Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | MV / MDV |
| Registry | Registrar of Companies (Ministry of Economic Development, Transport & Trade) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Maldives and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | TIN | Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | Registrar of Companies (Ministry of Economic Development, Transport & Trade) |
Sector regulators
MMA · CMDA · FIU Maldives · MIRA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Company | Pvt Ltd | Closely-held company limited by shares with 1–50 shareholders; shares are not publicly tradable; at least one Maldivian resident director required. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Public Company | Plc | Share-capital company with unlimited shareholders; shares may be listed and freely transferred; prospectus and disclosure obligations apply. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Foreign Investment Company | FIC | Company incorporating any foreign shareholding, registered under the Foreign Investment Act (Law No. 11/2024) with a foreign investment licence; structurally a closely-held company limited by shares. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| General Partnership | — | Two or more natural persons carrying on business together with unlimited joint and several liability; governed by the Partnership Act (Law No. 13/2011). Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Limited Liability Partnership | LLP | Two or more persons (natural or legal entities) whose liability is capped at their capital contribution; governed by the Partnership Act (Law No. 13/2011). Closest US equivalent: Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | Single Maldivian citizen trading under their own name or a registered trade name; no separate legal personality; unlimited personal liability. Registered under the Business Registration Act (Law No. 18/2014). Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned entity formed to pursue common economic or social goals; registered under the Cooperative Societies Act (Law No. 3/2007); foreign parties are ineligible. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Branch of Foreign Company | — | Re-registration of an existing foreign-registered company to conduct business operations in the Maldives; requires a locally appointed representative and registered address; no separate legal personality from the foreign parent. 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 Registration |
| Constitutive Documents | All required: Memorandum of Association + Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | MIRA TIN Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Business Permit |
| Ownership Records | Register of Members |
| Governance Records | Register of Directors |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution |
| 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 Registration | Legal Registration |
| Memorandum of Association | Constitutive Documents |
| Articles of Association | Constitutive Documents |
| MIRA TIN Certificate | Tax Registration |
| Business Permit | Operating Permit |
| Register of Members | Ownership Records |
| Register of Directors | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | MMA Licence |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by the Registrar of Companies; conclusive evidence of current registration.
- Constitutive Documents: Filed together at incorporation; Ministry publishes Model Articles for private companies.
- Tax Registration: Issued by MIRA; 7-digit BP number covers all tax types (GST, income tax, BPT). Separate registration required per tax type.
- Operating Permit: Issued by Ministry of Economic Development, Transport & Trade at national level; additional permits from island/atoll councils for outer-island operations.
- Sector-Specific License: Collect for regulated-sector entities only. Islamic finance operators also require MMA Shariah Governance Framework compliance.
- Ownership Records: Companies must maintain the Register of Members and notify the Registrar of ownership changes within 30 days.
- Governance Records: Maintained by company and filed with Registrar; must include managing director (position cannot be vacant).
- Signing Authority: Notarised by Maldivian notary or court; foreign POAs require MFA Maldives authentication and destination-country consular legalisation. Maldives is not a Hague Apostille party.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Managing Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Full-time executive officer; position cannot be vacant; day-to-day authority. |
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board-level governance role; non-FIC companies must have all-Maldivian board. |
| Authorised Signatory / POA Holder | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Person empowered to bind entity via board resolution or notarised power of attorney. |
Additional fields
Country-specific fields you’ll need to collect during onboarding, beyond the document uploads.| Field | Applies to | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Foreign Investment Licence number | shareholder | Required for Foreign Investment Companies under Foreign Investment Act (Law No. 11/2024, eff. 2024-12-03); FIC status determines director eligibility rules. |
Notes
- Maldives is NOT a Hague Apostille party (confirmed HCCH Status Table, 2026-05-06; 129 contracting parties; Maldives absent). Foreign POAs require full consular legalisation: home-country notarisation → MFA Maldives attestation → destination-country consular legalisation.
- Companies Act 2023 (Law No. 07/2023) replaced the 1996 Act effective 2024-01-01. All non-compliant Articles of Association required updating by 31 December 2024. Prior-law entity extracts may reference the old Act; verify documents post-date 2024-01-01 or are accompanied by updated filings.
- Director nationality restriction: Non-FIC private companies must have an all-Maldivian board. Foreign-owned entities must register as a Foreign Investment Company (FIC) to appoint foreign directors; verify FIC status before collecting director documents.
- Partnerships are governed by the Partnership Act (Law No. 13/2011) — not the Companies Act. Entity type confirmation is essential before applying Companies Act documentation requirements; partnership documents derive from a separate statutory regime.