Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Africa |
| ISO 3166-1 | BW / BWA |
| Registry | Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-04 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Botswana and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | TIN | BURS (Botswana Unified Revenue Service) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | CIPA company number | CIPA (Companies and Intellectual Property Authority) |
Sector regulators
BoB · NBFIRA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Company | (Pty) Ltd | Share-capital company with limited liability; maximum 25 shareholders, no public offering of shares. The standard SME vehicle in Botswana. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Public Company | Ltd | Share-capital company with unlimited shareholders that may offer shares to the public and list on the Botswana Stock Exchange. Equivalent to a US C-Corp. |
| Close Company | CC | Member-interest entity with 1–5 natural-person members, governed by the Close Companies Act; lighter accounting and compliance requirements than a private company. Closest US equivalent: LLC. |
| Company Limited by Guarantee | — | Non-share-capital company whose members guarantee a fixed contribution upon winding up; used primarily for non-profit and charitable purposes. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Partnership | — | Unincorporated association of two or more persons carrying on business together, registered under the Registration of Business Names Act; general and limited forms exist, with at least one partner bearing unlimited liability. Closest US equivalent: GP or LP. |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | A single natural person trading under their own or a registered business name under the Registration of Business Names Act; no separate legal personality, owner bears unlimited liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned entity registered under the Co-operative Societies Act; commonly used for savings, credit, and agricultural ventures. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| External Company | — | A foreign-incorporated body corporate registered with CIPA under the Companies Act to conduct business in Botswana; must appoint a resident authorized agent. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Certificate of Incorporation |
| Constitutive Documents | Constitution |
| Tax Registration | TIN Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Trade License |
| Ownership Records | All required: Constitution + Annual Return |
| Governance Records | All required: Constitution + Annual Return |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| Good Standing | Certificate of Good Standing |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Incorporation (CIPA) | Legal Registration |
| Constitution | Constitutive Documents, Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| TIN Certificate (BURS) | Tax Registration |
| Trade License (District/Town Council) | Operating Permit |
| Annual Return (Form 2) | Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Certificate of Good Standing (CIPA) | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | BoB, NBFIRA |
Collection notes
- Address: Lease (no time bound) or utility bill or bank statement dated within 90 days. Acceptable for both registered-address and operating-address verification.
- Good Standing: Issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) under the Botswana Companies Act (CAP 42:01). Used in re-registration and cross-border banking. Request within 30 days of submission.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board member. |