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Overview

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Identifiers

Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Cayman Islands and submit them as strings on the application body. Tax ID: The Cayman Islands levies no corporate income tax, capital gains tax, or withholding tax; it does not issue TINs for domestic tax purposes (confirmed by OECD CRS TIN guidance). The company registration number assigned by the General Registry at formation serves as the primary fiscal/administrative identifier and appears on the Certificate of Incorporation, annual returns, and DITC economic substance filings. Companies with FATCA/CRS reporting obligations use the GIIN (Global Intermediary Identification Number) issued by the US IRS or the Cayman Tax Information Authority reference. Registration number: Unique alphanumeric identifier assigned by the Registrar at incorporation under the Companies Act (as revised). Appears on the Certificate of Incorporation in the upper left corner and on all subsequent registry filings. No fixed public format specification; appears as a sequence of digits, sometimes prefixed to denote entity type (e.g., LP for limited partnerships).

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Sector regulators

CIMA (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority) · DCI (Department of Commerce and Investment) · FRA (Financial Reporting Authority / FIU) · DITC (Department for International Tax Co-operation) · SEZA (Special Economic Zone Authority)

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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.

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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.

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Collection notes

  • Legal Registration: Issued by the Cayman Islands General Registry (Registrar of Companies) under the Companies Act (as revised) upon incorporation; contains the company name, registration number, date of incorporation, and Registrar’s signature and seal. Certified copies and registry extracts (Company Search Report) are available from the General Registry and include the registered office, share capital, director details, and company status. Authentication via the verify.ky portal using the entity file number and authorisation code printed on the certificate.
  • Constitutive Documents: Filed with the General Registry at incorporation under the Companies Act (as revised). The Memorandum of Association sets out the company name, registered office, objects, type (resident/non-resident/exempted), authorised share capital, and subscribers’ details. The Articles of Association govern internal management: meetings, director powers, share issuance, voting, dividends, and winding-up. For LLCs (Limited Liability Companies Act), the governing document is an LLC Agreement rather than M&A. For ELPs, the constitutive document is a Limited Partnership Agreement (LPA). Amendments must be reported to the Registrar.
  • Tax Registration: The Cayman Islands imposes no corporate income tax, capital gains tax, withholding tax, or VAT on companies (confirmed by the OECD and Cayman’s Tax Information Authority). No TIN is issued for domestic tax purposes. Companies with relevant activities under the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act must file annual Economic Substance Notifications and Returns with the DITC (Department for International Tax Co-operation). FATCA/CRS-reporting financial institutions obtain a GIIN from the US IRS. The Company Registration Number (on the Certificate of Incorporation) is the closest equivalent fiscal identifier and is used on DITC filings.
  • Operating Permit: Required under the Trade and Business Licensing Act (2026 Revision) for any person carrying on a trade or business in or from the Cayman Islands in the domestic market. Issued by the Department of Commerce and Investment (DCI). Companies not meeting the 60% Caymanian ownership threshold also require a Local Companies (Control) Law Licence (LCCL) in addition to the T&B Licence. Exempted companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands are typically exempt from T&B licensing requirements unless they conduct local business. Multi-year licences (up to five years) became available for Caymanian-owned businesses from April 2026.
  • Sector-Specific License: Sector-specific licences and registrations issued by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) under the relevant legislation: Banks and Trust Companies Act (2025 Revision) for banking, trust, and fiduciary services; Insurance Act, 2010 for insurance, reinsurance, and captives; Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision) for open-ended investment funds; Private Funds Act (2025 Revision) for closed-ended funds (PE, VC, real estate); Securities Investment Business Act (2020 Revision) (SIBA) for investment managers, advisers, dealers, and market makers; Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Act (2024 Revision), as amended by the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) (Amendment) Act 2025, for custodians and trading platforms (Phase 2 licensing mandatory from April 2025 for custody and trading platform activities). AML/CFT supervision: CIMA for financial entities; DCI for DNFBPs. FRA (Financial Reporting Authority) is the national FIU.
  • Governance Records: Every exempted company must maintain a Register of Directors and Officers and file it with the General Registry. The register contains names, addresses, and appointment dates of directors and officers. Unlike the register of members, the register of directors is a filed document accessible via a company search report from the General Registry. Amendments must be notified to the Registrar within 30 days.
  • Signing Authority: No statutory prescribed form. Board resolutions are the standard method by which a company authorises a person to act on its behalf — adopted at a duly convened directors’ meeting or by written resolution. Execution of a power of attorney by a Cayman company must comply with the Powers of Attorney Act and Section 81 of the Companies Act: executed under the company’s seal or by a person expressly authorised under its articles, expressed as a deed. Notarisation and apostille are available via the General Registry for cross-border use.
  • Address: Registered address for exempted companies is the licensed registered office of the company’s registered agent (a licensed corporate services provider). For operating address, standard evidence is a lease agreement, utility bill, or bank statement not older than 90 days. Registered agent confirmation letter is also widely accepted for offshore entities that have no separate physical premises.
  • Good Standing: Issued by the General Registry under Section 200A of the Companies Act (as revised). Certifies that the company is duly organised, existing, and in good standing under the laws of the Cayman Islands; confirms annual filings and fees are current. Each certificate bears a unique entity file number and authorisation code verifiable at verify.ky (the General Registry’s online validation portal). Available as a plain registry-certified version or in notarised and apostilled form. Typically processed within 3–5 business days; expedited processing available.

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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.

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Notes

  • The Cayman Islands does not levy corporate income tax, capital gains tax, or withholding tax. There is no TIN for domestic tax purposes. The company registration number on the Certificate of Incorporation is the primary identifier for all administrative and cross-border reporting purposes.
  • Exempted companies are the dominant structure Conduit will encounter: they constitute the vast majority of international financial services, holding, and fund vehicles registered in Cayman. They are not required to maintain a public register of members and are not required to hold AGMs in Cayman.
  • Economic substance: all entities registered in the Cayman Islands must file an annual Economic Substance Notification with the DITC by 31 January each year. Entities conducting ‘Relevant Activities’ (banking, insurance, fund management, finance and leasing, headquarters, shipping, distribution, IP, holding company) must also file a detailed Economic Substance Return within 12 months of financial year end.
  • Registered office addresses for exempted companies are invariably those of a licensed registered agent (e.g., Walkers, Ogier, Maples, Conyers). This is legally required — exempted companies have no separate physical premises requirement. Accept a registered agent confirmation letter as proof of registered address.
  • The General Registry’s online search (online.ciregistry.gov.ky) requires a registered user account; certified documents must be ordered through the portal or a licensed agent. Document authentication is available at verify.ky using the entity file number and authorisation code printed on each certificate.
  • FATCA/CRS: financial institutions in the Cayman Islands must register with the DITC and either obtain a GIIN (FATCA) or satisfy CRS reporting obligations. The Cayman Islands is a participating jurisdiction under the OECD’s CRS framework.