How to remove your personal info from OpenCorporates

What is OpenCorporates?

OpenCorporates.com is the world's largest open database of companies, aggregating business registry data from government sources in 140+ jurisdictions. An OpenCorporates listing typically shows your name, role (director, officer, registered agent), company name, registration number, and registered office address. If you have ever served as a company director, officer, or registered agent, your name and address are likely in OpenCorporates, and these pages rank prominently in Google searches of your name.

Why OpenCorporates removal is different from people-search sites

OpenCorporates publishes data sourced directly from government company registries. Unlike people-search data brokers, most of this data is genuinely public by law, governments require company director information to be publicly filed. This means standard CCPA/GDPR deletion rights have limits: OpenCorporates can argue the data serves a legitimate public interest (transparency in corporate ownership) that overrides individual deletion rights under GDPR's Article 17(3)(b).

Step-by-step: How to request removal from OpenCorporates

1. Step 1: Find your entries. Go to opencorporates.com and search your full name. Note the URLs of any entries that list you as a director, officer, or agent.
2. Step 2: Contact OpenCorporates directly. OpenCorporates processes privacy requests via their contact form at opencorporates.com/contact or by email. State which specific data you want removed, why it goes beyond the minimum public record (e.g., your home address as a registered office), and cite GDPR Article 17 if you are an EU/UK resident.
3. Step 3: Use your registered agent service. The most effective long-term fix is not to remove existing entries but to prevent new ones. If you are an active director, use a registered agent service or company secretary service as your registered address, this keeps your home address off future filings.

   💡 Tip: In the UK, Companies House allows directors to apply for a home address suppression (form SR01) if they can demonstrate a serious risk of violence or intimidation. This is the most reliable path for UK-based individuals concerned about their address in company filings.

4. Step 4: Request Google de-indexing for old entries. For entries related to dissolved companies, use Google's "Results About You" tool to request de-indexing of outdated pages, this removes Google visibility even if the OpenCorporates page remains.

Removal timeline

What to do if removal is refused

OpenCorporates may refuse deletion requests for data that is required to be publicly available under company law. If they refuse a GDPR Article 17 request without a valid legal basis, you can escalate to your national data protection authority (ICO in the UK, CNIL in France, etc.). For current company filings, contact the relevant government registry directly, many allow directors to suppress residential addresses in official filings.