How to Register A Company in Malaysia: Step-by-step Guide

Whether you are an expat or a local looking to register a company in Malaysia, this guide outlines the key steps for a successful company registration. The governmental body for Malaysia company registry is the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM). All entrepreneurs and business owners must register their company with SSM.

There are 3 parts to your company registration process:

The requirements for Malaysia company registration are:

Once you have fulfilled these requirements, you can proceed to register your company with SSM directly online if you are a local resident or engage a registered filing agent to assist with your company registration.

The process of registering a company in Malaysia is straightforward once you have all the information ready.

Step 1: Identify your ideal business structure
Before you can register your company, you should have an overview of the types of entities that you can set up in Malaysia.

Choose from the following business structures:

Each of the business structures have their pros and cons. Based on our experience, the most common business structures are the sole proprietorship and the private limited company. To find out more about the comparative difference between the two business structures, you can read in-depth in our articles linked above.

Step 2: Choosing a company name
There are specific guidelines and requirements when you pick your ideal company name. We have outlined the full list in our article on selecting a company name here.

Once you have identified your company name, you will need you check its availability with SSM. Alternatively, you can use our free company name checker tool as well.

Step 3: Register with SSM
Your approved company name will be reserved for 30 days from the date of confirmation by SSM. Upon receiving confirmation, you may kickstart your registration process online via the SSM website.

The documents needed for company registration with SSM include:

After registering and getting your incorporation certificate, your business is now a legal entity, and you can start doing business if no additional licenses are required.

Here are a few things that needs to be done after your company has been successfully registered:

After successfully registering your company, you will be given a business registration number in Malaysia. This section will share more about the purpose of the business registration number.

To differentiate the companies, every country has a set of numerical values to identify the companies that operate in the jurisdiction – Malaysia is no different.

Previously, a Malaysia-registered company was issued a 7 digit number with an alphabet. However, starting from October 2019, SSM has decided to change the format to 12 digits, starting from the year of incorporation without any alphabets included.

Here are the examples of the current and past business registration number:

The new format follows the following breakdown to derive the 12 digits:

The type of business entity is listed below:

A business registration number is unique and is normally generated once an entity is successfully incorporated.

Every registration number will initially be seen in Section 15 – Notice of Registration furnished by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) once an incorporation is successful. Then, all Company related documents printed via the official Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) website will also state the company registration number.

Aside from identifying the different businesses in Malaysia, the business registration number is important when carrying out formal applications with the government and other administrative matters.

For instance, this number will be used in the following scenarios:

In order for an entity to register such profiles, a registration number is always required for the agency to identify the Company in government official website to ensure its legitimacy.

Even though an entity is running an online business, according to the Malaysia Consumer Protection Regulations 2012, the entity must indicate the Company’s business registration number in its official website to avoid the consumers being scammed.

At Paul Hype Page, we have our own proprietary software for company registration and corporate secretarial activities. All incorporation and corporate secretarial processes are done online, without a need to be present physically in Malaysia.

If you were to appoint us as your trusted incorporation provider, here are the steps that you will need to follow through.

The process is simple – provide and sign all the documents digitally and our team will handle the rest.