Company formation in Cyprus

What a company formation provider does in Cyprus

A formation provider turns your plan into a registered, working company. The core of the job is fixed by the Registrar of Companies, while the services around it vary from firm to firm.

The fixed part:

• Name approval: the provider checks availability and applies to the Registrar, at an official fee of €10 per proposed name.
• Constitutional documents: the memorandum and articles, signed in Greek, and the statutory declaration on form HE1, which must be signed and sworn before the court by the lawyer.
• Filing: submission through the Registrar’s e-filing system and payment of the incorporation fee.
• First registrations: the tax number, which the company must apply for within 60 days of incorporation, and the beneficial owner filing, due within 90 days.

The variable part is where firms differ: a registered office address, a company secretary, VAT registration, help with the bank account, employer registration, bookkeeping and the yearly audit. A low headline price often covers only the fixed part.

Who offers company formation in Cyprus

Three kinds of firm on Accountanty offer company formation in Cyprus:

type of firm	firms offering company formation
Accounting firms	124
Corporate services providers	67
Law firms	24

Each brings something different. A law firm can sign and swear the HE1 itself, since only lawyers licensed by the Cyprus Bar Association can prepare and sign the memorandum, the articles and the HE1, as Invest Cyprus notes. An accounting firm or a corporate services provider works with a partner lawyer for that step and is usually stronger on what follows: bookkeeping, tax returns, VAT and the audit relationship.

For a simple trading company owned by one person, either route works. For a holding structure, several shareholders or a regulated activity, ask the firm to name the lawyer and the accountant who will work on your file before you choose.

Licences and memberships to check

Ask every firm which regulator supervises it for the services it will provide. Providing administrative services in Cyprus, such as acting as nominee or trustee or signing on a client’s bank account, requires licensing from CySEC under Law 196(I)/2012. CySEC publishes a list of approved administrative services providers with each licence number, so you can check a firm’s claim yourself.

Law firms and accounting firms may fall under their own professional bodies instead, so ask which body applies and what the firm’s registration number is. For the lawyer who swears your HE1, confirm the Cyprus Bar Association licence. For the audit, confirm that the firm or partner is approved to sign statutory audits. A firm that cannot answer these questions plainly is a firm to pass on.

What the provider needs from you

Every firm runs identity and due diligence checks before it accepts a new client, and the quality of your file decides how fast the work starts. Prepare:

• For each shareholder, director and beneficial owner: a certified passport copy, recent proof of address and a short CV or background.
• For corporate shareholders: certificate of incorporation, register of directors and shareholders, and a structure chart up to the individuals at the top.
• Source of funds and wealth: where the share capital and the first working capital come from.
• A business description: what the company will do, where its customers and suppliers are, and expected turnover. Banks ask for the same, so write it once.
• The proposed names: two or three, in order of preference.
• The people: who will be director and secretary, and whether you need the firm to provide either.

Ask the firm early which documents must be certified, apostilled or translated in your country. Certification abroad can add weeks if it starts late.

How the work runs once you instruct a firm

Most engagements follow the same order, whichever firm you choose.

1. Scoping: you describe the business, the owners and where it will be managed; the firm proposes a structure and a written quote.
2. Engagement and due diligence: you sign the engagement letter and send the documents above; the firm completes its checks before any filing.
3. Name approval: the firm applies for your proposed names. An approved name is reserved for six months, so there is no need to rush the next step.
4. Documents and signing: the lawyer drafts the memorandum and articles, you review and sign them, and the lawyer swears the HE1.
5. Filing and certificate: the firm files with the Registrar and sends you the certificate of incorporation and the company’s registration details.
6. Registrations: tax number, beneficial owners, VAT if needed and employer registration if you hire.
7. Handover: you receive the company’s statutory registers, a calendar of yearly deadlines and the contact for day-to-day questions.

If you live abroad, ask the firm how signing will work at step 4: original signatures, certified copies and couriers take longer than the filing itself. A firm used to foreign clients will plan this with you at step 1.

