Who owns the Italian S.r.l.? Beneficial ownership for US KYC

In short: US beneficial ownership reporting does not tell you who owns an Italian company, and the Italian register of beneficial owners is currently suspended. Italy defines the titolare effettivo by ownership above 25% of capital as an indicator, then by control. Veryfy reconstructs who controls an Italian company from the Business Register, from €9.90, in Italian.

Part of the guide Vetting an Italian company or counterparty: a guide for US businesses.

The US rules, as of today

• FinCEN issued a final BOI rule on August 11, 2026, effective August 14, 2026: U.S. companies are exempt from BOI reporting; "reporting company" now means only entities formed under foreign law that registered to do business in a U.S. State or Tribal jurisdiction (FinCEN: BOI reporting).
• The reporting regulation is 31 CFR 1010.380 (LII: 31 CFR § 1010.380).
• Separately, 31 CFR 1010.230 requires covered financial institutions to identify and verify the beneficial owners of legal entity customers (LII: 31 CFR § 1010.230). If your bank asks about an Italian counterparty's owners, this is why.

The Italian test

Art. 20 of D.Lgs. 231/2007: the beneficial owner of a client that is not a natural person is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls it. For companies with share capital, more than 25% of the capital held by a natural person is an indicator of direct ownership, and the same percentage held through controlled companies, trust companies or nominees is an indicator of indirect ownership. If ownership does not identify a person, control is tested: a majority of votes in the ordinary meeting, enough votes for dominant influence, or contractual ties giving dominant influence (Normattiva: D.Lgs. 231/2007, art. 20).

The EU framework is Article 30 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, which requires each Member State to hold beneficial ownership information in a central register (EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2015/849).

Why you cannot simply look it up

The Chamber of Commerce of Cuneo states on its page that, although D.Lgs. 122/2026 entered into force on July 23, 2026, the register remains suspended pending the Council of State, with a first hearing set for May 2027. Beneficial owner reporting, confirmation, sanctions, sample checks and access to the data by third parties are described as suspended (Camera di Commercio di Cuneo: titolare effettivo, read October 24, 2026). Check your own local Chamber of Commerce notice for changes.

What to do

Titolare effettivo (€9.90) shows who controls the company, meaning people with a relevant office or holding; Verifica (€19) includes it with shareholders and directors. Prices are one-off and in euros.

Every company product comes with a free Check anti-truffa (anti-scam check): it looks at the VAT number in the EU VIES register, free webmail or disposable email, domain age, domains flagged for malware or phishing, SPF and DMARC protection, the VAT number shown on the website, data breaches affecting the site, and whether the IBAN is correctly written and from a country consistent with the company.

The service and the report are in Italian, built from Italian official sources: company names, offices and procedures keep their original Italian wording. Veryfy does not offer a translated report.

Frequently asked questions

Can I look up the owners of an Italian company in a public register?

Not reliably today. The latest Chamber of Commerce notice we read (Cuneo) states that the Italian beneficial owner register remains suspended pending the Council of State, with access to the data by third parties suspended.

What is the Italian test for a beneficial owner?

Under art. 20 of D.Lgs. 231/2007, for companies with share capital a natural person holding more than 25% of the capital is an indicator of direct ownership; if ownership does not identify a person, the test moves to control.

Does the US Corporate Transparency Act help?

No. FinCEN's final rule exempts U.S. companies from BOI reporting, and the requirement now applies only to entities formed under foreign law and registered to do business in the US.

More in this cluster

Hub: Vetting an Italian company or counterparty: a guide for US businesses. Related guides:

• EIN vs partita IVA: vetting an Italian supplier
• BEC and wire fraud with an Italian counterparty
• US judgments in Italy and serving documents there
• Chapter 15 vs Italian insolvency proceedings
• Acquiring an Italian SME: due diligence and golden power
• Italian property and heirs: checks for US owners
• Italian company report glossary for US readers
• Italian company credit report: what a US buyer gets
• Italian VAT number lookup: how to check a partita IVA
• Collecting an unpaid invoice from an Italian customer
• Paying an Italian supplier: name-to-IBAN checks before you wire
• OFAC screening of an Italian company's owners
• Monitoring an Italian customer: ongoing due diligence
• Buying property in Italy from the US: check the seller and title
• Inheriting property in Italy: succession filing for US heirs

All guides: Guides.

Sources

Official sources opened and read on October 24, 2026 (2026-10-24).

• FinCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting
• LII: 31 CFR § 1010.380
• LII: 31 CFR § 1010.230
• Normattiva: D.Lgs. 231/2007, art. 20
• EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2015/849
• Camera di Commercio di Cuneo: titolare effettivo

General information, not legal advice. Sources verified on 2026-10-24.