Knowledge base · MH

Marshall Islands

A Pacific registry of non-resident corporations and LLCs, widely used for ship-owning companies; no Marshall Islands tax on non-resident entities, and beneficial-ownership records kept by each entity and produced to the registered agent on request.

The Marshall Islands registers non-resident domestic entities: corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships formed under its Associations Law by owners whose business is elsewhere. International Registries, Inc. (IRI) administers the Registrar of Corporations for these entities, and The Trust Company of the Marshall Islands, Inc. (TCMI) is the statutory registered agent for every one of them. Ship owners often form one company for each vessel and register the vessel under the Marshall Islands flag with a ship mortgage. A company formed elsewhere can instead register as a foreign maritime entity so that it can own a Marshall Islands vessel.

There is no central register of beneficial owners. Since amendments of 2017, phased in by November 2018, each entity keeps its own up-to-date record of the natural persons who own or control it, produces it to TCMI within 60 days of a request and attests every year that it is kept. The Beneficial Ownership Regulations, 2023 clarified the definition and the 25% threshold; they did not add a filing duty. Bearer shares survive only where the holder and the beneficial owner are recorded with the registered agent.

Non-resident entities pay no Marshall Islands tax on their revenues beyond registration fees, so where a company is taxed is decided by the countries where it is managed and where its owners live. Since 2019 every entity files an annual economic substance report. Since December 2020 non-resident entities may not operate as virtual asset service providers.

General information, not advice. Facts are stated as of the date on each page. Law, lists and rates change; the professional who acts for the entity confirms what applies to it. Chrysos performs no regulated act and gives no legal or tax advice.

Facts as of 30 October 2026

Beneficial ownership

Who is a beneficial owner: A natural person who ultimately owns or controls the entity, or on whose behalf an interest is held — more than 25% of the shares, interests or voting rights, directly or indirectly, or control by other means. Failing that, a senior managing official. Set out in the Associations Law and confirmed by the Beneficial Ownership Regulations, 2023, in force 7 December 2023.
Register: No central or public register for non-resident entities. Each entity, other than a publicly traded company and its subsidiaries, uses all reasonable efforts to obtain and keep an up-to-date record of its beneficial owners, for at least five years.
Deadlines: The record is produced to the statutory registered agent, The Trust Company of the Marshall Islands (TCMI), within 60 days of a request; TCMI may audit compliance. Each entity attests to the Registrar every year that the record is kept.
Who can see it: Not public. Authorities obtain the records through the registered agent and the Registrar.
Nominees and bearer shares: Nominees are looked through and are not beneficial owners; the person behind a nominee is recorded. Bearer shares are still permitted for corporations, but are valid only once the holder and beneficial owner are recorded with the registered agent; non-compliant bearer shares become invalid and must be cancelled.
Penalties: Knowingly or recklessly failing to keep the record, failing to produce it within 60 days, or a false attestation can lead to a substantial fine, forcible annulment of the entity, or both.

Lists and exchange of information

EU tax list: Not listed in Annex I or Annex II (revision of 9 October 2026).
FATF: Not on the FATF grey or black list (June 2026 plenary). Evaluated by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), whose latest mutual evaluation of the Marshall Islands was published in late 2024.
Exchange of information: Common Reporting Standard, with first exchanges by 2018; the multilateral competent authority agreement was signed on 29 October 2015. No FATCA intergovernmental agreement appears in the US Treasury's list.
Economic substance: Economic Substance Regulations, 2018, in force 1 January 2019. Every non-resident entity and foreign maritime entity files an annual report within 12 months of its anniversary date; a late or missing report risks penalties or annulment.

2 forms

Legal entities

Company · IBC

Non-resident domestic corporation

Law: Business Corporations Act, Associations Law (Title 52, Marshall Islands Revised Code)

A separate legal person formed through the Registrar of Corporations for Non-resident Domestic Entities, which International Registries, Inc. (IRI) administers. Shareholders are liable only up to the capital they invest.

Members and officers: A board of one or more directors of any nationality, who need not be residents or shareholders; a non-resident corporation may appoint companies as directors. No local director or secretary. TCMI is the registered agent.
Share capital: No minimum paid-up capital. Registered or bearer shares, with or without par value, in any currency. The standard formation is 500 shares without par value or up to US$50,000 of par value; authorised capital above that attracts a one-time capitalisation tax.
Public register shows: The formation documents filed with the Registrar. Directors, officers and shareholders need not appear on the public file.
Accounts and annual filings: Reliable and complete accounting records with their underlying documents, kept for at least five years and retained after dissolution. An annual beneficial-ownership attestation and an annual economic substance report.
Tax: Exempt from Marshall Islands corporate tax, income tax, withholding tax, asset tax, stamp duty, exchange controls and tax reporting on its revenues, other than registration fees. Dividends, interest and royalties paid to non-residents bear no Marshall Islands withholding.

How owners use it

Single-ship owning company, often paired with Marshall Islands vessel registration and a ship mortgage
Fleet holding company over ship-owning subsidiaries
Joint-venture and investment holding company

What comes with it

Where the company is taxed is decided by the countries where it is managed and where its owners live, under their management-and-control and controlled-foreign-company rules
The beneficial-ownership record must be kept current; TCMI can ask for it and audit it, and it must be produced within 60 days
The economic substance report is filed every year, even where the substance tests do not apply to the company's activity
Banks usually ask for certificates of goodstanding and incumbency, the registers of directors and shareholders, a beneficial-ownership declaration, proof of the substance filing and, for a ship-owning company, the vessel registration and mortgage documents

LLC · LLC

Non-resident limited liability company

Law: Limited Liability Company Act of 1996, Associations Law (Title 52, Marshall Islands Revised Code)

A separate entity whose members are liable only up to the capital they invest. It may be run by its members or by managers, and may be formed as a series LLC.

Members and managers: Individuals or companies may be members; managers are optional. TCMI is the registered agent.
Capital: No share capital; contributions are set by the LLC agreement.
Public register shows: The certificate of formation. The LLC agreement and the names of members and managers need not be filed, though they may be filed voluntarily.
Accounts and annual filings: The same accounting records, beneficial-ownership record, annual attestation and economic substance report as a corporation.
Tax: The same non-resident exemption as a corporation.

How owners use it

Asset-holding and investment vehicle
Real estate and project vehicle
Joint-venture vehicle
Series LLC holding segregated series, each with its own assets, members and liability

What comes with it

Members and managers are not on the public file, so banks ask for the LLC agreement, the register of members and managers and a beneficial-ownership declaration
The beneficial-ownership record and the annual economic substance report apply as they do to corporations

Sources

Facts as of 30 October 2026

All jurisdictions