NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Registrar General is set to unveil its new Corporate Administrative Registry Services (C.A.R.S.) portal today. This platform allows users to manage tasks such as incorporating a new company, filing corporate documents, paying annual fees, and obtaining certified copies of corporate documents—all conveniently from their home or office, eliminating the need to visit the RGD in person.
Attorney General Ryan Pinder, during his budget contribution for 2024/2025 in the Senate, highlighted that several financial corporate service providers have been participating in a pilot testing phase of the new platform over the past few months to ensure a smooth user experience.
“This marks the culmination of years of development work, data integrity projects, and data migration. We firmly believe this will revolutionize the country’s company registry. I extend my thanks and congratulations to Registrar General Camille Gomez-Jones for her dedication and commitment to completing this project, often under challenging circumstances. The industry and we are very excited to introduce this platform, a significant step forward in modernizing our business sector,” said Pinder.
He continued, “Following the launch of C.A.R.S., the RGD will commence the digitization of the Civil Registry. This will include a fully digital Civil Registry Services Platform, enabling users to obtain certified copies of Birth, Death, and Marriage records, as well as certified copies of recorded documents, without needing to visit the RGD. Development work on this project has already begun, with the new civil registry platform slated for launch for new registrations by the end of this calendar year. Gone are the days of waiting in line outdoors to file registrations and retrieve documents.”
Pinder also announced plans for intellectual property reform in The Bahamas, aiming to establish a modern legislative and registry framework to support the Orange economy.
“In July, the government will pass a suite of legislative amendments to enhance intellectual property protection in The Bahamas. The new legislation and regulations will provide increased protection for Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents, Geographic Indications, and Industrial Designs,” he explained.
“As part of these reforms, we will establish a new Intellectual Property Office responsible for a standalone IP registry and an IP Registrar. This office will be housed within the Office of the Attorney General, following a successful model adopted by many of our regional counterparts. WIPO has committed to providing technical consultancy and expert advice to help establish the office and integrate the new IP regime with The Bahamas’ creative industries,” Pinder added.
