St. Lucia

Starting a Business in

St. Lucia

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Liability Company
  • City: Castries

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Lawyer conducts name search and prepares incorporation documents

An attorney conducts the name search and prepares the incorporation documents, which include (a) the articles of incorporation; (b) the notice of directors; (c) the notice of the company’s registered office; (d) and the sworn declaration swearing that the company owner is mentally sound and over 18 years of age. By laws are not essential for forming the company but are highly recommended. They are usually filed together with the other documents in this procedure and are included in the company formation fee. The online name search system is currently out of service.
2 days XCD 2325
2 Registration with the Commercial Registry

When registering the company with the Commercial Registry, the promoters pay an administrative fee when presenting the documents for registration. The Registry issues a certification of incorporation once the registration process is finalized.
6 days XCD 850
3 Make company seal

A company can obtain a rubber-stamp seal locally in 7 days; the cost is XCD 75. If a more formal embossed seal is required, it can be obtained from overseas in 14 days; the cost is about XCD 290.
7 days XCD 75
* 4 Obtain tax payer identification number

The competent authority is the Inland Revenue Department.
1 day (simultaneous with procedure 3) no charge
* 5 Register as employer with social security institute

The competent authority is the National Insurance Corporation.
1 day (simultaneous with procedure 3) no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.