We help you incorporate an International Business Company in the Marshall Islands

Our specialists advise on the right shape for your Marshall Islands IBC before anything is prepared, then manage the entire incorporation on your behalf. Every stage is coordinated for you and explained as it happens, so there is nothing to work out on your own.

Typical timeline
3 to 7 business days
Minimums
1 shareholder, 1 director
Packages from
US$999
Where you live
Anywhere
Owners and directors
Any nationality
In person
Not needed

Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or the Registrar of Corporations. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and handle the incorporation on your behalf; whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.

Requirements

The requirements for a Marshall Islands International Business Company

Nine requirements for a Marshall Islands IBC, with the provider named on each. Two are included with us, and the other seven are decisions we take you through one at a time.

At least one director

One director is enough and there is no maximum. Directors may live anywhere in the world and a company may serve as one. The Register of Directors is kept by the corporation itself, it goes on no public file in the Marshall Islands, and a change of director is not filed.

Minimum
One, no maximum
Residence
Anywhere in the world
Corporate director
Permitted
Register of Directors
Kept by the corporation
Same person as shareholder
Yes

At least one shareholder

One shareholder is enough, and it may be the same person as the director. A company can hold shares. The Register of Members is kept by the corporation and is not a public record in the Marshall Islands. Bearer shares are still lawful here, unusually, but since 2017 an issue or a transfer is void until the holder and the beneficial owner behind it are recorded with the registered agent, and banks have largely stopped lending into them, so we do not recommend them.

Minimum
One, no maximum
Residence
Anywhere in the world
Corporate shareholder
Permitted
Register of Members
Kept by the corporation, not public
Bearer shares
Lawful, but void until recorded with the agent

Beneficial owners identified

The people who ultimately own or control the corporation are identified before it is formed, looked through every holding company until a person is reached. The record is kept by the corporation, produced to the registered agent on demand, and never published. Each year the corporation confirms that it is being maintained.

Who counts
Anyone above 25%
By
Shares, voting rights or control by other means
If no one qualifies
The senior manager
Confirmed
Every year, with the renewal
Public
No, and there is no central register

A secretary, and any other office you want

Every corporation must have a secretary. Beyond that the by-laws decide, and most corporations take the familiar American set of President, Secretary and Treasurer. The secretary may live anywhere, may itself be a company, and any two or more offices may be held by the same person.

Required
A secretary
Usual set
President, Secretary, Treasurer
Corporate officer
Permitted, including as secretary
Residence
Anywhere in the world
One person, several offices
Permitted
Filed anywhere
No

A share structure, with no floor under it

The Marshall Islands sets no minimum capital and no minimum paid up amount. The standard corporation is authorised to issue 500 shares without par value, or up to US$50,000 of par value stock, and par value may be expressed in any currency. Going above that band is allowed and carries a one time capitalisation charge at formation.

Minimum capital
None
Minimum paid up
None
Currency
Any
Standard authorisation
500 shares without par value, or US$50,000 of par value stock
Par value
With or without
Classes and series
More than one permitted
Above the standard band
Permitted, charged once at formation

A registered agent in the Marshall Islands

Every non-resident corporation must have a registered agent in the republic at all times, and here the law names it. The same trust company is the agent for every non-resident entity in the country, so there is nothing to shop for and nothing to move later. We are your side of that relationship, in every package.

Who it is
Fixed by law, the same for every non-resident entity
Choosing or changing it
Not possible, and nothing to arrange
Receives on demand
Beneficial ownership and shareholder records
Arranged and paid by us
In every package

A registered office in the Marshall Islands

The Articles state an address in the republic for notices and process. It is the office of the registered agent, so it comes with the agent and you lease nothing. Meetings may be held and books kept anywhere in the world, by any means the board chooses.

Where it is
The registered agent's own address on Majuro
Your own premises or staff
Not required
Meetings and records
Held and kept anywhere
Arranged and paid by us
In every package

A name with the right ending

The name must carry something that clearly marks it as a corporation rather than a person or a partnership, and for a non-resident corporation that is not limited to the English words. Any standard corporate suffix in international use is accepted, which is why so many Marshall Islands companies read as Spanish, German, Dutch or Scandinavian ones.

English endings
Corporation, Incorporated, Company, Limited, or an abbreviation
Other legal systems
Any standard internationally used corporate suffix
Language
Any, provided Roman characters are used
Must not
Be the same as, or confusingly similar to, a name already taken
Names implying a bank, insurer, trust or fund
Refused or held for consent
Reservation
Up to six months ahead, checked and held by us

Articles of Incorporation and by-laws

Two papers, not one. The Articles of Incorporation state the name, the purpose and the shares the corporation may issue, and they bring it into existence. The by-laws sit behind them and govern meetings, offices and how the board runs. We draft both.

