Company Incorporation in Belize
Formation of a Belize vehicle at the BCCAR through a licensed registered agent, which is mandatory: the agent files the incorporation, provides the required Belize registered office and runs KYC and beneficial-ownership collection. The flagship product is the business company under the Belize Companies Act 2022 (the former IBC — the 2022 Act consolidated the domestic Companies Act and the IBC Act, so there is no separate IBC track any more): one shareholder and one director minimum, both of which may be the same non-resident person, and corporate directors are permitted. The state fee turns on authorised share capital — BZ$300 at or below BZ$50,000 of authorised capital, BZ$2,000 above it. An International LLC (member- or manager-managed), an International Foundation and a registered International Trust are available on the same BCCAR schedule. Belize is NOT blanket tax-exempt: since the 2019 reform a company with Belize-source income or Belize tax residence is inside the business-tax net, every company obtains a TIN and files, and an economic-substance declaration is filed annually with the Financial Services Commission. English is the sole official language throughout.
5–15 business days
BZD
Compare the structures
Every column is a vehicle you can actually incorporate here, and each is bought on its own terms. Every fact carries where it was read: on the authority’s own page, or — marked Indicative — on a filing platform or publication we name and link. Anything we could not read anywhere is marked Pending verification and confirmed with the authority before you pay.
| Belize business company (formerly International Business Company / IBC) — Belize Companies Act 2022The primary offshore vehicle Comriq sells in Belize: international trading, holding, IP-holding and asset-holding structures whose management and income sit outside Belize. One shareholder and one director minimum (may be the same non-resident person), corporate directors permitted, 100% foreign ownership | Belize International Limited Liability Company (ILLC)A US-style pass-through, member-managed offshore vehicle for clients who want an LLC rather than a company limited by shares — members bear no personal liability beyond their contribution. Member- or manager-managed, so there is no board and no director minimum | Belize International FoundationCivil-law-style wealth structuring, philanthropy and succession where a client prefers a foundation to a trust — a self-owning legal person holding endowed assets for defined purposes or beneficiaries. It has no members at all; counted here as one owner (the founder) because the model requires a number | Belize International TrustAsset protection and estate/succession planning for non-residents — not a body corporate: a settlor transfers assets to a Belize-licensed trustee for beneficiaries, who take no personal liability. Counted here as one owner (the settlor) and as limited liability because the model requires both; that is a modelling choice, not a statutory statement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum owners | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Maximum owners | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Minimum directors | 1 | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Liability | limited | limited | limited | limited |
| Foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax treatment | NOT blanket tax-exempt since the 2019 reform. A Belize company is within the income/business-tax net if it has Belize-so… | Subject to the same post-2019 logic: within the Belize tax net on Belize-source income or Belize tax residence, otherwis… | A foundation is a separate legal person; taxation follows the post-2019 rules (Belize-source income / residence brings i… | A Belize international trust is a relationship, not a company; taxation depends on the trust's activities and residence … |
| Audit required | No | No | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Audit threshold | Audited financial statements (IFRS-compliant) are reported to be required where annual gross receipts exceed roughly US$… | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Annual compliance | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
| Typical use | Non-resident-owned holding or international-trading company with a Belize registered agent and registered office, manage… | Member-managed holding or asset-protection vehicle; managed by members or a manager, with a Belize registered agent and … | Self-owning legal entity holding endowed assets for defined purposes/beneficiaries, administered via a Belize registered… | Registered international trust holding assets for non-resident settlors/beneficiaries; administered by a Belize-licensed… |
What we will need from you
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Appointment of a licensed Belize registered agent and its Belize registered-office address
A Belize entity must at all times maintain a licensed registered agent AND a registered office in Belize, and can only be formed through that agent — a foreign founder cannot self-file (verified against bccar.bz).
Memorandum and articles of association (articles of organisation and any operating agreement for an ILLC; charter for a Foundation; trust deed for a Trust)
Practice list collected by the registered agent.
