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Overview

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Identifiers

Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Palau and submit them as strings on the application body. Tax ID: Issued via Form Tax-001 (Unified Taxpayer Registration and TIN Application Form); required before commencing any commercial activity in Palau. Also doubles as the Business Licence registration reference. Businesses must also register for PGST (Palau Goods and Services Tax) if annual taxable supplies exceed USD 300,000. Codified under Title 40 of the Palau National Code (PNC). There is no fixed published numeric format. Registration number: Assigned at incorporation under the Palau Corporations Act (RPPL 10-11, as amended by RPPL 11-40); appears on Certificate of Incorporation and all subsequent registry filings. Under the new online registry (launched January 20, 2025), every corporation — both active and legacy re-registered entities — receives a unique registration number. There is no fixed published format.

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Sector regulators

Financial Institutions Commission (FIC) · Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) · Bureau of Revenue and Taxation (BRT) · Foreign Investment Board (FIB)

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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 Financial Institutions Commission (FIC) acting as Registrar of Corporations under RPPL 10-11 (eff. January 20, 2025). Prior to January 20, 2025 the registry was maintained by the Office of the Attorney General. All entities registered under the old system must re-register with the FIC within one year of January 20, 2025, receiving a Certificate of Re-Registration. The certificate is issued electronically via email within 1–2 business days. Includes corporation name, registration number, date of incorporation, and entity type. For foreign corporations: Certificate of Registration as Foreign Corporation.
  • Constitutive Documents: Filed electronically with the FIC Registrar of Corporations at formation under RPPL 10-11. The online registry form captures name, business purpose, registered agent, director names/addresses, shareholder names, and share quantities. No notarized or wet-ink signature required under the new Act — online submission only. May include optional provisions limiting activities, restricting director eligibility, or mandating dividend payment terms. For nonprofits: Articles of Incorporation for Nonprofit under s. 203 of the Corporations Act.
  • Tax Registration: Issued by the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation (BRT), Ministry of Finance, upon registration via Form Tax-001. The TIN Certificate evidences taxpayer registration under Title 40 of the Palau National Code (PNC). The Business Licence (issued concurrently by BRT) is the annual operating permission and is renewed quarterly (USD 25/quarter for small taxpayers). PGST registration is additionally required when annual taxable supplies exceed USD 300,000; a PGST Registration Certificate is issued separately. Registration takes approximately 14 days.
  • Operating Permit: The Business Licence issued by BRT (see tax_certificate slot, pw_business_licence, also_satisfies operating_license) constitutes the general operating permission for all businesses in Palau. Renewed annually (paid quarterly). Foreign-owned businesses additionally require a Foreign Investment Approval Certificate (FIAC) from the Foreign Investment Board (FIB) before commencing operations. Note: in practice the TIN Certificate and Business Licence are issued together via the same Form Tax-001 process.
  • Sector-Specific License: The Financial Institutions Commission (FIC) licences banks, money-services businesses, and other regulated financial entities under the Financial Institutions Act (26 PNCA Chapter 10). The FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit) oversees AML/CFT compliance for banks (FIU AML/CFT-01) and DNFBPs (FIU AML/CFT-02). VASPs and MVTS are subject to proposed regulations FIU AML/CFT-03 (open for comment March–April 2026). Collect the relevant sector licence for any Palau-licensed financial entity.
  • Ownership Records: Under the new Corporations Act (RPPL 10-11), shareholder names and share quantities are filed at incorporation and updated annually via the online registry at palauregistries.pw. This information is publicly searchable in real time. Shareholder data is collected by the FIC Registrar of Corporations at formation and on each annual filing. A separate internal company register of members is also maintained. No bearer shares are issued under RPPL 10-11. For partnership entities: a partnership registration statement lists partners.
  • Governance Records: Under RPPL 10-11, director names, addresses, and nationalities are filed at incorporation and are publicly accessible via the FIC online registry at palauregistries.pw. At least one director must be a resident of Palau. Directors upload a government-issued photo ID at registration to support AML compliance. Director information is updated whenever changes occur; failure to update triggers administrative dissolution. Minimum one director is permitted under the new Act.
  • Signing Authority: No statutory prescribed form. Board resolutions authorizing signatories are standard; should be signed by all directors (or by majority per the articles). Powers of attorney should be notarized for use in cross-border transactions. Palau is a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention (accession 17 October 2019, in force 23 June 2020); apostilles are issued by the Supreme Court of Palau and the Ministry of Justice.
  • 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. Palau utilities are primarily operated by PPUC (Palau Public Utilities Corporation) for electricity and water.
  • Good Standing: Issued by the FIC Registrar of Corporations via the online registry at palauregistries.pw. Available online without requiring a physical visit to the registrar office. Confirms that the corporation is active, has filed all required annual returns, and is not administratively dissolved. Introduced as an online-accessible document with the January 20, 2025 registry launch. Request a certificate dated within 30–60 days for banking purposes.

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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 FIC replaced the Office of the Attorney General as Registrar of Corporations effective January 20, 2025 (Executive Order No. 477). All legacy entities must re-register within one year (deadline ~January 20, 2026). Legacy certificates of incorporation issued by the OAG remain valid until re-registration; collect both the legacy certificate and the new Certificate of Re-Registration where available.
  • Palau is a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention (accession 17 October 2019, in force 23 June 2020). Apostilles are issued by the Supreme Court of Palau and the Ministry of Justice. Documents for international use may be apostilled rather than requiring full consular legalization.
  • Foreign investment restrictions: certain business sectors are restricted to Palauan-citizen ownership only (restricted list); semi-restricted sectors permit non-citizen minority participation. All non-citizen investors must hold a FIAC from the Foreign Investment Board. Collect FIAC for any entity with non-citizen shareholders.
  • No bearer shares are issued under the new Corporations Act (RPPL 10-11). Bearer share risk is eliminated for post-2025 registrations; legacy entities should be reviewed for pre-2025 bearer share issuance.
  • Tax reform effective January 1, 2023 introduced PGST (10%), Business Profits Tax (BPT, 12% on net income), and replaced the Gross Revenue Tax for PGST-registered entities. Financial services are exempt supplies under PGST. Verify current tax registration status via BRT where relevant to AML/KYB assessments.