices with a VAT number VIES cannot confirm is the single cheapest red flag to catch.
- Cyprus-specific caveat: it is a major holding and nominee jurisdiction, so a registered office at a law firm or corporate-service address and professional nominee directors are NORMAL here even for legitimate companies. The registry proves the entity exists and who signs, it does NOT prove a factory or warehouse; ask for the operational address separately and verify it.
- Match the HE number, not the name spelling: shell companies imitating a real supplier's name are cheap to set up, the HE number is unique.
- A payment tell: a legitimate Cypriot company banks locally (Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic Bank, AstroBank) in its exact registered name. A request to pay a personal account or an unrelated third company is a stop signal.
Verify it in four steps
1. Open the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR / Έφορος Εταιρειών)
Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR / Έφορος Εταιρειών) is the official government record of companies in Cyprus. Basic name or number search is free.
2. Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its registration number (HE / ΗΕ for limited companies) and the VAT number (CY + 9 characters). 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
Status must read Registered (Εγγεγραμμένη); a company shown as struck off (Διαγραμμένη) or dissolved no longer exists. Also open the filings tab: a live trading company files annual returns (HE32), and years of missing filings mean a dormant shell.
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. For an EU company, also validate the VAT number in the free EU VIES system.
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 Cyprus 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 Cyprus suppliers, not just the loudest.
Related guides
Questions
Is checking a Cyprus supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR / Έφορος Εταιρειών) is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a Cyprus company have?
Its registration number (HE / ΗΕ for limited companies) and the VAT number (CY + 9 characters). Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property (DRCOR / Έφορος Εταιρειών) and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a Cyprus 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. Cyprus is in the EU, so validate the CY VAT number for free on VIES. A supplier that invoices with a VAT number VIES cannot confirm is the single cheapest red flag to catch.