Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| ISO 3166-1 | MT / MLT |
| Registry | MBR |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Malta and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | VAT Identification Number | MTCA |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | MBR |
Sector regulators
MFSA · FIAU
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Limited Liability Company | Ltd | Closely-held share-capital company under Companies Act Cap. 386; min. authorised capital €1,164.69 with at least 20% paid up; shares are not freely transferable to the public. Closest US equivalent: LLC. |
| Public Limited Liability Company | p.l.c. | Publicly tradable share-capital company under Companies Act Cap. 386; min. authorised capital €46,587.47; shares may be listed on the Malta Stock Exchange; at least two directors required. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Partnership en Commandite | — | Limited partnership with one or more general partners bearing unlimited liability and limited partners liable only to the extent of their contribution. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Partnership en Nom Collectif | — | General partnership in which all partners bear unlimited joint and several liability for the partnership’s obligations. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Sole Trader | — | A single natural person trading under their own name or a registered trade name; no separate legal entity and no limited liability — personal assets are fully exposed to business obligations. Registered for tax purposes with MTCA and, where applicable, with MBR. Closest US equivalent: Sole Proprietorship. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned entity registered under the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 442); governed on democratic one-member-one-vote principles; profits distributed as member patronage dividends rather than equity returns. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Foundation | — | Legal entity registered with MBR under the Second Schedule of the Civil Code (Cap. 16); established for a specific purpose (philanthropic, private, or mixed) by a founder who endows it with assets; no members or shareholders. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Branch of Overseas Company | — | A permanent establishment in Malta of a foreign-incorporated body corporate; registered with MBR within one month of establishment; not a separate legal entity — the foreign parent bears full liability. Receives registration number starting with ‘OC’. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
| European Economic Interest Grouping | EEIG | Cross-border collaborative entity formed by two or more EU-based businesses under EC Regulation 2137/85 and transposed in Malta via S.L. 386.08; tax-transparent with liability falling on members. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
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 | Memorandum and Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | VAT Registration Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Trade Licence |
| Ownership Records | Memorandum of Association |
| Governance Records | All required: Annual Return + MBR Company Extract |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Board Resolution · Notarised Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| Good Standing | Certificate of Good Standing |
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 (MBR) | Legal Registration |
| Memorandum and Articles of Association (MBR) | Constitutive Documents |
| VAT Registration Certificate (MTCA) | Tax Registration |
| Trade Licence (Commerce Department) | Operating Permit |
| Memorandum of Association (subscriber/shareholder list) | Ownership Records |
| Annual Return | Governance Records |
| MBR Company Extract | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Notarised Power of Attorney | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Certificate of Good Standing (MBR) | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | MFSA Authorisation, FIAU — Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by MBR at incorporation; confirms C-number, legal form, registered office; retrievable via register.mbr.mt.
- Constitutive Documents: Two separate documents under Companies Act Cap. 386 Art. 68; both filed with MBR at incorporation; publicly retrievable.
- Tax Registration: MT + 8-digit VAT number; separate from TRN (9-digit income-tax reference). Collect both identifiers for full tax coverage.
- Operating Permit: Required only for specific activities listed in Schedule (hawkers, auctioneers, dealers in precious metals, etc.). Most professional/commercial activities do not require a trade licence since 2016 liberalisation.
- Sector-Specific License: Banking (Banking Act Cap. 371), investment services (ISA Cap. 370), payment/e-money (Financial Institutions Act Cap. 376), insurance (Insurance Business Act Cap. 403), VFA (VFAA Cap. 590). Obtain applicable licence copy.
- Governance Records: Lists directors and company secretary; filed annually with MBR; publicly searchable via register.mbr.mt.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution authorises named signatories; notarised POA for external representation; no mandatory registration with MBR unless specific purpose requires it.
- 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 MBR on request; confirms the company is active and compliant with its filing obligations. Distinct from the Certificate of Registration issued at incorporation.
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 | Appointed under Companies Act Cap. 386; day-to-day operational authority; registered with MBR. |
| POA Holder / Mandatary | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of notarised power of attorney; scope defined by instrument. |
Notes
- MTCA replaced CFR in May 2023. All references to “Commissioner for Revenue” or cfr.gov.mt now redirect to mtca.gov.mt; update any deep-link citations to the MTCA portal.
- Trade licence is narrow in scope. Since 2016, Malta removed licensing requirements for most commercial activities. Only the specific categories in S.L. 441.07 Schedule (street/market hawkers, auctioneers, precious-metal dealers, etc.) require a Trade Licence. Most onboarded businesses will present N/A for this field.
- EU AMLR (Reg. 2024/1624) applies from 2027-07-10. Malta’s domestic S.L. 386.19 regime remains operative until then; AMLD6 Art. 74 already transposed (LN 127/2025). Monitor further AMLD6 transposition phases due 2026-07-10 (Arts. 11–13, 15) and 2029-07-10 (Art. 18).