Bahamas

Overview

Field	Value
Region	Latin America
ISO 3166-1	BS / BHS
Registry	Registrar General’s Department
Last updated	2026-05-06

Identifiers

Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Bahamas and submit them as strings on the application body.

API field	Local name	Issuer
`businessInfo.taxId`	Business Licence Number / VAT TIN	Department of Inland Revenue (DIR)
`businessInfo.businessEntityId`	Company Registration Number	Registrar General’s Department

Tax ID: Business Licence number issued under Business Licence Act 2023; VAT TIN issued on VAT Certificate (mandatory when taxable supplies ≥ BSD 100,000/year). Registration number: Assigned at incorporation under Companies Act Cap. 308 or IBC Act 2000; appears on Certificate of Incorporation.

Sector regulators

CBBAH · SCB · ICB · FIU

Legal structures

Local name	Abbreviation	Description
Public Company Limited by Shares	Plc	Incorporated under the Companies Act 1992 (Cap. 308); shares freely transferable and may be listed on an exchange; governed by a board of directors with public filing obligations at the Registrar General’s Department. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp.
International Business Company	IBC	Incorporated under the International Business Companies Act 2000 (Cap. 309); widely used for cross-border holding, trading, and financing; register of members is not public; shares may be of any class. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp.
Private Company Limited by Shares	Ltd.	Incorporated under the Companies Act 1992 (Cap. 308); share transfer restricted by articles; closely held with a cap on members; the default SME incorporation vehicle for domestic business. Equivalent to a US LLC.
Limited Liability Company	LLC	Formed under the Limited Liability Company Act 2016; member-managed or manager-managed; no share capital requirement; combines corporate limited liability with partnership-style pass-through flexibility. Equivalent to a US LLC.
General Partnership	—	Two or more persons carrying on business together with unlimited joint and several liability; registered with the Registrar General’s Department under the Partnership Act. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP).
Limited Partnership	LP	One or more general partners with unlimited liability and one or more limited partners whose liability is capped at their capital contribution; registered under the Partnership Act. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP).
Exempted Limited Partnership	ELP	Formed under the Exempted Limited Partnership Act; designed for offshore private equity, venture capital, and fund structures; general partner bears unlimited liability while limited partners are shielded. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP).
Sole Proprietorship	—	A single individual trading on their own account; no separate legal entity; must obtain a Business Licence under the Business Licence Act and register any trading name other than the owner’s own name with the Registrar General’s Department under the Registration of Business Names Act. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship.
Foundation	—	A separate legal entity established under the Foundations Act 2004; has no shareholders or members; used for private wealth management, estate planning, and asset protection; registered with the Registrar General’s Department. Closest US equivalent: Statutory trust or business trust.
Segregated Accounts Company	SAC	An overlay structure under the Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2004; a company (domestic or IBC) may register segregated accounts whose assets and liabilities are ring-fenced from one another; primarily used for captive insurance and investment funds. Closest US equivalent: Series LLC.
Branch of Foreign Company	—	A foreign corporation registered to conduct business in The Bahamas under the Companies Act 1992 (Cap. 308) Part X; not a separate legal entity — the foreign parent remains fully liable. Closest US equivalent: foreign corporation branch/representative office.

How documents combine

For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.

Evidence area	Documents needed
Legal Registration	Certificate of Incorporation
Constitutive Documents	Memorandum & Articles of Association
Tax Registration	All required: Business Licence + VAT Certificate
Operating Permit	Business Licence
Ownership Records	Register of Members
Governance Records	Register of Directors
Signing Authority	Any one of: Board Resolution · Power of Attorney
Address	Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement
Good Standing	Certificate of Good Standing

Documents to collect

The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.

Document	Proves
Certificate of Incorporation	Legal Registration
Memorandum & Articles of Association	Constitutive Documents
Business Licence	Tax Registration, Operating Permit
VAT Certificate	Tax Registration
Register of Members	Ownership Records
Register of Directors	Governance Records
Board Resolution	Signing Authority
Power of Attorney	Signing Authority
Lease Agreement	Address
Utility Bill (≤90 days old)	Address
Bank Statement (≤90 days old)	Address
Certificate of Good Standing	Good Standing

Not applicable in Bahamas: Sector-Specific License. Skip these areas — no local artifact exists.

Collection notes

Legal Registration: Issued by RGD under Companies Act Cap. 308 or IBC Act 2000; includes company name, registration number, and date of incorporation.
Constitutive Documents: Filed with RGD at incorporation; constitutive document setting out name, objects, share capital, and governance rules.
Tax Registration: Business Licence (mandatory for all operators, Business Licence Act 2023); VAT Certificate with TIN issued by DIR where taxable supplies ≥ BSD 100,000/year.
Operating Permit: Issued by DIR under the Business Licence Act; required for any person operating a business in The Bahamas.
Governance Records: Maintained by company; for domestic companies, directors are on public record at RGD; for IBCs, directors are registered but register of members is not public.
Signing Authority: Board resolution authorizing a signatory, or notarized POA; no statutory form prescribed — company letterhead resolution standard practice.
Address: Lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
Good Standing: Issued by RGD for both domestic companies (Companies Act Cap. 308) and IBCs (IBC Act Cap. 309); confirms active status and compliance with annual formalities and fee obligations. Requested directly from RGD; processing 20–30 working days.

Person roles

When you submit a person on the application body, set their role to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.

Local role	Canonical API role	Description
Director	`CONTROLLING_PERSON`	Appointed officer with day-to-day executive authority; named in Register of Directors.
Attorney / Agent (POA holder)	`LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE`	Authorized via power of attorney to act on behalf of the company.

Notes

The IBC structure (Cap. 309) is distinct from domestic companies (Cap. 308): IBC registers of members are not public; the Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum & Articles are the primary KYB anchors.
Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act 2018 (CESRA): entities conducting “relevant activities” (banking, insurance, fund management, financing, leasing, HQ, shipping, IP) must demonstrate economic substance and file annual returns with DIR; non-compliance risks striking off the register.
Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT Act, 2024 — effective 1 January 2024): MNE groups with consolidated revenues ≥ EUR 750 million in two of the preceding four years that have constituent entities in the Bahamas are subject to a 15% QDMTT on Bahamian profits. All Bahamian entities in an in-scope group are jointly and severally liable. In-scope entities register via the ‘One Tax Bahamas’ portal (live from 1 June 2026) and receive a Business Identification Number (BIN); this BIN is a distinct identifier from the Business Licence number and VAT TIN. Business licence taxes paid may be credited against DMTT due (Business Licence Amendment Act, 2025). The DMTT is the only direct tax in the Bahamas; entities outside in-scope MNE groups remain in a no-CIT jurisdiction.

Overview

Reference

Latin America

Africa

Europe

North America

Asia (West, South & Central)

Asia-Pacific

Overview

Identifiers

Sector regulators

Legal structures

How documents combine

Documents to collect

Collection notes

Person roles

Notes

​Overview

​Identifiers

​Sector regulators

​Legal structures

​How documents combine

​Documents to collect

​Collection notes

​Person roles

​Notes

Overview

Identifiers

Sector regulators

Legal structures

How documents combine

Documents to collect

Collection notes

Person roles

Notes