Filed to form it
Articles of Incorporation
Adopted by the first board
By-laws
Drafted by
Expanship
Signed by
The incorporator
Changed later
By resolution, and an amendment to the Articles is filed
Standard or bespoke
Either

KYC

What we ask of everyone behind the company

Our specialists help you assemble everything needed from your side and check it item by item before anything goes anywhere, so the formation proceeds without a hitch.

See the full checklist

Natural person

  • Passport
  • Address proof
  • Source of funds
  • Resume or CV
  • Professional reference

Corporate body

  • Certificate of Incorporation
  • Memorandum and Articles
  • All Registers of Members
  • Company extract
  • KYC for all individual members

Activities and Usage

What you can do with a Marshall Islands International Business Company

Ships and yachts first, then holding, trade and intellectual property. Pick the activity nearest to yours to see how a Marshall Islands IBC handles it, and leave the rest to our experts.

Available from formation

Open from the day the corporation exists. Nothing to apply for first.

  • Ships and yachts

    Vessels entered under this flag Available from formation
  • Offshore marine assets

    Rigs, barges and support craft Available from formation
  • Holding shares

    Shares in companies anywhere Available from formation
  • Property abroad

    Land and buildings outside the republic Available from formation
  • Cross-border trade

    Bought in one market, sold in another Available from formation
  • Intellectual property

    Marks and patents, substance declared Available from formation

Specialist activities, ask us first

Open to the corporation once the extra step attached to each is done. Our experts will tell you what that is.

  • Bearer shares

    Void until recorded with the agent Specialist activities, ask us first
  • Restricted words in the name

    Bank, trust and insurance are held back Specialist activities, ask us first

Closed to a non-resident corporation

Shut by the corporation's own non-resident status for as long as it keeps it.

  • Banking

    Deposits taken from the public Closed to a non-resident corporation
  • Insurance

    Writing policies or assuming risk Closed to a non-resident corporation
  • Trust services

    Acting as trustee for other people Closed to a non-resident corporation
  • Virtual asset services

    Crypto held for other people Closed to a non-resident corporation
  • Business inside the islands

    Trading or owning land in the republic Closed to a non-resident corporation

What people build with it

Have a different structure in mind?

Tell us what the corporation will do

Vessel ownership

One vessel per corporation, on a flag the finance market already reads

A vessel carries its flag, its crew contracts, its mortgage and its cover with it, and selling the hull on its own unpicks all four in the same week. Owning it through a corporation formed where the flag is kept holds them together.

  1. One vessel, one corporation

    The vessel is owned by the corporation alone, and it is entered under the Marshall Islands flag in that name.

  2. Everything is written in its name

    Crew contracts, insurance, management and the mortgage all name the corporation, and none is shared with another hull.

  3. A sale is a share transfer

    The buyer takes the corporation, so the flag, the crew contracts and the cover carry on without being redone.

The corporation Seller Buyer Shares One vessel, held in the corporation's name

Fleet

One corporation per hull, and one corporation above all of them

An owner with four ships does not want one company holding four hulls, and does not want four unconnected owners either. The shape the market expects is a separate company for each vessel with a single parent holding them all.

  1. Each hull gets its own owner

    A separate corporation is formed for each vessel, and each one is entered under the flag in its own name.

  2. One parent holds all of them

    The parent is recorded in each owning company's Register of Members, and all of them share the one agent the law names.

  3. A ship or the fleet can be sold

    A buyer takes the shares of one owning company for a single vessel, or of the parent for the whole fleet.

The parent The owner The owner The owner Hull one Hull two Hull three One vessel in each corporation

Ship finance

The lender's security sits in the same place the owner was formed

A ship is bought with borrowed money far more often than not, and the lender's first question is not about the buyer. It is about where its security will be recorded, and how quickly anyone else can read it there.

  1. The corporation is the borrower

    The owning corporation takes the loan and holds the vessel, so the debt and the asset sit with the same person.

  2. The mortgage is recorded here

    A mortgage over the vessel is recorded in the Marshall Islands, in the same place the owning corporation was formed.

  3. It is released the same way

    On repayment the mortgage is discharged against the same record, and the vessel is free to be sold or change flag.

The lender The corporation The vessel The loan Owns The mortgage Mortgaged to the lender The mortgage sits on the vessel

Joint venture

Two owners take a ship together on corporate law they both already recognise

Two owners buying a vessel together each want the company under a law their own lawyers can read, and neither will sit as a minority inside the other's national company. A statute drawn from Delaware is familiar to both without belonging to either.