Details of at least one shareholder and one director for a business company (may be the same non-resident person; corporate directors permitted); at least one member for an ILLC
Commonly stated for a business company and consistent with the registered-agent practice recorded in research; confirm against the Companies Act 2022 at quote.
Per beneficial owner, director and shareholder: certified / notarised passport copy and proof of address
Per-person KYC collected by the registered agent. The exact certification standard was not verified — confirm apostille vs consularisation against the Companies Act 2022 and BCCAR instructions.
Per foreign corporate shareholder, member or director: certified corporate documents of the body corporate
Foreign documents generally require notarisation and apostille (Belize is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention).
Beneficial-ownership declaration for the register maintained under the Beneficial Ownership Act
Collected and kept current by the registered agent.
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| Business company — incorporation, authorised share capital at or below BZ$50,000one line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the BCCAR fee schedule: BZ$300 (US$150) where authorised share capital is at or below BZ$50,000. In practice the fee is paid through the licensed registered agent, who bundles it into its formation invoice. | BZD 300Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Business company — incorporation, authorised share capital over BZ$50,000one line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the BCCAR fee schedule: BZ$2,000 (US$1,000) where authorised share capital exceeds BZ$50,000. | BZD 2,000Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| International LLC — registration, filed with an operating agreementonly if it appliesVERIFIED on the BCCAR schedule: US$200 (BZ$400) registration where filed with an operating agreement, US$150 (BZ$300) without one. The BCCAR schedule states this line in USD; the client settles the BZD equivalent at the published 2 BZD = 1 USD peg — no conversion is applied here. | $200Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| International Foundation — Certificate of Establishmentonly if it appliesVERIFIED on the BCCAR fee schedule. Restoration after strike-off is BZ$500. | BZD 200Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| International Trust — registrationonly if it appliesVERIFIED as an amount on the BCCAR fee schedule (amendments and cancellations are BZ$50 each). Requires a Belize-licensed trustee / registered agent. | BZD 100Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Post-registration amendment (name change, registered address, director or shareholder change)only if it appliesNo single amount published here: the BCCAR schedule states this as a RANGE of BZ$50–BZ$100 (US$25–US$50) per amendment depending on the change type, so it cannot be carried as one figure. Read the current range from bccar.bz/library/fees-schedule/ at quote. | Confirmed before payment |
| Limited partnership — registration and annual feeonly if it appliesA limited partnership is available under Belize law but its fee lines were NOT itemised in the BCCAR schedule that was fetched, so no amount is published. | Confirmed before payment |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
These are the authority’s published lines. Which of them apply depends on your filing — a schedule by headcount, capital or entity type is one line, not all of them — and the applicable line is confirmed before payment, at cost.
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Engage a Licensed Registered Agent
A Belize company can only be formed via a licensed registered agent, who also provides the mandatory registered office and runs KYC and beneficial-ownership collection.
Name Availability & Reservation
The registered agent confirms the proposed company name is available at BCCAR before filing.
KYC & Beneficial Ownership
The agent collects certified identity and address evidence for each beneficial owner, director and shareholder for the register kept under the Beneficial Ownership Act.
Filed with BCCAR
The agent files the memorandum and articles with BCCAR and pays the state fee (BZ$300 at or below BZ$50,000 authorised capital, BZ$2,000 above). BCCAR publishes no processing SLA — the window shown is a conservative Comriq delivery estimate, not a statutory timeline.
TIN Obtained
The company obtains a Tax Identification Number from the Belize Tax Service — mandatory, and required both to file the annual Business Tax Return and to evidence any non-included / exempt position.
Economic-Substance Reporting Set Up
The company is set up to file its annual economic-substance declaration with the Financial Services Commission, classifying it as included, non-included or holding.
Ready to start?
This one is priced to your situation — most of what we do needs a local filing agent, so we scope it rather than guess. Tell us the specifics and we come back with a fixed quote and a confirmed timeline, within one business day.
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Verified September 2026
Requirements and statutory fees are set by Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR) — filed by a licensed registered agent and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.