What a company formation quote should include

Ask for a written quote that separates official fees from professional fees and one-off costs from yearly ones. The Registrar’s own fees are small and published; the rest is the firm’s pricing.

item	one-off or yearly	what to look for
Name approval	one-off	€10 per name, €20 extra each for faster processing
Incorporation filing	one-off	€165 online, €100 extra for the accelerated procedure
Lawyer’s fee for documents and HE1	one-off	fixed fee, and whether bespoke articles cost more
Registered office address	yearly	what mail handling is included
Company secretary	yearly	who the secretary is and what filings are covered
Tax and VAT registration	one-off	included or charged separately
Beneficial owner filing	one-off, then yearly	the yearly confirmation is often charged separately
Bank account assistance	one-off	which banks, and whether the fee is due if the bank refuses
Annual return	yearly	€20 official fee plus the firm’s charge
Bookkeeping, tax return and audit	yearly	usually quoted after incorporation, ask for a range now
Disbursements	as incurred	courier, certification, translations, apostilles

The incorporation fees above are from the Registrar’s incorporation page, and the annual return fee from its annual return fee page. The yearly company fee that older quotes include was abolished from 2024 onwards, so it should not appear in a 2026 quote.

Professional fees on a Cyprus invoice may carry VAT at the standard rate of 19%, depending on where you and your company are based. Ask whether the quote is before or after VAT.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Who does the work? Name the lawyer for the HE1, the person who prepares the filings and the accountant for the first year.
• What is the timeline? Ask for the expected date of name approval, filing and certificate, and whether the accelerated procedure is included.
• What happens after incorporation? Who files for the tax number within 60 days and the beneficial owners within 90?
• Who provides the directors and secretary, if anyone? If the firm offers a director, ask what decisions that person will take and what it costs each year. A director has legal duties, so the arrangement must be real.
• What does leaving cost? Ask how you move the registered office, secretary and records to another firm if you change provider.
• Which languages does the team work in? On Accountanty, firms offering company formation in Cyprus most often list English, then Russian and Greek.

Services you will keep using after incorporation

The formation is a one-off job; the company then needs support every year. Many firms bundle formation with the services that follow, and of the 215 firms offering company formation in Cyprus, 201 also offer accounting and 164 offer corporate secretarial services. The yearly work usually includes:

• Accounting and tax compliance, including the tax return filed with audited financial statements each year.
• Audit, since the company prepares audited financial statements at the end of each tax year.
• VAT returns once the company is registered.
• Payroll once you hire staff.
• Corporate secretarial work: minutes, registers, changes of directors or address, and the annual return.
• Virtual office or registered office services if you have no premises.
• Bank account assistance and residency and visas if you or your staff will move to Cyprus.

Choosing one firm for the formation and the yearly work saves handovers. Choosing separate firms for the legal work and the accounts can give you a second pair of eyes. Both are reasonable; decide before you sign the first engagement letter.

Warning signs in a formation offer

• A price with no breakdown between official fees, professional fees and yearly costs.
• A promise of a bank account. Banks make their own decisions after their own checks.
• Nominee directors offered as a formality, with no explanation of their role or duties.
• Tax promises in the sales pitch. Your tax position depends on where you live and where the company is managed, which a good firm will ask about first.
• Old figures, such as the 12.5% tax rate or the yearly company fee. Companies are taxed at 15% from 1 January 2026, and the yearly fee no longer applies.

Where the formation firms are

Of the 215 firms offering company formation in Cyprus, 84 are in Limassol, 69 in Nicosia, 32 in Paphos and 30 in Larnaca. Location matters less than it used to, since filing is online, but a firm in your own city makes signing and certifying documents easier if you live in Cyprus. If you are abroad, look for a firm that works with foreign clients: 142 of the formation firms say they do, and the accountants for foreign clients page lists them.

Choosing your firm for company formation in Cyprus

Pick the firm on the quality of its answers, not the headline price. A good provider names the lawyer, explains the yearly costs in writing, asks about your tax residence and tells you plainly what the bank will want. Compare two or three written quotes on the same structure, check the licences, and read the step-by-step guide so you know what each fee pays for. To receive quotes without contacting firms one by one, send a free quote request and Accountanty will forward it to suitable firms for company formation in Cyprus.