Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
| ISO 3166-1 | MY / MYS |
| Registry | SSM |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Malaysia and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | TIN | LHDN / IRBM |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | CRN | SSM |
Sector regulators
BNM · SC · Royal Malaysian Customs Dept · Labuan FSA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sendirian Berhad (Private Limited Company) | Sdn Bhd | Most common Malaysian business vehicle; private company limited by shares under Companies Act 2016; 1–50 shareholders; shares not freely transferable; separate legal personality with limited liability. Closest US equivalent: LLC. |
| Berhad (Public Limited Company) | Bhd | Public company limited by shares under Companies Act 2016; may offer shares to the public and be listed on Bursa Malaysia; stricter governance and disclosure requirements. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Company Limited by Guarantee | CLG | Public company without share capital under Companies Act 2016 ss.45–52; members act as guarantors rather than shareholders; used for nonprofits, charities, trade associations, foundations, and welfare organizations. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation (501(c)(3)). |
| Perkongsian Liabiliti Terhad (Limited Liability Partnership) | PLT | Hybrid entity under Limited Liability Partnership Act 2012; minimum two partners; partners have limited liability; the PLT itself has separate legal personality. Closest US equivalent: LLP. |
| General Partnership | — | Two to twenty partners trading together under Registration of Businesses Act 1956; no separate legal personality; all partners bear unlimited joint liability. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | Single natural person trading under a registered business name under Registration of Businesses Act 1956; no separate legal personality; owner bears unlimited personal liability; open to Malaysian citizens and permanent residents only. Closest US equivalent: Sole Proprietorship. |
| Foreign Company (Registered Branch) | — | Branch of a foreign-incorporated company registered with SSM under Companies Act 2016 Part XIV s.562; not a separate legal entity—an extension of the foreign parent, which retains full liability. Closest US equivalent: 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 | SSM Company Profile |
| Constitutive Documents | Company Constitution |
| Tax Registration | LHDN TIN Registration |
| Operating Permit | Business Premise Licence |
| Ownership Records | SSM Company Profile |
| Governance Records | SSM Company Profile |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution |
| Address | Any one of: Tenancy Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| Good Standing | Perakuan Taraf Syarikat Baik |
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 |
|---|---|
| SSM Company Profile (e-Info / MyData extract) | Legal Registration, Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Company Constitution | Constitutive Documents |
| LHDN TIN Registration | Tax Registration |
| Business Premise Licence (Lesen Premis Perniagaan) | Operating Permit |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Tenancy Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 hari) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 hari) | Address |
| SSM Attestation of Company Good Standing | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | BNM licence (banks, insurers, payment services under FSA/IFSA 2013), SC licence (capital market intermediaries under CMSA 2007), Labuan FSA licence (Labuan offshore entities) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Confirms CRN (12-digit new or legacy), incorporation date, status, registered address. Purchasable via ssm-einfo.my.
- Constitutive Documents: Single constitutive document under Companies Act 2016; optional for Sdn Bhd and Bhd limited by shares (statutory defaults apply if none adopted); mandatory for companies limited by guarantee. Pre-2016 companies may hold legacy Memorandum & Articles of Association pair — both formats valid.
- Tax Registration: TIN certificate issued by IRBM; prefix C for companies. If SST-registered, additionally collect RMCD SST Registration Certificate.
- Operating Permit: Issued by the local municipal council (Majlis Perbandaran) for the business operating address; requirement varies by local authority.
- Sector-Specific License: Collect the relevant licence certificate for any regulated financial activity.
- Ownership Records: Shareholder list is embedded in the SSM Company Profile (e-Info / MyData extract).
- Governance Records: Lists all current directors; extract from e-Info or MyData-SSM.
- Signing Authority: Document execution under Companies Act 2016 s.66: signed by two authorised officers (at least one director), or sole director before a witness. POA governed by Power of Attorney Act 1949; must be registered at the Land Office or High Court if used for land transactions.
- 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.
- Good Standing: Issued by SSM via the e-Info portal (ssm-einfo.my); certifies the company has met the required compliance criteria as of the attestation date. Distinct from the SSM Company Profile extract. Per research finding r1.
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 (Pengarah) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Appointed to manage the company; at least one must be ordinarily resident in Malaysia (CA 2016 s.196). |
| Managing Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Director delegated day-to-day executive authority by the board. |
| Nominee Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Director appointed on behalf of another; nominee status disclosed under CA 2016 (Amendment) 2024. |
| Authorised Signatory (under Board Resolution / POA) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Person expressly authorised by board resolution or POA to legally bind the company. |
Notes
- Dual CRN formats: companies registered before 2019-10-11 are issued both the legacy 6–8-digit CRN and the new 12-digit format. Either number identifies the same entity; SSM extracts list both.
- No apostille available: Malaysia is not a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention (verified against HCCH Status Table, 2026-05-06). Cross-border documents require conventional legalisation: notarisation + Malaysian authority attestation + receiving-country embassy authentication.
- Company Constitution is optional for most Sdn Bhd: If no constitution is adopted, CA 2016 statutory defaults govern; an SSM profile alone may be sufficient for constitution evidence — confirm with the company whether a constitution exists.