Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Latin America |
| ISO 3166-1 | VC / VCT |
| Registry | Commerce and Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) |
| Last updated | 2026-06-10 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Tax Identification Number (TIN) | Inland Revenue Department (IRD) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | Commerce and Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) |
Sector regulators
FSA · ECCB · ECSRC · FIU · IRD
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Company Limited by Shares | Ltd. | Incorporated under the Companies Act, 1994 (domestic CIPO registry); shares not freely transferable and the company may not offer shares to the public; minimum one director, minimum one shareholder; liability limited to paid-up share capital. The default SME and subsidiary incorporation vehicle for domestic business. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Public Company Limited by Shares | Inc. / Corp. | Incorporated under the Companies Act, 1994 (CIPO); shares freely transferable and may be listed; minimum three individual directors and mandatory audited financial statements; subject to public filing obligations. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Company Limited by Guarantee | — | Non-share company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1994 (CIPO); members guarantee a nominal sum on winding up; used for charities, NGOs, professional bodies, and clubs; minimum three directors for non-profit designation. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Business Company | BC | Formerly the International Business Company (IBC); now governed by the International Business Companies (Amendment and Consolidation) Act (Cap. 149), as amended by Act No. 36 of 2018 (eff. 2018-12-31). Registered through the Financial Services Authority (FSA) via a licensed Registered Agent. Bearer shares prohibited; minimum one director and one shareholder; no residency requirements; directors and shareholders may be from any jurisdiction. The IBC tax-exemption regime was abolished — companies now subject to territorial tax (only SVG-sourced income taxable). Large BCs (gross revenue > XCD 4M or assets > XCD 2M) must file audited financial statements. The dominant vehicle for international holding, trading, and investment structures. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Limited Liability Company | LLC | Formed under the Limited Liability Companies Act (Cap. 151), enacted 2008 (Act No. 36 of 2008); registered through the FSA via a licensed Registered Agent. Two permitted configurations: Single LLC (standard) and Series LLC (multiple ring-fenced series under one umbrella LLC). Governed by an Operating Agreement; member-managed or manager-managed; no share capital — members hold membership interests. Members, managers, and officers may be located anywhere globally. Closest US equivalent: LLC (with Series option analogous to a Series LLC in Delaware or Wyoming). |
| Segregated Cell Company | SCC | Established under the International Business Companies (Amendment and Consolidation) Act (Cap. 149) as a variant of the Business Company; may create one or more Segregated Cells (SCs) with ring-fenced assets and liabilities, each maintained in separate books and accounts. Used primarily for mutual funds, captive insurance, and multi-class investment vehicles. Registered through the FSA. Closest US equivalent: Series LLC. |
| International Trust | — | Created by written instrument under the International Trusts Act (Cap. 491); administered through a licensed Registered Trustee in SVG; used for private wealth management, estate planning, and asset protection. Not a legal entity in the corporate sense; assets vest in the trustee(s). Closest US equivalent: Statutory trust or irrevocable trust. |
| Sole Proprietorship (Business Name) | — | An individual carrying on business under a name other than their own legal name; registered with CIPO under the Registration of Business Names Act (Cap. 111). Registration must occur within 14 days of commencing business; CIPO issues a Certificate of Registration. No separate legal entity; owner bears unlimited personal liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| General Partnership | — | Two or more persons carrying on business together with unlimited joint and several liability; registered under the Registration of Business Names Act (Cap. 111) at CIPO where a firm name other than the partners’ own names is used. No statute of general partnerships distinct from the UK Partnership Act tradition inherited at independence. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| External (Foreign) Company | — | A foreign corporation or other body corporate registering to conduct business in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under Part X of the Companies Act, 1994; must file Form 21 with CIPO, appoint a local attorney under Form 23 (Power of Attorney), and pay a XCD 3,000 registration fee. Not a separate legal entity from the foreign parent. Closest US equivalent: foreign corporation branch/representative office. |
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 | Any one of: Certificate of Incorporation · Certificate of Incorporation (Business Company) · Certificate of Formation (LLC) |
| Constitutive Documents | Any one of: Articles of Incorporation · Articles of Formation · Memorandum and Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | Any one of: TIN Certificate · VAT Registration Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Trader’s Licence |