  1. Both sides subscribe here

    Both owners subscribe to one corporation whose internal affairs run on Delaware law, not on either owner's home code.

  2. The bargain sits in the by-laws

    Board seats, veto rights and what happens on deadlock go into the Articles and the by-laws, not into a side letter.

  3. One side can be bought out

    A transfer of shares agreed at the start moves one owner's half without touching the vessel's entry under the flag.

Partner A Partner B The corporation The vessel 50% 50% Rights written into the articles

Trading

Buys in one market, sells in another, and invoices in dollars from neither

A commodity trader buying in one country and selling into another does not want either side's rules following the whole chain, and does not want its supplier and its customer reading each other's terms.

  1. It buys in one market

    The seller's contract names the corporation, and the cargo becomes its property at the port where it is loaded.

  2. It sells in another

    The customer is invoiced in United States dollars, which are legal tender here, and pays the corporation direct.

  3. The goods never come here

    Cargo moves hull to hull between the two ports. What passes through the corporation is the paperwork and the money.

Supplier The corporation Customer Invoice in Invoice out Goods ship direct Contracts and the bank account sit with the corporation

Holding

One parent above operating companies in several countries

A group trading in three countries has three sets of shareholders to keep aligned and three transfers to run whenever it changes hands. Putting one corporation above them turns that into a single point of ownership.

  1. The parent holds the shares

    Each company below records the Marshall Islands corporation in its Register of Members as the holder of its shares.

  2. The law underneath is familiar

    Marshall Islands corporate law is drawn from Delaware, so a counterparty has ground it can research.

  3. A sale moves the whole group

    Selling the parent moves every owning company beneath it at once, and not one vessel changes its recorded owner.

Shareholders The corporation Subsidiary Subsidiary Subsidiary Country A Country B Country C Operating companies
Pricing

Marshall Islands International Business Company incorporation packages, and what each includes

Both Marshall Islands IBC packages are all-inclusive, with the government fee and the first year built into one transparent price. What you see below is the whole cost.

Popular

Basic Package

US$ 999

  • Incorporation timeline
  • Unlimited name availability checks
  • All government incorporation fees
  • Preparation of incorporation papers
  • Registered Agent (1st year included)
  • Registered Office Address (1st year included)

  • Statutory registers prepared
  • Express worldwide delivery of Corporate Kit
  • Free account opening with Airwallex

  • Original Certificate of Incorporation (CI)
  • Articles of Incorporation
  • Register of Directors (ROD)
  • Register of Shareholders (ROM)
  • Register of Beneficial Owners (RBO)
  • Share Certificates
Best Value

Premium Package

US$ 1,599
US$1,999 Save US$400
Everything in the Basic Package

  • Original Certificate of Incorporation
  • Certificate of Incumbency
  • Certificate of Good Standing
  • Notarization and Apostille on all corporate papers

Every package above includes the government fees. Those fees are set by the Marshall Islands authorities, not by Expanship, and are passed on at cost; the rest of the price is our fee for advising you, preparing and coordinating your paperwork, and handling the incorporation on your behalf. Expanship is a private company, not a government agency. Whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by the authorities alone.

Government fee on share capital: All packages include the government fee for a corporation authorised to issue up to 500 shares without par value, or up to US$50,000 of par value stock. A larger authorisation is allowed and carries a one time capitalisation charge at formation, which we quote before anything is filed. It does not change your annual renewal.

Enterprise

Need something more bespoke?

For Marshall Islands structures the packages above do not describe. Vessel owning groups running one company per hull, ownership layered across several countries, articles drafted around a shareholders' agreement rather than a template, and one project manager holding the whole build together.

  • Complex structuring
  • Bespoke articles
  • Nominee arrangements
  • Multi-jurisdiction
  • Dedicated project manager
  • Priority processing
  • Ad-hoc advisory
Talk to Our Advisors

After Year 1

Annual Renewal

Your first year is covered by the package above. From year two, one fee a year carries the government fee, your registered agent and office, that year's economic substance declaration and beneficial ownership attestation, custody of your records, and a reminder well before the anniversary.

Year 1 The packages above
Year 2 onward from US$999 a year
See what the annual renewal covers
Fully refundable If not incorporated 100%

If we do not get your company incorporated, we refund you 100%.

