Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Latin America |
| ISO 3166-1 | TT / TTO |
| Registry | Registrar General’s Department |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Trinidad and Tobago and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | BIR File Number | Inland Revenue Division (IRD) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | Registrar General’s Department |
Sector regulators
CBTT · TTSEC · FIUTT
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Company Limited by Shares | — | The standard incorporated company for both private SMEs and publicly-traded entities; shareholders’ liability is limited to the amount unpaid on their shares. Private companies Limited by Shares are the default SME vehicle in T&T and trade on the TTSE when public. Closest US equivalent: LLC (for private) or C-Corp (for public). |
| Company Limited by Guarantee | — | Incorporated company with no share capital; members’ liability is limited to a guaranteed amount on winding up; used primarily for non-profit, charitable, and professional-body purposes. Equivalent to a US Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Unlimited Liability Company | — | Incorporated company whose members bear unlimited personal liability for company debts; rare in practice. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Non-Profit Organisation | NPO | Entity registered under the Non-Profit Organisations Act 2019 (as amended by Act No. 4 of 2024); a regulatory overlay requiring non-profit bodies to register with the Registrar General, though the actual incorporated vehicle is typically a Company Limited by Guarantee. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Partnership | — | Two or more persons (natural or legal) carrying on business together under the Registration of Business Names Act Chap. 82:85; all partners bear unlimited joint and several liability. Note: limited partnership (LP) and limited liability partnership (LLP) forms do not exist in T&T common law. Equivalent to a US General Partnership. |
| Sole Trader | — | A single natural person trading under a registered business name pursuant to the Registration of Business Names Act Chap. 82:85; the owner bears unlimited personal liability for all business debts. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Co-operative Society | — | Member-owned entity registered under the Co-operative Societies Act Chap. 81:03 and supervised by the Commissioner of Co-operative Development; includes credit unions, producer co-operatives, and consumer co-operatives. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| External Company | — | Foreign body corporate that has established a place of business in T&T and must register with the Registrar General’s Department within 14 days under the Companies Act Chap. 81:01. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep 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 | Certificate of Incorporation |
| Constitutive Documents | All required: Articles of Incorporation + By-laws |
| Tax Registration | BIR File Number Confirmation Letter |
| Operating Permit | Any one of: Trade Licence · Municipal Corporation Business Permit |
| Governance Records | Register of Directors and Secretaries |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Board Resolution · Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| 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 |
| Articles of Incorporation | Constitutive Documents |
| By-laws | Constitutive Documents |
| BIR File Number Confirmation Letter | Tax Registration |
| Trade Licence | Operating Permit |
| Municipal Corporation Business Permit | Operating Permit |
| Register of Directors and Secretaries | 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 | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | CBTT Licence (Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago — banking/financial), TTSEC Registration (Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission), FIUTT Registration (Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by RGD under Companies Act Chap. 81:01 s.9; includes company name, registration number, and date.
- Constitutive Documents: Filed with RGD on incorporation; By-laws govern internal management.
- Tax Registration: Issued by IRD; numeric code required on all tax correspondence and returns.
- Operating Permit: Trade Licence issued by Ministry of Trade for goods import/export; municipal permit from relevant Municipal Corporation for premises operation.
- Sector-Specific License: CBTT licenses banks, insurers, and payment service providers. TTSEC registers broker-dealers and virtual asset service providers. FIUTT supervises designated non-financial businesses.
- Governance Records: Filed via Annual Return; includes Notice of Directors (Form 8) on incorporation and updates thereafter.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution authorising a signatory, or a notarized POA; witnessed by Commissioner of Affidavits or Notary Public if POA.
- Address: Lease (no time bound) or utility bill or bank statement dated within 90 days. Satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
- Good Standing: Issued by the Registrar General’s Department upon request; requires all Annual Returns filed and all notices of change submitted. Confirms the company is active, not in winding up, and compliant with statutory filing obligations.
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 | Manages the business and affairs of the company; named in Notice of Directors (Form 8). |
| Managing Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Executive director with day-to-day operational authority. |
| Board Chairman | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Chairs the board of directors; governance role. |
| Attorney-in-Fact (POA holder) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Authorised to legally bind the company via notarized power of attorney. |
Notes
- Apostille is available: T&T acceded to the Hague Convention on 1999-10-28 (EIF 2000-07-14); corporate documents authenticated by the RGD are apostillable without full legalisation chain.
- VASPs must now seek authorisation under the Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2025 (Act No. 12 of 2025, assented 2025-12-23) via TTSEC’s regulatory sandbox — this supersedes prior ad hoc TTSEC guidance on virtual asset business.
- External companies (foreign branches) must register with the RGD within 14 days of establishing operations in T&T; they file separate BO and director forms.
- Annual Return must be filed on the anniversary of incorporation; failure triggers BO and director register lapses that can block KYB verification.