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Jersey company formation means incorporating a company under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 at the Jersey Companies Registry, run by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC). Jersey is a Crown Dependency with its own registry, so Companies House in the United Kingdom plays no part. Every limited company is incorporated online through the JFSC’s myRegistry portal. Owners and directors may live anywhere; what has to be in Jersey is the registered office, a nominated person who deals with the Registry and, for anyone not living on the island, the regulated provider that files the application.
This page is about registering a new company. Buying one that already exists is covered on our page on ready-made shelf companies in Jersey.
The JFSC accepts an incorporation from two kinds of applicant: a beneficial owner who lives in Jersey, where the company is wholly owned by Jersey residents, or a JFSC regulated service provider licensed to provide formation services. Acting as a company formation agent, providing a registered office and supplying a director or secretary are trust company business under Article 2 of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998, which nobody may carry on without registration.
Setting up a company in Jersey as a non-resident, from the United Kingdom or anywhere else, therefore always runs through a registered trust company business. The JFSC’s search of regulated entities shows whether a Jersey company formation agent is registered for that activity.
| Form | Main rules | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Private company | At least one member and one director; no audit required; accounts are not filed with the Registry | Trading, holding and family companies |
| Public company (PLC) | At least two directors and two members; a qualified secretary; audited accounts filed within seven months of the year end | Listed and widely held companies |
| Protected cell company (PCC) | One legal entity whose cells keep their assets and liabilities apart; administered by a regulated provider | Funds and insurance |
| Incorporated cell company (ICC) | Each cell is a company with its own legal personality | Funds and insurance |
| Guarantee company | Members guarantee a fixed contribution on a winding up instead of holding shares | Non-profit bodies and clubs |
Limited liability companies, foundations and limited partnerships are separate entities under their own Jersey laws, not companies under the 1991 Law.
The memorandum states whether the company is a par value or a no par value company and how many shares of each class it may issue. Par value shares have a nominal value; a no par value company credits what it receives for its shares to a stated capital account. A company cannot mix the two kinds, bearer shares are not permitted, and there is no minimum authorised or issued share capital. Shares are issued under a JFSC consent required by Article 2 of the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958, which the incorporation application includes. A consent can carry conditions, so read the one your company receives.
| Role | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Directors | At least one for a private company, two for a public company; aged 18 or over and not disqualified; no residency or nationality requirement | Companies Law, Art 73 |
| Corporate director | Only a company registered under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 to act as a director, with no corporate director of its own | Art 73(4) |
| Secretary | Mandatory; a sole director cannot also be the secretary | Art 81 |
| Members | One is enough for a private company | Art 3 |
| Registered office | In Jersey at all times, with the occupier’s authorisation; holds the registers of members, directors and secretary and the minutes | Art 67 |
| Nominated person | The company’s contact with the Registry: a registered trust company business providing secretary or registered office services, a director or secretary ordinarily resident in Jersey, a Jersey resident lawyer or accountant, or a fund services business | Disclosure Law 2020, Art 6 |
| Beneficial owners | Every individual owning 25% or more or otherwise controlling the company, disclosed in the application | Disclosure Law 2020, Art 4 |
The provider that files the application normally supplies the registered office, the secretary and the nominated person as well.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Name | Search the register and check the name against the JFSC naming guidance; reserving it is optional, and a reserved name stays available for two years. A private company’s name ends in Limited, Ltd, avec responsabilité limitée or a.r.l. |
| 2. Constitution | Memorandum and articles signed by the subscribers, or the Standard Table of articles adopted in whole or in part |
| 3. Activity | A nature of business code and a description of the activity, checked against the Sound Business Policy; a structure chart where the beneficial owner is not the subscriber or the company belongs to a group |
| 4. Associated parties | Beneficial owners, controllers, directors, secretary and members; the provider discloses higher risk factors such as politically exposed persons |
| 5. Service level | Priority (2 hours or 1 day) or standard (2, 3 or 5 days) |
| 6. Certificate | The Registrar registers the memorandum and issues the certificate of incorporation; the company exists from the date it shows |
The JFSC states that approval takes between 2 hours and 5 days depending on the risk factors, the service level selected and whether a name was reserved. An activity listed in the Sound Business Policy, such as defence equipment, dual use goods or unlisted mining, removes any guarantee of the fast track. Anyone who signs a contract for the company before the certificate is issued is personally liable on it.
Jersey offshore company is how many people search for this, and the label is half right: the standard rate is 0% and owners may live anywhere, but there are exceptions and obligations.
| Tax | Rate or rule |
|---|---|
| Company income tax, standard rate | 0% |
| Certain financial services companies | 10% |
| Utility companies | 20% |
| Income from Jersey property rental or development, hydrocarbon oil supply and quarrying | 20% on that income |
| Large Jersey retailers, retail turnover of £2 million or more | 0% to 20% on a sliding scale by profit |
| Multinational groups with revenue of 750 million euros or more | 15% Multinational Corporate Income Tax for periods from 1 January 2025 |
Three rules decide whether the 0% rate works. A company incorporated in Jersey is resident there unless it is centrally managed and controlled in a jurisdiction whose top company rate is at least 10% and which accepts it as resident. A resident company with income from banking, insurance, fund management, finance and leasing, headquarters, shipping, holding company, intellectual property or distribution and service centre business must meet the economic substance test: directed and managed in Jersey, adequate staff, spending and premises on the island, and its core income-generating activities carried out in Jersey. And every Jersey company files a tax return each year, even when it owes nothing.
