Key Takeaways
- First-year cost combines government and registry fees, name reservation, registered-agent and office charges, stamp duty, and professional formation work.
- Your annual government licence fee falls due at setup, so it should be counted as part of the initial spend rather than a later expense.
- Several factors shift your total, including share-capital structure and the professional services you require, which is why a single fixed figure rarely applies.
- Building a realistic all-in estimate helps non-resident owners budget accurately before committing to formation.
Understanding the Cost of Incorporating a Company in Grenada
The cost to incorporate a company in Grenada divides into a small set of predictable charges: government registry fees, professional formation work, and the mandatory local agent who keeps your entity connected to the authorities. For a foreign owner, the headline is that government fees are modest, while the larger and more variable line items come from the professional services a non-resident generally cannot avoid.
Two structures attract most foreign interest: the private limited liability company and the International Business Company (IBC), the standard vehicle for non-resident, offshore-facing business in the Caribbean. Company registration runs through the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO), the registrar that maintains corporate records under the Companies Act.
This article sets out each cost component, what is verified, what should be confirmed locally, and a realistic first-year budget. It is most relevant to foreign business owners and their advisers comparing Grenada against other Eastern Caribbean jurisdictions before committing.
A note on currency throughout: Grenada uses the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD/EC$), pegged at XCD 2.70 to USD 1.00, so every figure below converts at that fixed rate.
Government and Registry Incorporation Fees, Including Name Reservation
Registry charges are the most transparent part of your budget. They are paid to CAIPO and follow a defined schedule for name clearance, reservation, and the incorporation filing itself.
The sequence begins with a name search, a nominal charge of XCD 5 to confirm availability. Reserving the cleared name costs XCD 25, and the reservation is processed in roughly three business days when the application is in order.
The incorporation filing is the principal government cost. Published guidance from the Grenada Investment Development Corporation places this fee at around EC$1,200, with a separate EC$25 for business-name registration; other sources indicate the registry fee can fall anywhere from roughly XCD 600 to XCD 1,500 depending on the company's capital structure and whether it is a local company or an IBC.
Because these figures come from materials that may predate the current schedule, treat them as a working estimate rather than a fixed quote. Confirm the live amount with CAIPO or have your agent verify it before you file.
Government incorporation fees differ between a local company and an IBC and can shift with the capital band. Obtain the current CAIPO schedule before budgeting a precise number.
Once the documents are approved, CAIPO issues a Certificate of Incorporation, formally registering the company. Standard processing typically runs three to ten business days at the registry, and the full path from name reservation to operational readiness generally takes two to three weeks. No official express surcharge was identified, so any premium for faster turnaround would come from a private agent rather than the registry.
Company Incorporation in Grenada
Set up your company in Grenada with Expanship handling registration end to end.
Registered-Agent and Registered-Office Fees in the First Year
Every company must appoint a local registered agent and maintain a registered office address within the jurisdiction. The agent receives official notices on the company's behalf and is a hard requirement for any foreign-owned entity, since you will not hold a local address yourself.
A company secretary is also mandatory, a role usually folded into the same corporate-services package rather than billed separately. Local firms typically bundle the registered agent, registered address, secretarial duties, and annual return filing into one annual retainer.
No official or leading law-firm source gives a fixed XCD figure for the registered-agent and office fee, so we will not print one as fact. The honest position is that this is one of the larger variable costs of a non-resident setup, and the only reliable number is a current written quotation from a Grenadian provider.
Share-Capital, Stamp Duty, and Professional Formation Charges
Capital requirements impose almost no cost. A company can be formed with a single shareholder, a single director, and as little as US$1 in paid-up share capital, and there is no mandatory minimum for authorised capital.
IBCs are commonly set up with US$50,000 in authorised capital, though this is a convention rather than a statutory floor. Shares need not carry a par value, the articles define the share classes and their rights, and bearer shares are prohibited.
On the tax side at formation, the picture is favourable. No capital duty and no stamp duty apply to share capital at the company level when you incorporate, per the Deloitte Grenada Highlights (2019); stamp duty arises only where the company is transferring real property, which is not part of a standard setup. Confirm that no later change has been introduced before relying on this for planning.
The Annual Stamp Tax is worth understanding so you do not mistake it for a formation charge. It is levied on business gross receipts at 0.25% on amounts above XCD 30,000 up to XCD 100,000, and 0.5% above XCD 100,000, but it is assessed on the prior year's receipts, so a new company owes nothing in its first year.
The substantive professional cost is the attorney who prepares and notarises the company statutes: the Articles of Incorporation, Notice of Directors, and Notice of Registered Address. GIDC materials cite attorney fees of roughly EC$2,500 for this work; firm rates vary with complexity, so use that as a midpoint rather than a quote.
Ongoing Compliance in Grenada
Keep your Grenada entity compliant with filings, returns, and statutory obligations.
The Annual Government Licence Fee That Falls Due at Setup
Both the incorporation fee and an annual renewal fee are paid to CAIPO, and an annual business licence fee may apply to an IBC. The precise XCD amount of these annual charges did not appear in any official schedule retrieved for this article, so confirm the current figure directly with the registry or your agent before committing to a full-year budget.
Tax registration with the Inland Revenue Department is required of all businesses and is itself free. Certain regulated activities also carry an annual professional licence fee, sector-dependent in amount and due on or before 7 January each year.
Keeping current matters financially. Late delivery of a required document to the Registrar carries a penalty of EC$10,000 if cured within 25 working days, rising to EC$25,000 if not, and persistent failure to file annual returns can lead to administrative dissolution.
What Makes Your Total Cost Vary
The same incorporation can cost very different amounts depending on structure and the documents a non-resident must produce. The variables below explain most of the spread between a lean setup and a fully serviced one.
