International Business Company (IBC) is incorporated under the Belize Companies Act, 2022.

The Economic Substance Act came into force on 11 October 2019.

The word “Limited”, “Corporation”, “Incorporated”, “Society Anonyme”, “Sociedad Anonima” or “Aktiengesellschaft”. Alternatively, the equivalent abbreviations may be used “Ltd”, “Corp”, “Inc”, “S.A.”, “A.S.” or “A.G.” must be part of the name of every Belize IBC.

A suggested corporate name is not acceptable in the following cases:

• Similar to a name of an already existing Belize company
• Contains the words “Building Society”, “Chamber of Commerce”, “Chartered”, “Cooperative”, “Imperial”, “Municipal”, “Royal” or “Monarchy” a word conveying a similar meaning
• Suggesting the patronage of Her Majesty or that of a member of the Royal Family
• Suggesting a connection with the Government of Belize or a department, agency, authority or branch thereof, any political party or any professional association recognized by the laws of Belize
• Contains any one or more of the words “Academy”, “Asset Management”, “Assurance”, “Bank”, “Brokerage”, “Credit Union”, “Education”, “Fiduciary”, “Financial”, “Foreign Exchange”, “Forex”, “Fund”, “Investment Management”, “Insurance”, “Lending”, “Securities”, “Trust”, or “University” or any of their derivatives or cognate expressions
• Indecent, offensive or objectionable

A registered office address and registered agent in Belize are mandatory. Our fees include both of these services for the current year of formation.

An individual or legal entity of any country may be a shareholder.

A minimum of one shareholder is required and a minimum of one share for US$1.00 must be issued.

If you need a nominee shareholder , our company provides such services.

Any individual or legal entity of any country may be appointed as a director and officer.

One person may hold all positions, such as director, president, secretary, and treasurer. If you would like to have several directors, we could appoint any number of directors from a minimum of one to a maximum of ten.

If you need nominee director and officers , our company is able to provide such services. However, in most cases it’s preferable to be appointed as a manager of your own Belize IBC as it simplifies dealing with banks, suppliers, and customers. It also makes the annual renewal fee cheaper.

A Belize IBC has an authorized capital of US$50,000 divided into 50,000 registered shares of US$1.00 each. This is considered as the standard authorized capital. Such capital keeps the incorporation and annual cost of Belize IBC at a minimum level and is suitable for 99% of our clients.

Authorized capital of Belize IBC is the amount, which the company may receive from its shareholders in consideration for the issued shares. For example, if a company has an authorized capital of US$50,000 divided into 50,000 registered shares of US$1.00 each, the company is allowed to issue up to 50,000 registered shares and receive from its shareholders not less that US$1 for each issued share.

Belize international legislation offers a great level of flexibility. Belize companies could have any fixed amount of authorized capital starting from US$1 or have no authorized capital at all. When a Belize IBC is incorporated, the authorized capital is stated in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Belize IBC is not obliged to issue all its shares for the total amount of authorized capital in any mandatory time frames. The company could issue just 1 share for US$1.00 to a single shareholder and remaining shares or any part of them could be issued any time in the future. All issued shares must be paid up by shareholders.

When your authorized capital is more than US$50,000 the government incorporation fees and annual fees are more expensive. Please contact our company to find out what the fees are for companies that have a higher authorized capital.

Each Belize IBC must pay the annual renewal fee starting from the second year. Our annual fees are listed in the Fee Schedule.

Directors and shareholders information is filed with the Belize Registry. However, this information is not available to the public.

As an extra layer of privacy protection our company offers Nominee services.

There are no audit requirements for a Belize IBC.

In October 2013 Belize enacted the Accounting Records (Maintenance) Act. According to the Act all international business companies are required to maintain accounting records and keep them in any place within or outside of Belize as may be determined by the Board of directors.

Annual meetings are not required. Board of directors may decide to conduct an annual meeting of shareholders in any place inside and outside of Belize.

We incorporate Belize IBCs in 1 business day. Preparation of all internal documents takes an additional 2 to 4 business days.

Shelf companies are available immediately. If you require corporate documents to be legalized with Apostille, it takes an additional 1 to 3 business days.

All shelf companies do not have any previous business activity, transactions, and/or owners.

To select a shelf company please view our Shelf Company List.

Our company offers Belize mail forwarding services and other tailored office services.