For economic substance, a holding company is a resident company whose primary function is acquiring and holding shares and which carries on no commercial activity. Holding company business is a relevant activity, so the test applies in any year in which the company has gross income from it. At incorporation, the Registry asks a holding company of a group not regulated in Jersey for a structure chart of the entities it will hold and whether any of them falls within Jersey’s regulatory laws. It may also attach conditions to the COBO consent.
| Obligation | When | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Tax registration | Automatic after incorporation | Revenue Jersey posts a tax identification number, a tax reference and access to online filing to the registered office |
| Corporate tax return | Every year, by 30 November of the following year | Due at 0% too, with the economic substance information |
| Annual confirmation statement | 1 January to the end of February, each year after the year of incorporation | The nominated person confirms owners, directors, members and share capital in myRegistry |
| Changes of beneficial owner, director or secretary | Within 21 days of the company knowing | Filed in myRegistry as an update of associated parties |
| Special resolutions (name, articles, capital) | Filed within 21 days | Late filing is penalised |
| Accounts | Within 10 months of the year end for a private company | No audit unless the articles require one; not filed with the Registry |
| GST | Once taxable turnover reaches £300,000 in 12 months | 5%, quarterly returns; some businesses serving non-residents can be International Services Entities instead |
These tasks, with the registered office, secretary and nominated person a provider supplies each year, are the running obligations of a Jersey company. Missing an annual confirmation or a beneficial owner update risks referral to the Attorney General or strike off.
The JFSC Registry search finds any Jersey entity by name or registration number, and the Registry supplies copies of public documents and certificates of good standing. Searches for a Jersey company registry, trade register or Handelsregister all lead here. The public part shows members, share information and directors, leaving out the company secretary and anyone under 18. Beneficial ownership is held centrally but is not public: the nominated person, the authorities and, since February 2025, Jersey businesses doing customer due diligence can see it, the last for that purpose only. Wider access for people with a legitimate interest has been the subject of a Government of Jersey consultation.
A company incorporated elsewhere can apply to continue into Jersey under Part 18C of the Companies Law, with any consent its current jurisdiction requires. It uses the same Incorporate a Company form at the 5-day continuance service level, adding a certified copy of its current memorandum and articles, financial statements to a year end no more than 12 months before the application and a solvency statement signed by every director. Continuance creates no new legal person; the Registrar issues a Jersey certificate of continuance.
Incorporation does not open a bank account. The island business accounts of HSBC and NatWest International require the owners and directors to live in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or, at NatWest International, Gibraltar. Companies run from abroad are usually banked through accounts their Jersey administrator introduces. Company deposits are not covered by the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme. Detail by bank is on our page on bank accounts for Jersey companies.
Because the Registry can incorporate within hours at its priority service level, buying an existing company rarely saves time in Jersey. It makes sense when the date of incorporation matters to a counterparty; its transfer still needs the Registry’s approval. See ready-made shelf companies in Jersey, and for the idea in general our guide to off the shelf companies.
We form new Jersey companies and also supply ready-made ones. We prepare the formation or transfer documents and the Registry filings, help you prepare the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, make an introduction; the bank alone decides. Every Jersey company must appoint a nominated person, and we arrange that role, the company secretary and, where you want them, a director or nominee shareholder only through a trust company business registered with the Jersey Financial Services Commission; a director provided this way owes the duties in Article 74 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 to act honestly and in good faith in the company’s best interests and with reasonable care, and your details as beneficial owner go to the central register kept by the Commission. Background on the island is on our Jersey page.
Yes. Jersey sets no residency or nationality condition for members or directors, so a company can be owned and run from abroad. The application must be filed by a JFSC regulated service provider licensed for formation work, since only Jersey residents forming a wholly Jersey-owned company may file their own. The company also needs a Jersey registered office and a nominated person.
The JFSC says incorporation approval takes between 2 hours and 5 days, depending on the risk factors, the service level chosen and whether the name was reserved. Priority levels are 2 hours and 1 day, standard ones 2, 3 and 5 days. An activity covered by the Sound Business Policy can take longer, because the Registry does not guarantee fast-track processing for it.
No. A private company needs one director aged 18 or over, of any nationality and living anywhere. Residence matters elsewhere: the nominated person must be a registered trust company business or a person resident in Jersey, and a company with a relevant activity must be directed and managed in Jersey to meet the economic substance test.
There is none. A Jersey company is either a par value company, whose shares have a nominal value, or a no par value company, whose share proceeds go to a stated capital account, never both. The memorandum states how many shares of each class it may issue, and the shares are issued under the COBO consent obtained with the incorporation.
Usually at the standard 0%, with 10% for certain financial services companies and 20% for utilities and Jersey property income. Where the owners live does not decide residence; where the company is managed does. It stays resident in Jersey unless centrally managed and controlled in a jurisdiction with a top rate of at least 10% that treats it as resident, and it files a Jersey return every year.
Planning a Jersey company formation? Tell us the activity and who will own and run the company through our contact page, or on Telegram or WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166, and we will tell you what the Registry application would need.