BahamasCompany Incorporation Experts Guided, Start to Finish

Everything needed to bring the company into existence and see it through its first year: name check, structure advice, due diligence, drafting and filing of the incorporation documents, the government fee, the statutory registers, digital copies of every document, and the registered agent and registered office for the first year. The Scope of Work section above lists every item; the higher packages add original certificates, apostille and further services.

Our packages start from US$1,375, which covers the government fee, our work and the first year of registered agent and office. The pricing section above shows what each package includes; from year two, renewal starts from US$1,099 a year. The figure we quote is the figure you pay.

Yes. The whole process is handled remotely: the initial conversation, the due diligence, the signing of documents and the filing. Nothing requires your presence, and no original document has to be posted to us before incorporation.

We send the documents with every signature point marked and a short note on how to sign each one. You print, sign by hand, scan and return them electronically. Where a document needs to be witnessed or notarised, we tell you in advance so nothing has to be redone.

For every director, shareholder and beneficial owner: a certified copy of a passport, a proof of address issued within the last three months, and a short description of the source of funds and professional background. Corporate shareholders provide their constitutional documents and registers. The Documents section above sets out the list and the certification rules, and an advisor checks each item with you before anything is submitted.

No. Due diligence on every person connected to the company is required by the Bahamas's anti-money laundering law before anything can be filed, and it applies to every client without exception. What we can do is make it quick: one checklist, clear format guidance, and a review of each document as it arrives.

Tell us what the company is for and who is behind it, using the form below or by email. An advisor comes back with the structure we recommend, the exact document list and the full fee. If you decide to go ahead, we issue an invoice and begin the due diligence as soon as it is settled.

No. A Bahamas IBC pays no income tax, capital gains tax or withholding tax in the Bahamas, and there is no tax on dividends. Value added tax applies only to supplies made within the Bahamas. The owners may still have obligations where they are resident.

Partly. A copy of the register of directors and officers is filed with the Registrar General and is open to public inspection, so director names are searchable; nominee directors are available where privacy matters. The register of members is kept at the registered office and is not filed, so shareholders are not on public record. Beneficial ownership is held on a secure register accessible only to the authorities.

One director and one shareholder are enough, and the same person may be both. There is no residency or nationality requirement, and corporate directors and shareholders are permitted.

There is no minimum share capital and shares may be issued in any currency. The Bahamian dollar is pegged one to one to the United States dollar, so United States dollar capital is the norm.

An IBC can trade internationally, hold assets and investments, own intellectual property and act as a holding company. Banking, insurance, investment fund and securities activities require a licence from the relevant Bahamian regulator, and an IBC cannot carry on business with Bahamian residents without prior permission from the Central Bank of The Bahamas under exchange control.

The name must end in Limited, Limited Liability Company, Corporation, Incorporated, Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, Société Anonyme or Sociedad Anónima, or the abbreviation Ltd., LLC, Corp., Inc., GmbH or S.A. It cannot be the same as or misleadingly similar to an existing company, and words implying a bank, trust, insurer or government body need consent. We check availability before filing.

Yes. Directors and shareholders may live anywhere, and meetings can be held by any means. Managing the company from your home country can make it tax resident there, so local advice on that point is sensible.

No office or staff in the Bahamas are required unless the company carries on a relevant activity under the substance rules. The registered agent and registered office required by law are included in your first year.

There is no audit requirement and no financial statements are filed. Every IBC must keep accounting records for five years and file an annual accounting records declaration with the Registrar General by 30 September confirming where the records are kept.

Yes. The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act 2023 requires every IBC to file an economic substance report within nine months of its fiscal year end, whether or not it carries on a relevant activity. Companies that do carry on a relevant activity must show adequate substance in the Bahamas, which we assess with you.

The government fee is fixed by the International Business Companies Act and is due on 1 January every year. A 10 per cent surcharge applies if the fee is unpaid at the end of March and a 50 per cent surcharge if it is still unpaid at the end of October; a company that has not paid by 31 December is struck off the register from 1 January. Our renewal packages include the fee.

The Bahamas does not require an annual return in the usual sense. Instead, every IBC files an accounting records declaration with the Registrar General by 30 September each year, confirming that records are kept and where. It is not public.

Economic substance applies to IBCs carrying on a relevant activity such as holding company business, finance and leasing, shipping, intellectual property or headquarters business. Every IBC files a report within nine months of its fiscal year end; those without a relevant activity simply confirm as much.

An unpaid government fee attracts a 10 per cent surcharge from April and 50 per cent from November, and the company is struck off if it remains unpaid at 31 December. A missed accounting records declaration costs the company its good standing until it is filed, and substance and reporting failures carry administrative penalties that can reach six figures, with daily penalties of up to B$1,000 while a breach continues and strike-off in serious cases. Our engagement is designed so none of this arises.

Send us one email. We prepare the resolution, gather the signatures, update the registers and file the change of directors or officers with the Registrar General. A change of name is filed as an amendment to the memorandum, and the Registrar General issues a new certificate. Most changes are completed within the week.

Renewal starts from US$1,099 a year and covers the government fee, the registered agent and registered office, the annual filings, secretarial work and the statutory records. The Compliance section above shows what each renewal package includes, and the full detail is on the compliance pricing page.

Yes. An IBC can change its registered agent, and the International Business Companies Act allows a company to continue out of the Bahamas into another jurisdiction or into the Bahamas from abroad. We handle either filing if the need arises.