Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Africa |
| ISO 3166-1 | MW / MWI |
| Registry | CRIPC (Companies, Registrations and Intellectual Property Centre) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Malawi and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | TPIN | MRA (Malawi Revenue Authority) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | CRIPC (Companies, Registrations and Intellectual Property Centre) |
Sector regulators
RBM · FIA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Company Limited by Shares | Ltd | Closely-held share-capital company; up to 50 shareholders with restricted share transfers; the standard SME incorporation vehicle under the Companies Act 2013. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Public Company Limited by Shares | PLC | Share-capital company with unlimited shareholders; may list on the Malawi Stock Exchange; subject to enhanced disclosure obligations under the Companies Act 2013. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| State-Owned Company | — | Company controlled by the Government of Malawi under s.26 Companies Act 2013; commonly called a parastatal; governed by public-company rules. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp or Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Company Limited by Guarantee | — | No share capital; members guarantee a fixed amount on winding up; used for non-profits, professional bodies, and associations. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Partnership | — | Two to twenty persons carrying on business together for profit; each partner bears unlimited personal liability; registered with the Registrar General. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | Single individual trading under a registered business name; no separate legal personality; owner bears unlimited personal liability. Closest US equivalent: Sole Proprietorship. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned entity registered under the Cooperative Societies Act and the Financial Cooperatives Act No. 8 of 2011; profits distributed among members; common in agriculture and savings sectors. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| External Company | — | Foreign body corporate that establishes or maintains a place of business in Malawi; must register with CRIPC under Part XV Companies Act 2013. 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 | Certificate of Incorporation |
| Constitutive Documents | Memorandum and Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | TPIN Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Business Licence |
| Ownership Records | Register of Members |
| Governance Records | Any one of: Register of Directors · Annual Return |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Board Resolution · Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
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 and Articles of Association | Constitutive Documents |
| TPIN Certificate | Tax Registration |
| Business Licence | Operating Permit |
| Register of Members | Ownership Records |
| Register of Directors | Governance Records |
| Annual Return (MBRS) | 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 |
| Sector-Specific License | RBM sector licence, FIA — Financial Intelligence Authority (Financial Intelligence Act 2016 / No. 6 of 2016) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by Registrar General via MBRS on successful incorporation under Companies Act 2013.
- Constitutive Documents: Paired constitutive document filed at incorporation; auto-generated by MBRS and must be printed, signed, and scanned back.
- Tax Registration: Issued by MRA upon tax registration; obtainable via Msonkho Online portal at mra.mw.
- Operating Permit: Issued by local Business Licensing Centres (city/district councils); renewed annually.
- Sector-Specific License: RBM issues banking, insurance, capital markets, microfinance, and payment-system licences under Financial Services Act 2010 and sector-specific acts. FIA oversees AML/CFT compliance for reporting institutions.
- Governance Records: Director particulars filed on incorporation and updated via Annual Return in MBRS.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution authorising a named individual to act; notarised POA for external engagements.
- 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Named officer with day-to-day management authority; minimum 1 for private company. |
| Authorised Signatory / Attorney | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of board resolution or POA authorising execution of documents. |
Notes
- Hague Apostille party since 1967. HCCH status table confirms Malawi acceded 24 February 1967 (entry into force 2 December 1967). Apostille is accepted for foreign public documents.
- RBM is the single financial supervisor for banking, insurance, capital markets, microfinance, and payment systems. There is no separate securities commission — use RBM for all sector-licence verifications.
- Informal addressing is common outside urban centres; GPS coordinates or a local authority letter may substitute for a utility bill proof-of-address in rural/semi-urban onboarding.