| Ownership Records | Register of Members |
| Governance Records | Register of Directors |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Board Resolution · Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| Good Standing | Any one of: Certificate of 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 Incorporation | Legal Registration |
| Certificate of Incorporation — FSA Business Company (BC) | Legal Registration |
| Certificate of Formation — FSA Limited Liability Company | Legal Registration |
| Articles of Incorporation | Constitutive Documents |
| Articles of Formation (LLC) | Constitutive Documents |
| Memorandum and Articles of Association (Business Company / BC) | Constitutive Documents |
| TIN Certificate | Tax Registration |
| VAT Registration Certificate | Tax Registration |
| Trader’s Licence | Operating Permit |
| Register of Members | Ownership Records |
| Register of Directors | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Power of Attorney | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Certificate of Good Standing (CIPO — domestic company) | Good Standing |
| Certificate of Good Standing (FSA — Business Company / BC) | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | FSA International Bank Licence (Class A or Class B), FSA Mutual Fund Licence, FSA Insurance Licence (International or Domestic), FSA Money Services Business Licence, FSA Virtual Asset Business Registration (VASP), FSA Registered Agent and Trustee Licence |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: For domestic companies: issued by CIPO under the Companies Act, 1994 within approximately 2 working days of filing Articles of Incorporation (Form 1 for commercial; Form 2 for non-profit), Notice of Registered Office (Form 4), and Notice of Directors (Form 9). For Business Companies (BCs): issued by the FSA Registrar within 24 hours via a licensed Registered Agent under Cap. 149. For LLCs: FSA issues a Certificate of Formation under Cap. 151. All certificates confirm the entity name, registration number, and date of incorporation/formation. CIPO base incorporation fee: XCD 950; FSA BC registration fee: USD 125.
- Constitutive Documents: For domestic companies (CIPO): Articles of Incorporation (Form 1 for commercial companies; Form 2 for non-profits) constitute the primary constitutive document; must specify company name, share classes and authorized amounts, share transfer restrictions, number of directors, and any business restrictions. By-laws (adopted by the board post-incorporation) supplement the articles. For Business Companies (FSA/Cap. 149): Articles of Incorporation filed with the Registrar via a licensed agent; must specify name, registered office, authorized shares, and objects. For LLCs (FSA/Cap. 151): Articles of Formation (not Articles of Incorporation); the Operating Agreement governs management and profit/loss allocation and is the functional equivalent of by-laws.
- Tax Registration: The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) issues a TIN to every business entity upon registration for any tax type. The TIN is a 6–10 digit numeric code generated by SIGTAS. A separate VAT Registration Certificate is issued when annual taxable supplies exceed XCD 300,000 (standard VAT rate 16%, in effect since 1 May 2017). The TIN appears on all IRD-issued receipts, tax returns, and the VAT certificate. Entities incorporated through the FSA (BCs and LLCs) must register with the IRD independently to obtain a TIN; the FSA incorporation alone does not result in automatic TIN assignment.
- Operating Permit: A Trader’s Licence is required for retail and wholesale trading activities; issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Commerce. There is no single general municipal operating permit required by all businesses; the trader’s licence is the closest general-purpose operating authorization for commercial trading entities. Professional activities (doctors, lawyers, accountants) require a separate professional licence from the Income Tax Department. Service businesses (e.g. restaurants) may require sector-specific permits (e.g. food handler’s licence from the Ministry of Health). Foreign nationals conducting business may additionally require an immigrant business licence. Because the trader’s licence applies only to trading entities rather than to all businesses universally, this slot applies=true but only for relevant entity types.
- Sector-Specific License: The Financial Services Authority (FSA), established under the Financial Services Authority Act, 2011 (No. 33 of 2011), issues sector-specific licences for: international banking (Class A and Class B under the International Banks Act, Cap. 99); mutual funds (Mutual Funds Act, Cap. 154); international insurance (International Insurance Act, Cap. 307; Insurance Act, Cap. 306 for domestic); money services businesses (Money Services Business Act, Cap. 260); credit unions and cooperative societies (Cooperatives Societies Act, 2012); building societies (Building Societies Act, Cap. 450); virtual asset businesses (Virtual Asset Business Act, 2022, eff. 2025-05-31); registered agents and trustees (Registered Agent & Trustee Licensing Act, Cap. 105). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) supervises domestic commercial banks. The Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC) oversees securities activities. Entities not engaged in regulated activities do not require an FSA licence.
