Deadlines set for RBO access requests
Lawyers at William Fry have highlighted new deadlines for the Registrar of Beneficial Ownership (RBO) to respond to applications for access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies.
The European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2026, which came into force on 4 August 2026, put into effect parts of the EU’s sixth directive on anti-money-laundering (AML).
Under the rules, any person with a legitimate interest in preventing and combating money-laundering and terrorist-financing can apply to the RBO for an access certificate.
A legitimate-interest access certificate will allow the holder to inspect certain beneficial-ownership information relating to a relevant company for the duration of the certificate.
Legitimate interest
Categories of people deemed to have a legitimate interest include journalists, media organisations, and civil-society organisations involved in the prevention and combating of money-laundering and terrorist-financing, as well as parties contemplating transactions with the entity.
Access certificates will be valid for three years from the date of issue or until revoked, whichever comes first.
In a note on the firm’s website, the William Fry lawyers say that a person who has been granted an access certificate can access the following information about the beneficial owner(s):
- Name,
- Month and year of birth,
- Country of residence,
- Nationality, and
- A statement of the nature and extent of the beneficial interest held.
They point out that from yesterday (10 November), the registrar must respond to a submission for an access certificate within 12 working days.
This can be extended by 12 working days if there is a sudden high volume of requests, and by a further 12 working days if volumes remain high, up to a maximum of 43 working days.
Once a certificate has been issued, subsequent inspection requests must be responded to within seven working days.
Appeal to District Court
William Fry adds that the registrar will require certain information, documents, and data as part of the submission process.
A person has ten days to appeal to the District Court against a decision to refuse or revoke an access certificate.
The 2026 regulations are aimed at striking a balance between the need for greater transparency and easier access to beneficial-ownership information for legitimate purposes, and the need to protect a person’s privacy and personal data.
In 2022, the EU’s top court found that a previous proposal to give the general public access to such information constituted “a serious interference with the fundamental rights to respect for private life, and to the protection of personal data”.