Type of Business Ownership

The Laws of Belize allows for various categories of business ownership. The relevant legislation can be found at www.belizelaw.org.

• Private company- Chapter 250, Companies Act
• Joint venture and cooperative- Chapter 313, Co-operative Societies Act
• Partnership- Chapter 258, Limited Liability Partnership Act
• Sole Proprietor- Chapter 247, Business Names Act
• International Business Company- Chapter 270, International Business Companies Act
• Trust Fund- Chapter 200, Trust Corporations Act
• Public Investment Company-Chapter 250, Companies Act

Business Registration/Certification

According to the Business Names Act, Chapter 247 of the Laws of Belize, every firm or individual having a place of business in Belize should register the business name.  To start a business, an applicant would need to register at the Registrar General‘s Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry Office, in Belmopan City.  Businesses can be registered as a sole proprietorship, partnership, and limited liability or as a corporation.  Application forms will need to be filled out by the applicant.

Registration Forms

• Sole proprietorship- Form I
• Partnership-Form II
• Change of registered business name/owners- Form 6
• Ceasing a business- Form 9

In the event of change of business name/owners or when ceasing a business, the applicant will need to present an original certificate of registration or in the event that the certificate is lost, a Statutory Declaration from a Notary Public, and identification card of the individual’s (old & new owners in the case of change of owners), and signatures from each (new and old business owners) can be submitted.