Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | PK / PAK |
| Registry | SECP Companies Registration Office |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Pakistan and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | National Tax Number (NTN) | Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) via IRIS portal |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Corporate Universal Identification Number (CUIN) | SECP Companies Registration Office |
Sector regulators
SBP · SECP · PTA · PRA · SRB · KPRA · BRA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Single-Member Company | SMC | Private company with one member; separate legal personality; shares not freely transferable; incorporated under the Companies Act 2017. Closest US equivalent: Single-Member LLC (SMLLC). |
| Private Limited Company | (Pvt) Ltd | Closely-held company limited by shares; 1–50 members; shares not freely transferable to the public; the default SME incorporation vehicle registered with SECP under the Companies Act 2017. Closest US equivalent: LLC. |
| Public Limited Company | Ltd | Share-capital company with minimum 3 members; may list on the Pakistan Stock Exchange or remain unlisted; shares freely transferable and public issuance permitted under the Companies Act 2017. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Not-for-Profit Company (Section 42) | — | Company licensed by SECP under section 42 of the Companies Act 2017; limited by guarantee without share capital; profits applied to the company’s objects (charity, education, science, sports, etc.). Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation (501(c)(3)). |
| Limited Liability Partnership | LLP | Body corporate with separate legal personality registered with SECP under the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2017; all partners have limited liability capped at their agreed contribution; minimum two partners. Closest US equivalent: LLP. |
| General Partnership | — | Two or more persons carrying on business together under the Partnership Act 1932; registered with the provincial Registrar of Firms; all partners bear unlimited joint liability; taxed as an Association of Persons (AOP). Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | Single natural person trading under their own name or a trade name; registered with FBR for an NTN only; no separate legal personality and unlimited personal liability. Closest US equivalent: Sole Proprietorship. |
| Foreign Company Branch | — | Extension of a foreign incorporated company registered with SECP under sections 435–458 of the Companies Act 2017 and the Foreign Companies Regulations 2018; not a separate legal entity — the parent company remains liable. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Representative Office of a foreign entity. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned entity registered under the provincial Cooperative Societies Act 1925; common in agriculture, housing, and consumer credit; governed by provincial cooperative registrars. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
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 Incorporation |
| Constitutive Documents | All required: Memorandum of Association + Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | NTN Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Trade License |
| Ownership Records | Form-A |
| Governance Records | Form 9 |
| 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 Incorporation (SECP) | Legal Registration |
| Memorandum of Association (MoA) | Constitutive Documents |
| Articles of Association (AoA) | Constitutive Documents |
| NTN Certificate (FBR IRIS) | Tax Registration |
| Trade License (local municipal authority) | Operating Permit |
| Form-A (SECP annual return, s.130 Companies Act 2017) | Ownership Records |
| Form 9 (SECP) | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | SBP license (banking/payments/EMI), SECP license (NBFC, insurance, modaraba), PTA license (telecom) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued digitally via LEAP eZfile; carries CUIN; sufficient proof of legal existence.
- Constitutive Documents: Paired constitutive documents; filed at incorporation; amendments require SECP filing.
- Tax Registration: Collect STRN certificate additionally if entity is GST-registered; for service providers, provincial STRN (PRA/SRB/KPRA/BRA) may also apply.
- Operating Permit: Issued by Metropolitan Corporation, District Council, or DMA (ICT); annual renewal; requirements vary by city.
- Sector-Specific License: Collect the license relevant to the entity’s regulated sector.
- Ownership Records: Form-A is the SECP annual return listing all shareholders and their capital contributions. Filed via SECP eZfile portal.
- Governance Records: Form 9 replaced Form 29 in early 2024; filed within 15 days of any director or officer appointment or change; lists directors, CEO, CFO, secretary, and legal adviser.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution sufficient for corporate signatories; notarized/apostilled POA for external representatives.
- Address: Accepted: lease (no time bound) or utility bill or bank statement (utility/bank dated within 90 days). Same document 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Appointed to the board; day-to-day authority in private companies. |
| Chief Executive (CEO) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Statutory officer under Companies Act 2017; operational head. |
| Chairman / Non-Executive Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Governance role without executive authority; common in public listed companies. |
| Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Statutory officer; day-to-day financial authority. |
| Legal Representative / Attorney | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of notarized POA authorized to bind the company. |
| LLP Designated Partner | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Partner designated to act on behalf of LLP; analogous to director/secretary. |
Notes
- Form 9 replaced Form 29 (eff. 2024-02-12): Under Companies Regulations 2024 (S.R.O. 201(I)/2024), Form 9 is the current form for directors and officers particulars, consolidating former Forms 28 and 29. Collect Form 9, not Form 29, for any compliance filed after 12 February 2024.
- STRN complexity — four provincial authorities: Sales tax on services is administered by PRA (Punjab), SRB (Sindh), KPRA (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and BRA (Balochistan) — each issues its own STRN. A national services business may hold multiple STRNs. Collect the STRN(s) applicable to the entity’s operating province(s).
- Apostille in force since 2023-03-09: Pakistan acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention (effective 2023-03-09); implementing legislation enacted (Apostille Act 2024, 2024-09-14). MOFA is the competent authority. Documents for use in Pakistan from member states may carry apostille instead of full embassy legalization chain.
- Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships are not SECP entities: These register only with FBR (NTN) and provincial Registrar of Firms respectively; they have no CUIN and no SECP extract. For KYB, collect NTN certificate + partnership deed / proprietorship declaration instead of an incorporation certificate.