Belize company formation for non-residents

What a Belize company costs

Starter is a fixed quote for year 1. It includes the registry fee, the licensed registered agent and the registered office for 12 months, the articles, the statutory registers and the beneficial ownership filing.

Growth (a fixed quote) adds a bank-account introduction and 12 months of mail scanning. Premium (a fixed quote) adds director and shareholder services, 12 months of bookkeeping and the year-2 annual filing.

The Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR) publishes its fees by share capital, with one scale for filings through a registered agent. Most owners need only the lower band, for companies with up to 50,000 shares.

From year 2 the renewal is a fixed quote on Starter. It covers the annual registry fee, the registered agent and office, and the annual filings.

• Registry fees via a registered agent (BCCAR, as of September 2026): incorporation US$150 and annual renewal US$250 for up to 50,000 shares
• Above 50,000 shares: US$1,000 to incorporate and US$1,000 a year
• Restoration after strike-off US$1,000; change of registered agent US$50
• Included in Starter: registry fee, registered agent and office, articles, registers, beneficial ownership entry
• Included from year 2: annual registry fee, agent and office, annual filings
• Optional: director or shareholder services on Starter and Growth, apostilled documents

The Companies Act 2022 replaced the Belize IBC

Many guides still describe the Belize International Business Company. That regime has gone: the Belize Companies Act 2022 brought local and international companies under one law, and existing IBCs had to re-register under it. The registry still publishes a list of companies that have not re-registered.

The practical changes matter for owners. Every company now files copies of its register of members and register of directors with the Registrar, and enters its beneficial owners in the Online Business Registry System.

If your company was set up years ago as an IBC and has not been reviewed since, check that it has re-registered and that its filings match the current Act.

How long it takes, step by step

Belize registers companies through its Online Business Registry System (OBRS). Only people with a Belize social security ID can use it directly, so a company with foreign participants must be registered through a licensed registered agent.

The agent reserves the name, files the articles and the company details, and submits the beneficial ownership information. Our timeline is 1–3 business days after KYC approval, and if the registry system is unavailable, we tell you the revised date.

• Before KYC approval: order placed; passport, address proof and source of funds uploaded
• Business day 0: KYC approved and name reserved in OBRS
• Business day 1–2: company filed online with the registry
• By business day 3: certificate, articles and registers in your portal

Annual compliance and records

The annual routine is short. The renewal fee is paid each year through the registered agent, the registers filed with the Registrar must be kept current, and the registry record must be updated when beneficial ownership changes.

The Companies Act 2022 requires records that explain the company's transactions and allow its financial position to be worked out with reasonable accuracy. Records are kept for at least five years.

If the records are kept outside Belize, the registered office must hold accounts and returns that let the directors see the position each quarter. It also keeps a note of where the full records are kept.

Under the Companies Act the Registrar can strike off a company that fails to pay its annual fee. Restoring it afterwards costs US$1,000 in registry fees for filings made through a registered agent (BCCAR fee schedule, as of September 2026), so we remind you well before the renewal date.

• Every year: renewal fee through the registered agent
• On any change: update members, directors and beneficial owners with the Registrar
• Quarterly, if records are abroad: accounts and returns held at the registered office
• Five years: minimum record retention (Companies Act 2022)

Directors, shareholders, beneficial owners and privacy

A Belize company needs at least one director at all times and at least one shareholder. Both can be individuals or companies, of any nationality, and one person can hold both roles. The company must also keep a registered office and a registered agent in Belize for as long as it exists.

Beneficial owners are the individuals who ultimately own or control the company. Under the Financial Services Commission's March 2025 guidelines, a company enters their details in the Online Business Registry System, keeps its own internal register, and updates the record whenever something changes.

Registered agents must be able to hand this information to the FSC within 7 days of a request (FSC beneficial ownership guidelines, March 2025).

Expect privacy within the law, not secrecy. The registers of members and directors sit with the Registrar and the registered agent, and the Companies Act lets a person inspect documents filed with the Registrar for a fee unless the Act or regulations restrict it. If someone else acts as director or shareholder for you, that is disclosed to the registered agent and the authorities too.

Tax and economic substance

The Economic Substance Act (Cap. 273:01) applies to the included entities it defines; confirm with your specialist how it applies to a company formed under the 2022 Act. An entity that carries on a relevant activity, meaning one of the business types the Act lists, must have substantial economic presence in Belize.

The relevant activities are banking, insurance, fund management, financing and leasing, headquarters, distribution and service centre, and shipping business. A holding company whose subsidiaries carry on one of them is also covered. The entity must conduct its core income-generating activities in Belize, with adequate expenditure, qualified full-time staff and physical offices.

The Act does not apply to a company that is controlled and managed outside Belize and is tax resident in another jurisdiction, if it can give the competent authority a certificate from that jurisdiction's tax authority.

Income tax treatment is a separate question. It depends on the source of income and the facts of each business, so confirm your position with your specialist before relying on any Belize tax outcome.

Belize exchanges financial account information with other tax authorities through the Financial Services Commission's automatic exchange programme, so your home country can see accounts held for you. Plan with a tax adviser who knows your country's rules on foreign companies.

What you provide and what we handle

For each director, shareholder and beneficial owner we need a passport copy and a proof of address. For the company we need a short description of its business, a source-of-funds statement and a tax residency self-certification under the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

If a shareholder is itself a company, we also need its registry documents and the names of the individuals who own or control it.

We handle the name reservation, the articles, the filing through a licensed Belize registered agent, the registry fee, the registered office, the registers and the beneficial ownership entry. After incorporation we track the renewal date and remind you before it.

Bank accounts, and when Belize fits

Belize companies often bank abroad, with an electronic money institution (EMI) or a bank in the region where they trade. Expect questions about your customers, suppliers and source of funds.

We check which institutions currently accept a Belize company with your profile before you pay, and on Growth and Premium we prepare the application. The institution decides, and a website, contracts or invoices and a clear explanation of why the company is in Belize make the application stronger.

Belize suits a low-cost holding company or an international trading or consulting company whose owners want renewals and filings handled for them.

If bank acceptance matters most, compare the Hong Kong, BVI and Cayman pages before you choose.