Overview
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Micronesia and submit them as strings on the application body.
Tax ID: Unique numeric identifier issued under FSM Code Title 54 Chapter 8 s.806 (as amended by Public Law 22-190, signed 2023-05-01). Required for all businesses subject to gross revenue tax or corporate income tax. May be assigned by the Secretary of Finance on application or proactively to any person liable for tax. TIN is used for all quarterly GRT filings and annual corporate income tax returns. No fixed public format confirmed; FSM Revenue Management System (RMS) went live 2025-07-01.
Registration number: Assigned at incorporation under FSM Code Title 36 (Corporations and Business Associations) and the Corporate Registry Act (Public Law 13-70, 2005); appears on Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar. No publicly standardised alphanumeric format confirmed.
Sector regulators
FSM Banking Board · FSM Insurance Board · Division of Customs and Tax Administration (CTA/DoFA) · FSM Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU, Department of Justice)
Legal structures
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.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.Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by the FSM Registrar of Corporations (Department of Justice) within approximately one week of filing notarised Articles of Incorporation under FSM Code Title 36 and the Corporate Registry Act (Public Law 13-70, 2005). Includes company name, registration number, date of charter, and presidential approval. For Major Corporations, an Initial Report to the Secretary of Finance is additionally due within 60 days. The Registrar maintains an online corporation listing at roc.doj.gov.fm; the registry has no publicly searchable API. Sole proprietorships register with DoFA rather than the Registrar.
- Constitutive Documents: Articles of Incorporation filed with the FSM Registrar of Corporations at formation under FSM Code Title 36 s.103; must include corporate name, principal office, duration, purposes, capitalisation, incorporators (minimum one), initial directors and officers (minimum three directors), management structure, voting rules, liquidation, and amendment procedure. Bylaws are optional per s.104 — a company may operate under default statutory rules. For Major Corporations, a standard bylaws template is available via MRA Advisors (the Registrar’s contracted Registration Advisor).
- Tax Registration: The Division of Customs and Tax Administration (CTA) within DoFA issues TINs under Title 54 Chapter 8 s.806 (added by Public Law 22-190, 2023). Domestic businesses subject to the quarterly Business Gross Revenue Tax (GRT) — rate: USD 80 on first USD 10,000, then 3% of excess; exempt if annual revenue below USD 2,000 — register with DoFA. Major Corporations are instead subject to Corporate Income Tax under Title 54 Chapter 3 and file an annual CIT return (due 15th day of 4th month after fiscal year end). The FSM Revenue Management System (RMS) launched 2025-07-01 enables online TIN registration and electronic filing. No formal ‘TIN Certificate’ document in the traditional sense has been publicly confirmed; a tax registration confirmation from DoFA/CTA is the operative proof.
- Operating Permit: The FSM has no single national general trading licence. Each of the four states (Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae) issues its own business licence or permit for operations within that state. Foreign nationals and any business entity with foreign ownership must also hold a Foreign Investment Permit issued by the FSM Department of Administrative Services (national level, USD 250 first-time / USD 150 renewal) and a state-level Foreign Investment Permit. The ‘traffic light’ system (red/amber/green) governs which sectors are open, restricted, or prohibited to foreign investment on a state-by-state basis.
- Sector-Specific License: Banking licences issued by the FSM Banking Board under Title 29 FSMC (Bank Act 1980); covers banks and deposit-taking institutions. Insurance licences (domestic and captive) issued by the FSM Insurance Board under Title 37 FSMC (Insurance Act 2006, PL 14-66 as amended); captive insurers hold a Certificate of Authority with a class designation (Class 1, 2, or 3). No FSM-level securities regulator has been identified; the FSM does not have a securities exchange. Money services / payment businesses are not separately licensed at the national level beyond the Foreign Investment Permit and GRT registration.
- Governance Records: Names of initial directors and officers are filed with the Registrar at incorporation under Title 36 s.103. Nominees may be used at formation with subsequent replacement for privacy. There is no mandatory public register of current directors separate from the Annual Report to the Registrar; nominee directors are permitted and director changes are generally not filed between annual reports. The Annual Report (due 30 June) includes current director and officer information.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution authorising a signatory is standard practice; no statutory prescribed form under FSM law. Power of attorney may be used as an alternative. Note: FSM has NOT ratified the Hague Apostille Convention — documents for international use must be legalised through Micronesian consulates rather than via apostille.
- 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. FSM has limited utility infrastructure; bank statements from the Bank of the Federated States of Micronesia (BFSM) or Bank of Guam (BOG) are common substitutes.
- Good Standing: Issued by the FSM Registrar of Corporations on application; confirms a company’s active status, solvency, and compliance with FSM corporate law. Application form available at roc.doj.gov.fm; processing time not officially published but industry sources cite 7–14 working days. Fees apply. FSM has not ratified the Hague Apostille Convention — for international use certificates must be legalised through Micronesian consulates.
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.
Notes
- FSM has two distinct corporate tiers: domestic corporations (Presidentially chartered under Title 36 Chapter 1, subject to gross revenue tax) and Major Corporations (Title 36 Chapter 2 / Title 54 Chapter 3, subject to corporate income tax). Conduit will predominantly see Major Corporations, which are FSM’s primary international holding and captive-insurance vehicle. Verify which tier applies before assessing tax documents.
- FSM has NOT ratified the Hague Apostille Convention. Documents required for international legal use must be legalised through Micronesian consulates. Do not accept apostille-stamped FSM documents — reject and request consular legalisation.
- Each of the four FSM states (Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae) maintains its own business licensing and foreign investment permit requirements. A business operating in multiple states must hold state permits in each. Confirm state-level licence status in addition to national ROC registration.
- Nominee directors and shareholders are expressly permitted under FSM corporate practice; shareholder identity may not be on the public record. The company’s internal register of shareholders (not filed publicly) is the primary BO evidence source. Request the internal register directly from the entity.
- FSM corporations do not require a minimum share capital. 100% foreign ownership is permitted nationally. No withholding tax on dividends or interest; no gift or inheritance tax; no tax treaties with other nations — tax-neutral features make FSM an offshore holding jurisdiction.
- The FSM Revenue Management System (RMS) went live 2025-07-01; TINs can now be claimed or registered online via the DoFA portal. For corporations incorporated before RMS go-live, confirm TIN claim status.
- Document legalisation constraint: registry extracts obtained via third-party agents (e.g. Schmidt & Schmidt) require consular legalisation and may take 7–14 days at source plus additional time for consular processing. Budget lead time accordingly.