Northern Mariana Islands

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Overview

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Identifiers

Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Northern Mariana Islands and submit them as strings on the application body. Tax ID: The Secretary of Finance issues a Business License to every person conducting business in the Commonwealth under 4 CMC § 5611 and the Business License regulations (NMIAC 70-40.1). The Business License number serves as the CNMI Tax Identification Number and is the primary fiscal identifier for Business Gross Revenue Tax (BGRT) under Chapter 4 CMC § 1103, Wage and Salary Tax (Chapter 2), and Northern Marianas Territorial Income Tax (Chapter 7, NMTIT — a mirror of the US Internal Revenue Code). The Department of Finance centralized business license issuance to cross-reference tax filings and identify non-filers. All businesses in the CNMI also obtain a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the US IRS for payroll and federal-equivalent income tax purposes, as CNMI’s income tax is a US IRC mirror system. Registration number: Unique sequential number assigned at formation by the Office of the Registrar of Corporations (Department of Commerce) under Title 4 of the Commonwealth Code (CMC). Appears on the Certificate of Incorporation (corporations), Certificate of Organization (LLCs), and Certificate of Partnership (general partnerships). Sole proprietorships are not registered with the Registrar and do not receive a registration number. All registered entities are required to file annual reports with the Registrar by March 1 of each year (filing fee set by regulation; revised under PL 21-37, effective May 2021). No publicly confirmed fixed-length format.

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Sector regulators

Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, CNMI Department of Commerce (banking, remittance, finance companies, securities, broker-dealers, investment advisers) · CNMI Department of Finance, Division of Revenue and Taxation (business licensing, BGRT, income tax) · Office of the Registrar of Corporations, CNMI Department of Commerce (corporate registration) · FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — BSA/AML oversight applies to all CNMI financial institutions as US territory) · Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC — federal deposit insurance for qualifying CNMI banks) · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC — federal securities oversight)

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Legal structures

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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.

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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.

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Collection notes

• Legal Registration: Issued by the Office of the Registrar of Corporations, CNMI Department of Commerce, upon acceptance of the articles of incorporation (corporations), articles of organization (LLCs), or partnership certificate (limited partnerships) filed under Title 4 CMC. For corporations: Certificate of Incorporation issued within approximately one week of filing. For LLCs: Certificate of Organization (also called Articles of Organization). For foreign entities registering in CNMI: Certificate of Authority. All registered entities (except sole proprietorships) are in the Registrar’s records; annual reports due by March 1 each year (filing fee set by regulation under PL 21-37, effective May 2021). Filing fee for new domestic entities: $350 (confirmed pre-2021; verify current amount with Registrar).
• Constitutive Documents: For corporations: Articles of Incorporation filed with the Department of Commerce set out the entity name, principal office, registered agent, duration (perpetual or fixed term), purposes, and authorized share capital (4 CMC § 4103); Bylaws govern internal management. For LLCs: Articles of Organization filed with the Registrar; Operating Agreement (not required to be filed publicly) governs internal arrangements of the members (4 CMC § 4823). For non-profits: Petition for a Charter of Incorporation and Bylaws (NMIAC T20-50.2). Incorporation packages are available from the Department of Commerce Application Center.
• Tax Registration: The Business License issued by the CNMI Department of Finance (Secretary of Finance) under 4 CMC § 5611 and NMIAC 70-40.1 serves as both the operating licence and the primary CNMI tax identification document. Required before commencing any business activity in the CNMI. Prerequisites include: (1) corporate registration from Department of Commerce (if applicable); (2) zoning approval; (3) Certificate of Clearance from the Workers’ Compensation Commission. Annual renewal required; the Department of Finance issues CNMI Tax Identification Numbers (CNMI TINs) alongside the Business License. Businesses also obtain a federal EIN from the US IRS for payroll and income tax purposes under the CNMI mirror tax system (NMTIT/Chapter 7). Business Gross Revenue Tax (BGRT) is filed quarterly on Form OS-3105 and the BGRT account number is linked to the Business License.
• Operating Permit: The Business License issued by the CNMI Department of Finance (Secretary of Finance) is the general territorial permission to operate. Required for all business entities (corporations, LLCs, partnerships, sole proprietorships) under 4 CMC § 5611; one license per line of business per location; typically issued within two weeks of application. Annual renewal required before expiration date; fees range from $100–$300 depending on business activity. No separate zoning permit is issued — zoning approval is a prerequisite to the Business License application rather than a standalone instrument.
• Sector-Specific License: Sector-specific licences are issued by the Division of Banking and Financial Institutions, CNMI Department of Commerce (cnmi.banking@commerce.gov.mp). Regulated categories under the CNMI Banking Code include: commercial bank charter; offshore banking licence; finance company licence (PL 12-36); foreign currency dealer/agent licence; remittance dealer/agent licence; broker-dealer licence; investment adviser licence; agent of securities licence; pawnbroker licence. Insurance companies and intermediaries are regulated under the CNMI Insurance Code. Securities activities are regulated under the CNMI Securities Act. Cannabis and gambling activities are separately licensed by the CNMI Cannabis Commission and other bodies. FinCEN BSA/AML obligations (Bank Secrecy Act) apply to CNMI financial institutions as a US territory.
• Governance Records: Under Title 4 CMC, corporations must maintain at their principal office a register of current directors and officers (with names, addresses, positions, and dates of appointment). Annual reports filed with the Office of the Registrar of Corporations by March 1 of each year include a summary of shareholders, directors, and officers, and are available via the Registrar’s office (annual report fee set by regulation under PL 21-37, effective May 2021). For LLCs, managers (if manager-managed) are similarly recorded. CNMI cannabis licensing regulations explicitly require both a Directors Register and an Officers Register as standard corporate documents, confirming that these are the standard CNMI corporate documentation instruments.
• Signing Authority: No statutory prescribed form under Title 4 CMC. A board resolution on company letterhead, signed by a majority of directors and certified by the corporate secretary, is the standard instrument authorizing a named signatory to act on behalf of a CNMI corporation. For LLCs, the equivalent is a Manager’s Resolution or Member’s Consent. A notarized Power of Attorney is used for external delegation or where company documents will be used internationally. CNMI follows US common law notarial practices; foreign-executed powers of attorney should be apostilled (CNMI is part of the US which is a Hague Apostille Convention member) or consularized.
• Address: No statutory form prescribed for KYB address verification. Standard practice follows US territory norms: lease agreement (no fixed time limit) OR utility bill OR bank statement dated within 90 days of submission. The primary utility provider in CNMI is the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC), which provides electric power, water, and wastewater services on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. Telecommunications providers (e.g., IT&E, iConnect) also produce bills that may serve as proof of address. The document must show the company’s registered or principal operating address in the CNMI.
• Good Standing: Issued by the Office of the Registrar of Corporations, CNMI Department of Commerce, confirming that the entity is validly registered, has filed all required annual reports, and is in current good standing under Title 4 CMC. Required by the CNMI Department of Labor for employers and by foreign registries when a CNMI entity registers to do business elsewhere. For foreign corporations registering in CNMI, the Registrar requires a Certificate of Good Standing or Existence from the home jurisdiction, no older than the time reasonably required for transmission. Requested directly from the Office of the Registrar of Corporations; physical presence or agent required (no electronic filing available as of last verified date).