  • No hidden fees The package price is the price. Nothing is added later.
  • Government fees included Government fees are inside your package price, not billed on top.
  • Renewal priced upfront Year 2's fee is published on this page, not sprung on you a year later.
  • Everything in one package No essentials sold as add-ons. The Basic package covers the formation and compliance.

Pros and cons

Is a Marshall Islands International Business Company right for you?

Ships, holdings and cross-border trade on one side, yearly duties on the other: a Marshall Islands IBC has both, and each gets the same space here. Our experts will tell you plainly which side matters more for your plan.

In its favour

What it gives you

  • Nothing taxed on foreign income

    Profits, dividends, interest and gains earned outside the islands sit outside the charge, and no tax return is filed there.

  • One director, one shareholder

    Either may be a person or a company, resident in any country. No local director, and no premises or staff on the islands.

  • Owners off the public file

    Directors, officers and shareholders reach no public file, and beneficial ownership is held privately by the registered agent.

  • The dollar, and no exchange control

    The United States dollar is legal tender here, and money moves in and out in any currency without restrictions or a local account.

  • A flag its ships already fly

    The second largest merchant fleet in the world by tonnage flies it, and the corporate law grew up beside the shipping it serves.

To weigh against

What it asks of you

  • No double tax treaty relief

    Income from abroad arrives with withholding tax already deducted at source, and there is no treaty here to bring the rate down.

  • A declaration due every year

    Every non-resident corporation reports on economic substance each year, and a relevant activity must be shown to be run from here.

  • A bill whether it trades or not

    The government fee, the registered agent and the registered office all fall due on the anniversary in a year with no activity.

  • Private rather than secret

    Ownership is recorded rather than published, and your bank still reports the account under the Common Reporting Standard.

  • Where you live still decides

    Controlled foreign company rules can tax the profits at home, and running the board from one country can make it resident there.

Compliance

Keeping your Marshall Islands International Business Company in good standing

Here is what a Marshall Islands IBC has to keep doing, grouped by when it falls due. Our team runs eleven of the twelve duties inside your annual engagement and reminds you of the twelfth.

Registered agent

The agent the Associations Law names, kept in place and paid for from formation to the day the corporation ends.

At all times

Held in the Marshall Islands

We do it

Registered office

The address in the Articles, which is the agent’s own, so it never has to be found or rented.

At all times

The agent’s address

We do it

Statutory registers

Directors, officers, members and beneficial ownership, written up in the week the event happens.

On every event

Kept by the corporation

We do it

Books of account

Ledgers, contracts, invoices and statements, enough to show the financial position, kept five years.

Kept five years

Anywhere in the world

Yours

Annual government fee

One fee a year, settled before the anniversary rather than after a reminder arrives.

On the anniversary

The authorities in the Marshall Islands

We do it

Beneficial ownership attestation

A yearly confirmation that the ownership record the agent holds is still the current one.

With the renewal

The authorities in the Marshall Islands

We do it

Economic substance declaration

Which relevant activity the corporation carried on, and where one is caught, how the test was met.

Within 12 months of the anniversary

The electronic filing system

We do it

Register of Directors and Officers

Appointments, resignations and changes of office, resolved and then entered. Nothing is lodged.

On every change

Kept by the corporation

We do it

Beneficial ownership

Kept current with the registered agent, including a change reached through a company higher up the chain.

On every change

Held by the registered agent

We do it

Register of Members

Transfers, allotments and cancellations, written up with the instrument behind each movement.

On every movement

Kept by the corporation

We do it

Amendments to the Articles

A change to the Articles of Incorporation is resolved by the corporation, then lodged and re-issued.

On adoption

The authorities in the Marshall Islands

We do it

Change of name

Cleared first, then filed as an amendment, and it takes effect when the company file is updated.

On filing

The authorities in the Marshall Islands

We do it

How it runs

One anniversary carries the year, and we hold it

Every dated duty above hangs off the day your corporation was formed. We diary that date from the day it exists, prepare each filing well before it, and come to you in good time for anything only you can give us. One team, and one place to ask when something changes.

Twelve duties follow a Marshall Islands IBC. We carry eleven.

We hold eleven of them, from the day the corporation is formed to the day you close it. The only thing we need from you is an answer when we ask for one: how the corporation spent its year before the substance declaration goes in, or a confirmation when something about it changes.

Covered by us 11 of 12
Registered agentRegistered officeStatutory registersAnnual government feeBeneficial ownership attestationEconomic substance declarationRegister of Directors and OfficersBeneficial ownershipRegister of MembersAmendments to the ArticlesChange of name
And from you
Yours One thing
Reply when we ask for something

3 to 7

Business days

From the day your checks clear to the day the corporation exists.

