Marshall Islands International Business Company Incorporation (IBC)

No. The whole incorporation runs from wherever you are. The Articles of Incorporation are signed by the incorporator on your instruction, the by-laws are adopted by the first board wherever it sits, and nothing has to be signed in the republic. Board meetings may be held and the books kept in any country. Your corporate kit is couriered to any address in the world once it exists.

Yes, the government fee is inside for a corporation authorised to issue up to 500 shares without par value or US$50,000 of par value stock. The Basic package at US$999 also carries the Articles of Incorporation and by-laws, the registered agent and registered office for year one, the statutory registers, your electronic Certificate of Incorporation and courier delivery of the corporate kit. Premium at US$1,599 adds the original paper set and the authenticated copies banks often ask for. A larger share authorisation carries a one time charge, quoted in advance.

Every package includes assistance with opening an Airwallex multi-currency account, so the IBC can send and receive payments from the start. Where a traditional bank is wanted, our team advises on which banks are open to a Marshall Islands non-resident corporation for your activity, prepares the application file with you and coordinates each step with the bank. The decision on any account rests with the bank, and we say so at the outset. The dollar is legal tender in the islands, a natural fit for a dollar based business.

Very little. An RMI corporation carries twelve duties, and all three dated ones fall on the anniversary of its incorporation: the annual government fee, the beneficial ownership attestation and the economic substance declaration. Our annual engagement, from US$999 a year from year two, carries eleven of the twelve, including the agent, the office and the registers. Your part is to keep the books of account for five years and to answer when we ask, mainly on how the company spent its year before the substance declaration is prepared.

Both. Moving an existing one to us costs US$350, then US$999 a year for the annual engagement. Because Marshall Islands law names one registered agent for every non-resident entity, nothing about its registration moves: same name, same number, same anniversary. What changes is the team preparing its filings. If you want to close it instead, we prepare the resolutions, settle what is outstanding and manage the dissolution on your behalf, quoted once we have seen where it stands.

No. Marshall Islands law names a single trust company as the registered agent of every non-resident corporation, and every incorporation goes through it, so there is no form you send in on your own. What we add is the part that saves time and mistakes: advice on whether an IBC or an LLC fits your plan, preparation of the Articles and by-laws, management of the whole process on your behalf, and a team that stays with you afterwards.

One director and one shareholder, and the same person may hold both roles. There is no maximum for either. Directors and shareholders may live in any country and hold any nationality, and no one has to be resident in the Marshall Islands. The Register of Directors and the Register of Members are kept by the company itself, reach no public file and are produced to the registered agent on demand. A change of director is written up in the register and is not filed.

Yes to both. A Marshall Islands non-resident corporation may have a corporate director and a corporate shareholder, and a company may also hold an office such as secretary. That suits group holding structures, one parent above several owning corporations, and joint ventures where each side subscribes through its own entity. Whatever the shape, the people who ultimately own or control more than 25 per cent are identified before incorporation, looked through every holding company until a person is reached, and that record is kept privately.

The Marshall Islands sets no minimum capital and no minimum paid up amount, par value may be expressed in any currency, and shares may be issued with or without par value in more than one class or series. The standard authorisation is 500 shares without par value or US$50,000 of par value stock, and going above it carries a one time charge at formation. Bearer shares remain lawful but are void until the holder and beneficial owner are recorded with the registered agent, so we do not recommend them.

A secretary, yes: it is mandatory, and most also appoint a president and a treasurer by convention. The secretary may live anywhere, may be a company, may also be a director, and one person may hold every office. An office of its own, no. The registered office in the Articles is the registered agent's address on Majuro, and it comes with the agent in every package. You lease nothing, employ no one in the islands, and may hold meetings and keep the books anywhere.

The flag and the corporate law grew up together. The Marshall Islands carries the second largest merchant fleet in the world by tonnage, more than 220 million gross tons across over 6,650 vessels as at mid-2026. There is no nationality requirement for vessel ownership, the paperwork is in English, and the flag is recognised under the international maritime conventions. Lenders record their mortgage over the vessel in the islands too, where the owner itself sits. Owners usually set up one corporation per hull, so selling a ship means transferring shares.