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Person roles

When you submit a person on the application body, set their role to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.

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Notes

• The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is an unincorporated US territory in the western Pacific. Business entities formed in CNMI are domestic US entities for most federal law purposes (FinCEN, SEC, FDIC), but CNMI has its own Department of Commerce (corporate registration), Department of Finance (business licensing and tax), and Division of Banking (financial institution regulation) operating alongside federal US regulators.
• CNMI operates a ‘mirror’ income tax system (NMTIT / Chapter 7 of the Commonwealth Code) that closely mirrors the US Internal Revenue Code, with CNMI substituted for the United States. Businesses use a federal EIN (Employer Identification Number) obtained from the IRS for payroll and federal-equivalent tax purposes, and also register with the CNMI Department of Finance for the Business License (CNMI TIN), Business Gross Revenue Tax (BGRT), Wage and Salary Tax (Chapter 2), and NMTIT withholding.
• All corporate and LLC filings must be made in person at the Office of the Registrar of Corporations, Department of Commerce, Capitol Hill, Saipan. As of June 2026, a new online portal (registrar.cnmi.gov) is in development but electronic filing is not yet fully operational. Agents and law firms routinely handle in-person filings for offshore principals.
• Business Gross Revenue Tax (BGRT) is levied on CNMI-sourced gross business revenues at rates from 1.5% (revenues $5,001–$50,000) to 5% (revenues >$750,000); manufacturers exporting overseas are exempt. BGRT is filed quarterly via Form OS-3105 and the Localgov portal. The Business License number from the Department of Finance is the BGRT account identifier.
• Foreign corporations registering to do business in CNMI must provide: (1) a certified copy of their home-jurisdiction articles of incorporation; (2) a certificate of good standing or existence from the home jurisdiction; (3) a registered agent consent; and (4) payment of the registration fee. Supporting documents in a foreign language require certified English translations.
• The Division of Banking and Financial Institutions regulates a broad range of financial services including commercial banks, offshore banks, remittance dealers/agents, foreign currency dealers/agents, finance companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and pawnbrokers. Money transmitters operating as remittance dealers must be licensed by the Division of Banking. FinCEN Bank Secrecy Act requirements apply to all CNMI financial institutions.
• Land ownership in CNMI is restricted to persons of Northern Mariana Islands descent under the CNMI Constitution, Article XII. This restriction does not apply to the ownership of business entities (corporations, LLCs, partnerships) — 100% foreign ownership of CNMI business entities is permissible — but affects real property that a business may wish to own or lease. Foreign businesses typically operate under long-term lease arrangements.