Company Registration in Malta: Malta Business Registry

In order for a business to be legally registered in Malta, the law requires a specific incorporation procedure to be completed with the local Trade Register, known as the Malta Business Registry (MBR). While the company registration is the main responsibility of the Maltese Trade Register, this authority has multiple and crucial roles. In the following lines, you can discover information about the main aspects of the Trade Register in this country, mentioning that our Maltese lawyers can represent investors from abroad in dealing with the business registration formalities.

Short Facts
The Trade Register in Malta is known as	Malta Business Registry (MBR)
Established under	Subsidiary Legislation 497.27
Main function	Company registration/incorporation
Other roles	– name reservation, – company search, – recording business updates, – collection of penalties, and many more
Required documents for business registration in Malta	– Articles of Association, – Memorandum of Association, – IDs/passports, – proof of business address, – proof of paid incorporation fee, etc.
Business name verification required (YES/NO)	YES
Registration of the business location	With Malta Business Registry
Office rental contract registration (YES/NO)	YES
Issuing the Certificate of Incorporation	Once MBR accepts the documents & application form for business registration.
Can issue certificates of good standing (YES/NO)	YES
Can conduct investigations	Yes, when companies do not comply with the applicable legislation.
Registering company data	All information of companies established in Malta are recorded and achieved.
Types of business modifications you need to register	Changing: – busines name, – structure, – management, – capital, – business address, etc.
Public notices issued by the Trade Register in Malta	With new amendments & business regulations
Working with our Maltese lawyers	We can represent our customers with a power of attorney when dealing with business registration at MBR.

How to register a company with the Trade Register in Malta

The documents required upon incorporation of a company in Malta are the memorandum and articles of association that must contain data about:

the type of company,
identification and addresses of the shareholders, directors, and secretary,
the name of the company and the business activity,
the registered office and the share capital.

The incorporation process will take up to three working days and once the incorporation has been made, the new company will receive a certificate of incorporation and a company registration number in Malta. Our local representatives can guide you throughout the company registration formalities in Malta. We also invite you to discover this infographic:

Documents required for registering a business in Malta

Registering a business in Malta requires the preparation of the following documents:

Articles and Memorandum of Association,
proof of registered business address,
certified copies of the IDs/passports of shareholders of the company,
proof of deposited capital in a local bank account in Malta,
Form K1 that must be signed by the directors of the company,
Form BO1 must be fulfilled if the shareholders are a corporate entity.

These are some of the documents required for registering a business in Malta. Our clients can be represented with a power of attorney to the Maltese Trade Register.

Roles of the Maltese Trade Register

The main responsibilities the Maltese Registry of Companies are the following:

to register new commercial companies and partnerships;
to register all the documents regarding the incorporation of new companies;
to maintain up-to-date the companies’ and partnerships’ registers;
to collect fees;
to publish notices;
to issue certificates;
to reserve company names;
to set and collect penalties;
to conduct investigations on companies.

We invite you to explore this video presentation and then contact us for support with the procedures made at the Trade Register:

Updating company changes with the Maltese Trade Register

When the company you own undergoes various changes, these updates must be registered with the Malta Business Register. Here are the types of updates that must be announced:

when changing the company name,
when the management changes,
if the business address is modified,
if the shared capital of the firm suffers modification,
when the business changes its structure, etc.

These changes are completed in a form provided by the Maltese Trade Register, and then the institution registers these updates.

Data about active companies in Malta

Here are some statistical data about companies registered in Malta:

there were around 142,000 businesses registered in Malta in 2024;
around 9,853 companies were registered in Malta in the same year;
about 97% of all active companies in Malta are micro-enterprises;
around 58% of businesses in Malta are owned by sole traders;
most businesses in Malta are found in sectors such as: professional, wholesale and retail, technical, financial and insurance, etc.

If you want to register a company and you need legal assistance, you can contact our law firm in Malta. We can represent local and foreign customers with the Maltese Trade Register. Our lawyers can also help you start an LLC (Private Limited Company) in Malta with a minimum share capital of EUR 1,165