Barbados Company Formation & Entity Choice

Company formation and compliance

• Registry / incorporating authority — Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Regular Barbados Company (RBC) — Company limited by shares incorporated under the Companies Act; most common operating entity (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Society with Restricted Liability (SRL) — Hybrid entity governed by the Societies with Restricted Liability Act, with quotas instead of shares (Societies with Restricted Liability Act, Cap. 318B)
• External (branch) company — Foreign company registered to carry on business in Barbados (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Minimum share capital — No statutory minimum for an ordinary company limited by shares (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Incorporation filing fee — BBD 750 (plus BBD 30 for name reservation) BBD (Companies Act, Cap. 308 (fees regulations))
• External company registration fee — BBD 3,000 BBD (Companies Act, Cap. 308 (fees regulations))
• Incorporation timeline — Approximately 5 business days once documents are in order; full setup typically 3-4 weeks (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Core incorporation steps — Reserve name, file Articles of Incorporation with CAIPO, appoint directors and registered office, obtain Certificate of Incorporation, register with BRA for tax/VAT and NIS (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Annual return — Companies must file an annual return with CAIPO each year to remain in good standing (Companies Act, Cap. 308)
• Annual tax compliance — File corporation tax return and economic substance / country-by-country filings where applicable, and remit monthly tax prepayments (Income Tax Act, Cap. 73; Companies (Economic Substance) Act)

Companies in Barbados are incorporated under the Companies Act, Cap. 308 and registered with the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO). There is no statutory minimum share capital for an ordinary company.