Company Incorporation
Build your company with confidence.
Register your company quickly with clear steps, requirements, and guidance tailored for Malawi.
Companies Registration & Intellectual Property Centre
Welcome to the Companies, Registrations and Intellectual Property Centre (CRIPC), Malawi’s government agency mandated to administer business registration and intellectual property rights. Effective 1 April 2026, CRIPC officially assumed the mandate and functions of the former Registrar General’s Department, marking a significant milestone in the modernisation and consolidation of Malawi’s business and intellectual property administration framework.
What we do
Company & Business Registration
The Companies Registration and Intellectual Property Centre is your one-stop digital gateway to success. Forget the queues and paperwork—now you can register your company or business online, anytime, anywhere, right from the comfort of your office or home. Fast, secure, and convenient, our platform empowers entrepreneurs to take the first step toward growth with ease.
Personal Property Security Registry
This e-service makes it simple and convenient to manage security interests in movable property. Through our digital platform, lenders can quickly search to see if proposed collateral already has a registered security interest, and easily register their own interests to secure priority status under the Personal Property Security Act.
Trustees Registration
Our service provides a simple and secure way to register charitable organizations and associations under the Trustees Incorporation Act. With this streamlined digital process, you can formalize your organization, gain legal recognition, and unlock opportunities to grow your impact—all with just a few clicks.
Intellectual Property
Safeguard your intellectual property and turn creativity into capital. By protecting your inventions, designs, and brand, you prevent unauthorized use, strengthen market position, and boost investor confidence. With IP protection in place, you unlock commercialization opportunities—licensing, strategic partnerships, and new revenue models—that help your business grow and scale.
Insolvency
Are you ready to play a vital role in strengthening Malawi’s business and financial ecosystem? The Insolvency Practitioner registration process is now open, offering professionals the opportunity to gain official recognition, enhance credibility, and contribute to fair and transparent business practices.
Stamp & Estate Duty
We make compliance simple and transparent. Our team provides fast and reliable assessment and administration of stamp duty—applied to certain legal instruments to ensure their legal recognition—and estate duty, which governs the property of a deceased person in accordance with the law.
Learn about
Setting up a business
Businesses may be registered as a sole trader, partnership, limited, public or state-owned-companies. The structure of business chosen affects the way it is run, managed and legal responsibilities.
Sole proprietorship also known as a sole trader is the most common form of business structure whose key features are;
- Ownership: It is owned and run by a single individual. There is no legal separation between the owner and the business.
- Registration: It must be registered and may be registered under a name which is not similar or identical to another registered business or trademark.
- Liability: The owner has unlimited liability. This means the individual is personally responsible for all debts and obligations of the business. If the business owes money, creditors can claim against the owner’s personal assets.
- Taxation: Before registration, the individual is required to register a Tax Identification Number with Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA). Income from the business is treated as the owner’s personal income and taxed under the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA).
- Decision-making: The owner has full control over decisions and keeps all the profits (after paying tax).
- Continuity: The business does not have separate legal personality. If the owner dies or becomes incapacitated, the business ceases to exist unless arrangements are made for succession.
Steps for setting up a sole proprietor
- Register a tax identification number.
- Choose a business name: this will be the trade name under which your business will be known and identified
- The trade name must not include;
- protected names
- “Limited, Company, Ltd, Co. or any name which may be misleading or desirable.
- Similar, identical or nearly resemble to another registered business, company, Trust or Trademark.
- Name of the partner
- Complete the on online/electronic application form on CRIPC and sign the application form online.
- Pay; K 10 000 if no agreement attached and K 20 000 if agreement is attached.
- Submit
Business Registration Services are now online, Register today using Malawi Business Registration System.
News & Updates
Stay up to date with the latest developments
Our Partners
Our Sponsors
Get Government Services Now!
A single account for all Government to citizen services