Incorporating a Company
Please note: These guidance notes are not intended to be definitive legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. The interpretation of legislation is a matter on which the Guernsey Registry cannot advise and entities/individuals need to form their own independent view on compliance with the legislation. Independent legal advice is advised where there is any uncertainty.
Guernsey companies can only be incorporated by a Corporate Service Provider (CSP) who holds a full fiduciary licence from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
The Registry has a directory of CSPs available here.
All companies must have:
- A registered office address in Guernsey
- At least one director
- A resident agent who is either a Guernsey-resident director of the company or a CSP (subject to some limited exceptions, detailed here).
Companies also require a memorandum of incorporation, which states that the founding member(s) wish to incorporate the company in Guernsey, and articles of incorporation, which set out regulations for the conduct of the company. Templates of these documents are available below.
Prior to incorporating a company, a company name may be reserved for three months to prevent anyone else from using it.
For the full requirements necessary to incorporate a company in Guernsey, please refer to the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 and, if applicable, seek professional advice.
| Guidance Note | Description |
|---|---|
 Company Incorporation submission [3Mb] | Step-by-step guidance on incorporating a company using the Online Services Portal - Only CSPs can access the Incorporation submission |
| Choosing a company name [269kb] | Guidance on choosing company names, including information on compulsory components of a company's name and prohibited words/phrases |
| Alternative company names (in non-Roman script) [264kb] | Guidance on alternative company names (in non-Roman script or alphabet) |
| Reserve company name submission [2Mb] | Step-by-step guidance on how to reserve a company name using the Online Services Portal |
| Economic Activity Codes [664kb] | Guidance on Economic Activity Codes & link to list of codes |
| Standard Memorandum [113kb] | PDF copy of the standard Memorandum for Guernsey companies (current version) |
| Standard Articles [266kb] | PDF copy of the standard Articles of Incorporation for Guernsey companies (current version, introduced September 2015) |
