Sufficiently detailed beneficial ownership information
Annex: Examples of information fields in beneficial ownership declaration forms
Well-designed forms are appropriate for a country’s context and make it as easy as possible for those declaring to provide accurate and unambiguous information. As discussed, fields should be automatically pre-populated with information from other government sources, such as an address or birth register, where possible. Required information fields may differ based on various factors, such as the type of legal vehicle for which BO information is being reported. For instance, different fields may be needed for legal entities (such as companies) compared to legal arrangements (such as trusts). [76]
The following table offers examples of information that can be requested for legal vehicles and beneficial owners in BO declaration forms. However, it should be read as neither exhaustive nor prescriptive, and some fields may not be applicable in all cases. Separate guidance is available on form design. [77]
| Information fields | |
|---|---|
| Legal vehicle: Company | – Full legal company name |
| – Transliteration of full legal company name | |
| – Contact address | |
| – Type of company or entity | |
| – Tax identification number | |
| – For private companies: | |
| – Country of registration | |
| – Registration authority | |
| – ID or reference number | |
| – For listed companies: | |
| – ID number | |
| – Registration authority | |
| – Link to stock exchange filings | |
| – For state-owned enterprises: | |
| – Jurisdiction of formation | |
| – State ownership or control interests | |
| Legal vehicle: Trust | – Name of the trust |
| – Transliteration of trust name | |
| – Any tax identification number or other authoritative reliable identifier | |
| – The jurisdiction under which the trust has been established | |
| – The local term for the type of trust or trust-like arrangement | |
| Natural person: Beneficial owner | – Full legal name |
| – Transliteration of full legal name | |
| – Alternative names | |
| – Date of birth | |
| – Nationalities | |
| – Tax residencies | |
| – Country of residence | |
| – Residential address, including postcode | |
| – Service address, including postcode | |
| – Contact email address or phone number | |
| – Identification number and document (country of issue, type, unique ID) | |
| – Details of interests and/or control held in the declaring company by the beneficial owner | |
| Natural person: Individual making a declaration | – Full legal name |
| – Transliteration of full legal name | |
| – Professional registration number | |
| – Identification number and document (country of issue, type, unique ID) | |
| – Contact email address or phone number | |
| – Contact address |
Footnotes
[76] For more information on different types of legal (or corporate) vehicles, see: Alanna Markle, Coverage of corporate vehicles in beneficial ownership disclosure regimes (Open Ownership, 2023), https://www.openownership.org/en/publications/coverage-of-corporate-vehicles-in-beneficial-ownership-disclosure-regimes/.
[77] For more information on form design, see: Peter Low, “New example form and guidance for developing beneficial ownership declarations”, Open Ownership, 20 April 2021, https://www.openownership.org/en/blog/new-example-form-and-guidance-for-developing-beneficial-ownership-declarations/.