Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| ISO 3166-1 | IS / ISL |
| Registry | Skatturinn |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Iceland and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Kennitala | Skatturinn |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Kennitala | Skatturinn |
Sector regulators
Seðlabanki Íslands
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Einkahlutafélag | ehf. | Private limited company; minimum ISK 500,000 share capital; most common SME vehicle; governed by Act No. 138/1994. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Hlutafélag | hf. | Public limited company; minimum ISK 4,000,000 share capital; at least two shareholders; freely transferable shares; can list on exchange; governed by Act No. 2/1995. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Sameignarfélag | sf. | General partnership; all partners bear unlimited joint and several liability for company obligations; separate legal personality upon registration. Equivalent to a US General Partnership (GP). |
| Samlagsfélag | slf. | Limited partnership; at least one general partner with unlimited liability and one or more limited partners whose liability is capped at their contribution; governed by Act No. 90/1994. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Einstaklingsfyrirtæki | — | Sole proprietorship; a single natural person trading under their own kennitala; no separate legal personality and owner bears unlimited personal liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Samvinnufélag | svf. | Cooperative society; member-owned entity formed for mutual economic benefit; registered with Fyrirtækjaskrá and subject to cooperative-specific legislation. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Sjálfseignarstofnun | — | Independent foundation (endowment); assets dedicated to a stated purpose with no external owners; governed by Act No. 19/1988. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation / Foundation. |
| Útibú erlends félags | — | Registered branch of a foreign company; not a separate legal entity — the foreign parent retains full liability; registered with Skatturinn/Fyrirtækjaskrá under the parent’s name plus ‘branch in Iceland’. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep 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 | Skráningarskírteini |
| Constitutive Documents | All required: Samþykktir + Stofnskjal |
| Tax Registration | All required: Kennitala confirmation + VSK-skírteini |
| Operating Permit | Starfsleyfi |
| Ownership Records | Hluthafaskrá |
| Governance Records | Any one of: Stjórnarmenn · Fyrirsvarsmenn extract |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Samþykki stjórnar · Prókúra |
| Address | Any one of: Leigusamningur · Reikningur · Bankayfirlit |
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 |
|---|---|
| Skráningarskírteini (Fyrirtækjaskrá extract) | Legal Registration |
| Samþykktir (Articles of Association) | Constitutive Documents |
| Stofnskjal (Memorandum of Association) | Constitutive Documents |
| Kennitala confirmation | Tax Registration |
| VSK-skírteini (VAT certificate) | Tax Registration |
| Starfsleyfi (operating permit) | Operating Permit |
| Hluthafaskrá (shareholders’ register) | Ownership Records |
| Stjórnarmenn | Governance Records |
| Fyrirsvarsmenn extract (Fyrirtækjaskrá) | Governance Records |
| Samþykki stjórnar (board resolution) | Signing Authority |
| Prókúra (commercial power of attorney) | Signing Authority |
| Leigusamningur | Address |
| Reikningur (≤90 dagar) | Address |
| Bankayfirlit (≤90 dagar) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | Starfsleyfi, Seðlabanka leyfi (Central Bank of Iceland licence) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Searchable at skatturinn.is/fyrirtaekjaskra/leit/; confirms Kennitala, legal form, address, status.
- Constitutive Documents: Both required at incorporation; submitted to Skatturinn via forms RSK 17.20 (hf.) / RSK 17.21 (ehf.); must be in Icelandic.
- Tax Registration: Kennitala is the primary entity/tax ID. VAT certificate issued separately after RSK 5.02 registration; threshold ISK 2,000,000 annual turnover.
- Operating Permit: Issued by municipality (e.g. Reykjavík Public Health Authority) or sector regulator; required for food service, manufacturing, hospitality. Not all businesses require one — verify per activity.
- Sector-Specific License: Banks, payment institutions, insurance undertakings, investment firms: licence from Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki) per Act No. 92/2019.
- Governance Records: Board members and authorised representatives listed in Fyrirtækjaskrá; publicly searchable.
- Signing Authority: Prókúra granted by board, registered in Fyrirtækjaskrá; prókúruhafi (procuration holder) is the self-evidencing signing authority. Third-party POA via notarised umboðsmaður.
- Address: Conduit universal policy: 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.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stjórnarmaður (board member) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Member of the board of directors; governance role; registered in Fyrirtækjaskrá. |
| Formaður stjórnar (board chair) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Chair of the board; governance/oversight; no day-to-day operational authority. |
| Framkvæmdastjóri (managing director / CEO) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Operational head; day-to-day management; mandatory in hf., optional in small ehf. |
| Prókúruhafi (procuration holder) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of registered Prókúra; broad commercial signing authority; registered in Fyrirtækjaskrá. |
| Umboðsmaður (POA holder) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of notarised power of attorney; scope defined by instrument. |
Notes
- Single identifier: Kennitala serves as both the registry number and the corporate tax ID — collect one certificate; both
businessInfo.taxIdandbusinessInfo.businessEntityIdtake the same value. - Act No. 82/2019 uses “at least 25 per cent” — not “more than 25 percent.” A holder of exactly 25% qualifies as a raunverulegur eigandi. Apply this comparator precisely; it is the inclusive boundary, unlike the German/UK models.
- Kennitala is the single entity identifier — there is no separate company registration number. The same 10-digit number functions as entity ID, tax ID, and registry key. For companies, the day component of the date is offset by +40 (e.g. a company registered on the 5th has “45” as the first two digits).
- FME no longer exists as a separate authority. The Financial Supervisory Authority merged into the Central Bank of Iceland (Seðlabanki Íslands) on 2020-01-01 per Act No. 92/2019. All financial sector licences and supervisory decisions now issue from the Central Bank.
- Operating permits (Starfsleyfi) are sector- and municipality-specific — there is no single national general business licence. Many businesses require no operating permit beyond Fyrirtækjaskrá registration; only regulated activities (food, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare) require a starfsleyfi from the competent authority.