1 + 1

Shareholder and director

Any nationality, resident anywhere, and they may be the same person.

US$999

Packages from

Fixed and quoted upfront, with the government fee already inside.

You do not have a company yet

Form a Marshall Islands corporation

The vehicle described on this page, formed from wherever you are. We run the checks, clear the name, prepare the Articles of Incorporation and the by-laws, and hand you the register pack.

Packages from
US$999
Time to form
3 to 7 days
Your presence
Not required

You already have a Marshall Islands company

Move it to us

Hand the running of a corporation you already own to our team. The Associations Law fixes the registered agent, so nothing about the entity moves: it keeps its name, its number and its anniversary, and only who prepares its filings changes.

Transfer in
US$350
Then
US$999/yr
Disruption
None

Neither of those yet?

Your own tax position, a vessel you are planning to put under the flag, or whether a Marshall Islands company is the right one at all. Answered in writing within one business day, at no charge.

Talk to a specialist

FAQ

Marshall Islands International Business Company questions, answered

What people ask before forming a Marshall Islands IBC with us, and what they ask about the corporation once it exists. If your question is missing, our experts will answer it in writing.

Working with us

Three to seven business days, and the package sets the pace. Basic is quoted at seven business days and Premium at three. The count begins once we hold every paper and answer we need from you and your checks are complete. The authorities in the Marshall Islands form the corporation at their own pace, so treat these as estimates rather than promises. Nothing waits on a signature in the islands.

No. A Marshall Islands IBC is formed entirely from wherever you are. The Articles of Incorporation are signed by the incorporator on your instruction, the by-laws are adopted by the first board wherever it sits, and nothing has to be signed in the republic. Board meetings may be held and the books kept in any country. Your corporate kit is couriered to any address in the world once the corporation exists.

Yes, the government fee is inside for a corporation authorised to issue up to 500 shares without par value or US$50,000 of par value stock. The Basic package at US$999 also carries the Articles of Incorporation and by-laws, the registered agent and registered office for year one, the statutory registers, your electronic Certificate of Incorporation and courier delivery of the corporate kit. Premium at US$1,599 adds the original paper set and the authenticated copies banks often ask for. A larger share authorisation carries a one time charge, quoted in advance.

Every package includes assistance with opening an Airwallex multi-currency account, so the corporation can send and receive payments from the start. Where a traditional bank is wanted, our team advises on which banks are open to a Marshall Islands corporation for your activity, prepares the application file with you and coordinates each step with the bank. The decision on any account rests with the bank, and we say so at the outset. The dollar is legal tender in the islands, a natural fit for a dollar based business.

Very little. Twelve duties follow a Marshall Islands IBC, and all three dated ones fall on the anniversary of formation: the annual government fee, the beneficial ownership attestation and the economic substance declaration. Our annual engagement, from US$999 a year from year two, carries eleven of the twelve, including the agent, the office and the registers. Your part is to keep the books of account for five years and to answer when we ask, mainly on how the corporation spent its year before the substance declaration is prepared.

Both. Moving an existing Marshall Islands corporation to us costs US$350, then US$999 a year for the annual engagement. Because Marshall Islands law names one registered agent for every non-resident entity, nothing about the corporation moves: it keeps its name, its number and its anniversary, and only who prepares its filings changes. If you want to end the corporation instead, we prepare the resolutions, settle what is outstanding and manage the dissolution on your behalf, quoted once we have seen the corporation's position.

No. Marshall Islands law names a single trust company as the registered agent of every non-resident corporation, and every formation goes through it, so there is no form you send in on your own. What we add is the part that saves time and mistakes: advice on whether an IBC or an LLC fits your plan, preparation of the Articles and by-laws, management of the whole process on your behalf, and a team that stays with the corporation afterwards. We are an independent corporate services provider, not a government body.

No. Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or the Registrar of Corporations. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and handle the incorporation on your behalf. Whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.

Our own work: advice on the right structure, due diligence on every member, preparing and coordinating the incorporation paperwork, handling the incorporation on your behalf, and the first year of registered agent and registered office. The government fees are set by the Marshall Islands authorities, not by us, and are passed on at cost inside the package price.

Contact Us

Questions about a Marshall Islands International Business Company? Ask our experts

Tell us what you are building, a fleet or otherwise, and our Marshall Islands experts will confirm whether an IBC fits, what it costs and how we would start. No obligation.

Professional business consultation

Expanship is a private company, not a government agency. Submitting this form requests a consultation with our advisors; it does not place an order, start an incorporation, or create a professional relationship, and nothing we reply with is legal, tax, or financial advice.

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