- Entity type and capital band: local company and IBC fee tracks differ, and the registry charge can move within the roughly XCD 600 to XCD 1,500 range with the capital structure.
- Attorney and formation fees: document drafting and notarisation vary by firm and by the complexity of your share structure.
- Nominee services: there is no residency requirement for directors or shareholders, so non-residents avoid residency costs, but nominee director or shareholder arrangements, where used, add provider fees.
- Foreign-document handling: apostille or notarisation of your identification and corporate papers is required for KYC and AML onboarding, with cost driven by country of origin and document volume.
- Sector licensing: some activities need additional licences, adding both fee and time.
- Processing speed: any charge for faster turnaround is a private-provider premium, not an official express lane.
One point on ongoing tax rather than formation: Grenada IBCs are exempt from local income tax, capital gains tax, and withholding taxes on dividends, interest, and royalties, with no exchange controls. These exemptions lower the running burden but do not reduce what you pay to set the company up.
Grenada Incorporation Pricing
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A Realistic All-In First-Year Cost Estimate
The verifiable government charges are small and well defined; the two figures that move a real budget, the registered-agent retainer and the annual government licence fee, are the ones you must confirm with a local provider. The table below separates what is documented from what remains open.
| Cost element | XCD (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name search | 5 | CAIPO |
| Name reservation | 25 | CAIPO |
| Business-name registration | 25 | GIDC source; may be dated |
| Government incorporation fee | ~1,200 | GIDC source; range cited elsewhere 600–1,500 |
| Attorney / formation fee | ~2,500 | Varies by firm |
| Registered agent + office (Year 1) | Confirm locally | Not verified; obtain a quotation |
| Annual government renewal / licence | Confirm with CAIPO | Not verified |
| Tax registration (IRD) | Free | GIDC source |
| Apostille / notarisation of foreign docs | Variable | Depends on origin and volume |
Adding the documented items, the government-fee subtotal lands near XCD 1,255 (about USD 465), and including the typical attorney fee brings a partial Year-1 subtotal to roughly XCD 3,755 (about USD 1,390), excluding the two unverified line items.
A reasonable working assumption for a full-service first year, government fees plus attorney, registered agent and office, secretary, and annual renewal, is in the region of USD 1,500 to USD 3,500, drawing on comparable Eastern Caribbean jurisdictions. Treat that band as a planning figure to be confirmed with Grenadian providers, not a quote. For an IBC, note that tax-exempt status can run for up to 20 years, so ongoing income-tax cost may be negligible, while the Annual Stamp Tax still applies once receipts begin.
Conclusion
Setting up in Grenada is inexpensive at the registry level, with name and incorporation fees totalling only a few hundred US dollars, and the real budget is shaped by professional services a non-resident genuinely needs: an attorney to draft the statutes and a local agent to hold the registered office and secretarial roles. The two figures most likely to surprise you, the agent retainer and the annual government licence fee, are precisely the ones worth confirming in writing before you commit. Build your plan around the documented government fees, treat the wider USD 1,500 to USD 3,500 first-year band as an estimate, and verify the live numbers with the registry and your provider.
How Expanship Can Help Your Business in Grenada
Expanship prepares an accurate, line-by-line first-year cost estimate for your Grenada company, confirms the live registry and licence fees with CAIPO, and secures fixed quotations for the registered agent and office so there are no open figures in your budget. From there, the firm handles the full setup and the obligations that follow for a foreign-owned entity.
- Company incorporation for LLCs and IBCs, from name reservation to Certificate of Incorporation
- Registered agent and registered office, with company secretary services
- Tax registration with the Inland Revenue Department and ongoing filings
- Annual return management and compliance monitoring to avoid late-filing penalties
- Accounting and bookkeeping, including Annual Stamp Tax tracking
- Introductions to local banking for non-resident owners
To request a current, itemised cost estimate for your structure, contact Expanship Grenada.
Frequently Asked Questions
The documented government charges are small: XCD 5 for a name search, XCD 25 for name reservation, XCD 25 for business-name registration, and an incorporation fee cited at around EC$1,200, though other sources place the registry fee in a XCD 600 to 1,500 band depending on capital structure. Because these figures may predate the current schedule, confirm the live amount with CAIPO before filing.
US$1 in paid-up share capital is sufficient to incorporate, and there is no mandatory minimum for authorised capital. IBCs are commonly formed with US$50,000 in authorised capital by convention, but that is not a legal requirement and does not have to be paid in.
Yes. Every company must appoint a Grenadian registered agent and maintain a local registered office, and a company secretary is also mandatory, usually bundled into the same annual retainer. No official fixed fee is published, so the reliable course is to obtain a current quotation from a local provider.
No capital duty and no stamp duty apply to share capital at company formation, based on the Deloitte Grenada Highlights (2019); stamp duty arises only where the company transfers real property. Confirm that no later change applies before relying on this for your planning.
Yes. The registered-agent and office retainer, the secretary, an annual government renewal or licence fee, and any first-year annual return all fall due within twelve months. Tax registration with the Inland Revenue Department is free, and late filing of statutory documents carries penalties of EC$10,000 or EC$25,000, so timely compliance protects your budget.
Standard processing at the registry typically runs three to ten business days once documents are approved, and the full path from name reservation to operational readiness generally takes two to three weeks. No official express surcharge was identified, so any faster turnaround would be a private-provider arrangement.
Legal Disclaimer
The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the content, laws and regulations are subject to change, and the application of laws can vary widely based on specific facts and circumstances.
Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel tailored to their individual situation. Expanship and its authors disclaim any liability for actions taken or not taken based on the content of this article.
For specific advice regarding your business setup, compliance requirements, or any legal matters, please consult with qualified legal and tax professionals in the relevant jurisdiction.
