The Trade Register in Cyprus

The Trade Register in Cyprus is usually known as the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver and is part of the Ministry of Commerce, Industrial and Tourism in Cyprus. Its main duties are to register new companies and to update the existing database.

The functions of the Trade Register in Cyprus

The main functions of the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver (D.R.C.O.R.) of the Republic of Cyprus are to maintain updated the registers of:

• Cypriot companies,
• partnerships,
• trademarks, patents and industrial design.

Other functions of the Trade Register in Cyprus are:

• to provide information to the competent authorities in Cyprus about companies’ statuses,
• to register new companies,
• to register intellectual property work,
• to receive assets from insolvent companies during the bankruptcy and liquidation procedures.

The organization of the Trade Register in Cyprus

The organization of the Cypriot Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver is quite complex even if it only comprises three sections: the companies section, the bankruptcy and liquidation section and the intellectual property section. Each one of the sections is divided into departments.

The companies section is in charge with:

• the registration of organization department that registers companies, partnerships, business names, overseas companies, European companies and redomiciliation of companies,
• documents of organizations in general,
• charges on the company’s assets,
• approving companies’ names,
• releasing certified copies.

The bankruptcy and liquidation section is in charge with:

• the execution orders for company liquidation,
• evaluation of companies,
• it also has a law section,
• voluntary liquidation procedures,
• organizing meetings between shareholders and creditors.

The intellectual property section is in charge with:

• copyright protection,
• national and European trademarks, patents and industrial design registrations,
• registration and maintenance of  the database of protected geographical areas and agricultural products.

The Trade Register in Cyprus also has a registry department and an accounting department where fees are collected.

Documents to be provided for company registration in Cyprus

The registration process of a company with the Cypriot Registrar of Companies usually takes about 10 to 20 days and the first step will be to submit the name of the company for approval. Once the name was approved the following documents must be provided:

• copies of the passports of the shareholders,
• copies of the passports of the director or directors of the company,
• copy of the passport of the company’s secretary, as according to the Commercial Code in Cyprus, companies must have a secretary,
• proof of residential address of the shareholders, directors and secretary,
• copies of the Articles of Association and registered office of the company.

If you want to set up a company and need details about the registration process you can contact our lawyers in Cyprus for customized solutions. In case you need other types of services, such as assistance when buying a property, our Cyprus property lawyers can help you.