- Governance Records: Domestic companies (CIPO): Form 9 (Notice of Directors) filed at incorporation; changes within 15 days; the Register of Directors and Secretaries is maintained at the registered office and is not publicly searchable. Business Companies (FSA/Cap. 149): director notices required within 10 days of appointment or any change; maintained at the Registered Agent’s office; not publicly accessible. LLCs (FSA/Cap. 151): manager/member information maintained by the Registered Agent. Registry information for domestic CIPO companies is filed on Form 9; the form captures full name, residential address, and substantive occupation of each director.
- Signing Authority: No statutory prescribed form; standard practice is a company-letterhead board resolution or a notarized power of attorney. For external companies registered at CIPO, a local attorney is appointed via Form 23 (Power of Attorney) as a condition of registration. For BCs and LLCs, board/member resolutions are retained at the Registered Agent’s office per the filing history requirement.
- Address: No jurisdiction-specific statutory form is prescribed; standard KYB practice for SVG entities follows the same conventions as other Caribbean common-law jurisdictions: a lease agreement (no time limit) OR a utility bill or bank statement dated within 90 days. The same document satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
- Good Standing: Two parallel issuers: (1) For domestic companies under the Companies Act, 1994, the Certificate of Good Standing (also called Certificate of Status at CIPO) is issued by the Registrar of Companies at CIPO; it confirms the company was properly formed, legally exists, and maintains statutory compliance with annual return and fee obligations. (2) For Business Companies (BCs) under Cap. 149, the Certificate of Good Standing is certified and stamped at the FSA Registrar and can be Apostilled at the FSA. Both certificate types confirm active status and compliance. SVG acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention; certificates can be apostilled for international use.
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 officer responsible for managing the company’s affairs; must act in the best interests of the company (Companies Act, 1994, s.97 for domestic; Cap. 149 for BCs). Minimum one director for private and BC/LLC; minimum three individual directors for public companies. Director appointments filed on Form 9 at CIPO (domestic) or notified to FSA via Registered Agent within 10 days (BCs). |
| Manager (LLC) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | For LLCs under Cap. 151: a manager (who may or may not be a member) appointed under the Operating Agreement to manage the LLC’s day-to-day affairs. Closest equivalent to a director in a share-capital company. |
| Attorney / Agent (POA holder) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Authorized under a board resolution or power of attorney (notarized) to act on behalf of the entity. For external (foreign) companies, a local attorney appointed via Form 23 is a registration prerequisite. |
Notes
- SVG has two parallel company registration regimes: (1) CIPO (cipo.gov.vc) for domestic companies under the Companies Act, 1994 — processing approx. 2 working days; (2) FSA (fsasvg.com) for international structures (BCs, LLCs, mutual funds, trusts) — incorporation within 24 hours via a licensed Registered Agent. The Conduit-facing entity is almost always a BC or LLC registered through the FSA.
- The former IBC regime (tax-exempt offshore company) was abolished effective 2018-12-31 (Act No. 36 of 2018). All existing IBCs were grandfathered until 2021-06-30. Post-2019 incorporations are Business Companies (BCs) subject to the territorial tax regime — only SVG-sourced income is taxable.
- The Virtual Asset Business Act, 2022 entered into force on 2025-05-31. VASPs operating in SVG must register with the FSA. Entities that were conducting virtual asset business before the Act came into force had until June 2025 to comply. The Act covers exchanges, wallet providers, custodians, brokers, and advisory services.
- The Preservation of Confidential Relationships (International Finance) Act, 1996 (Cap. 481) formally protects the confidentiality of records held by Registered Agents; disclosure is only permissible to foreign competent authorities under treaty or court order. This limits the direct documentary evidence obtainable for BO verification in onboarding.
- Large domestic companies (> XCD 2M total assets or > XCD 4M gross revenue) must file audited comparative financial statements with CIPO; smaller entities may file a Certificate of Solvency. Annual returns (Form 28) are due by April 1 each year.
- SVG is a member of CARICOM and the OECS; commercial banks are supervised by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB). Capital markets are regulated by the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC). Anti-money laundering supervision is conducted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2013 and related legislation.