How To Register A Company in Malaysia
Anyone can start a company or business. To make things official, however, you have to register your company or business with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM).
The ultimate role of SSM is to be the agency that handles the registration, renewal and rejection of companies and businesses.
SSM makes things easier for businesses and companies by providing the necessary information.
With this guide, you won’t be so clueless about how to register a company in Malaysia.
Check out our other articles under SSM:
How To Register a Company in Malaysia with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) as a Foreigner
Starting Out: Choosing The Best Company Name
SSM Registration: The Types of Businesses You Can Register With SSM
Contents
Chapter 1: Choose A Company Name
Before you register a company, coming up with a company name can be difficult. The very first step you have to do is decide your company name.
There are two types of names you can choose for your company, between your personal name or trade name.
1. Personal Name or Trade Name?
It is recommended to choose a trading name rather than your own personal name. However, it is entirely up to you to choose which suits your company best.
Example of a personal name: Ruslan Bin Mohamad
Example of a trade name: ABS Unggul Enterprise
There is a difference between a business name and trade name.
What Is A Business Name?
A business name would be the name that will be your legal business name, which will be used on government forms and so on.
What Is A Trade Name?
A trade name is a name that will be used in the public’s eye, such as advertisement purposes and so on.
To learn more about choosing the best company name, check out our article here: Starting Out: Choosing The Best Company Name For Your Business in Malaysia
Chapter 2: Check Name Availability
So now that you have decided on a company name, you have to make sure that your company name is available to be registered.
Company Search
There are two ways you can search for your company name, either through MyData or SSM.
MyData
You would have to register a certain fee in order to search for a company name. The total fee is as shown in the images below:
SSM
Searching through SSM’s website is completely free. You don’t need to pay a single cent.
How To Search For Your Company Name with SSM
Step 1: Register as a member
Step 2: Fill up your information details
Step 3: Start Searching
You have two options to choose from: company & business information or scanned form images.
You can search for the company either with their registration number or by the company name.
If you search for a company and something appears, it means the name you’ve selected is not available.
If there are no results shown, congrats! Your company name is available for you to register.
Chapter 3: Decide The Type of Business
Now that you’ve got the name covered, it’s time to decide the type of business you want to pursue. There are two types of business you can consider: enterprise and Sdn. Bhd.
Enterprise (Sole Proprietorship)
There is no legal status for an enterprise company. Your personal liability will be unlimited. This means that your personal assets and wealth will not be protected.
For an enterprise company, you have the option to register either a partnership, if your business has more than 1 partner or sole proprietorship company if you run a one-man-show business.
Sendirian Berhad (Sdn. Bhd.)
A Sendirian Berhad (Sdn. Bhd.) company have several requirements. Namely, you would have to appoint a company secretary to settle the legal issues of your company as your company has to follow the Companies Act, 1965. A company secretary helps to settle the necessary documents and requirements are met.
Your personal liability will be protected, such as your personal assets and wealth. You can take bigger risks as you won’t be faced with legal issues, your company will be affected instead.
For further information on the types of businesses, we have written an entire article about it here: SSM Registration: The Types of Businesses You Can Register With SSM
Chapter 4: How To Register An Enterprise
To register an enterprise company with SSM, first and foremost, you need an account on EzBiz to start the process of registering your company or business.
As of 2019, you are no longer required to manually fill up forms to register your company.
Everything is online. You only have to head over to SSM to activate your account, one-time-only.
SSM also provides a brief guideline on the registration here: Guidelines For Registration Of New Business
Step 1: Register an account on EzBiz
There are 3 ways you can register an account:
– Over The Counter
– Self-Service
– Online
What is EzBiz?
EzBiz is an online registration portal for Malaysians to make a new registration, make amendments to business information and terminate particular business information.
Though you can register your account online, you are required to activate your account at SSM itself over the counter. However, registering your account online saves a huge amount of time.
Requirements To Register With EzBiz
– a Malaysian citizen or permanent resident in Malaysia
– 18 years old and above
– Every owner has to register an account on EzBiz and activate the account once at SSM
Services Offered at EzBiz
With EzBiz, there are two types of services that are made available:
My Business Services
1. Business Registration
– Personal Name
– Trade Name
2. Modify business particulars
– Business Address
– Type of business
– Information on Branches
– Change of owner/partner information (only can be done over the counter)
3. Business Renewal
– renewal period prior to within 12 months after the expired date.
4. Business termination
– for an active business that you want to terminate
My Compound Services
5. Compound services
– view outstanding compound
– make an online compound payment
6. Payment History
– you can also view your payment history
7. User Profile
– to check the details of your EzBiz account
Registering an Account on EzBiz Over The Counter
Upon Arriving at SSM
#1: Take the lift to Level 14 (Enterprise only).
#2: Take a number at the counter.
– if you haven’t registered an EzBiz account, you will receive a user guide.
– if you have already registered, you can let the counter know you just want to activate your account.
#3: Choose the name of your business on the form (also known as ‘BORANGPNA42’ previously) they provide over the counter.
#4: Activate your account after successful EzBiz Registration.
Generally, if you were to register your account for an enterprise, it will be a breeze. You don’t have to wait too long. If you were to activate your account, then you just need around 10 minutes in total as the service is really quick.
The total waiting time depends on the number of people there, but it would take roughly 20 minutes in total to register on EzBiz and to activate your account. If you didn’t register an account at home, there are a few computers for the public to use in order to register an EzBiz account.
Self-Service Registration for EzBiz
At the front of the counters at SSM, there is also a self-service registration kiosk. You can not only register your EzBiz account but you can also activate your account yourself – with your thumbprint and MyKad.
Steps To Register An Account on EzBiz Online
#1: Go to https://ezbiz.ssm.com.my/
#2: Click Sign Up
#3: Fill in the required details as shown in the diagram below
#4: Fill up the information about you and your business
Step 2: Activation of EzBiz Account
After you’ve successfully registered on EzBiz, you are required to activate your account over the counter at SSM. You can only activate your account at SSM, you can’t activate it online. You would have to take a number to activate your account if you haven’t yet. This will be a smooth easy process and it shouldn’t take too long.
Getting the approval of your business or company name
This will be done at the same time as activating your EzBiz account over the counter.
There are 3 options for you to choose from:
Personal Name
Example: Salman Bin Yaakub
Trade Name
Example: Ali Maju Enterprise, ABC Jaya Trading
You would have to list down three names, and the officer at the counter will approve one of them.
After Successful Activation
When you log in to EzBiz after activating your account, you can see your dashboard as shown below:
Step 3: Registering Your Business (Form A)
After successfully registering an account on EzBiz and getting an approval of your company or business name, you would have to register your business with Form A.
To register your new business, after logging in, head over to ‘My Business Services‘ -> ‘New Business‘ (under ‘New Business Registration‘).
There will be 4 sections: Main Information (of you and your business), Branches (if you have several branches), Business Code (Business Information), Owners (Your information).
New Business Registration
1: Main Information
On this page, these are the following details you would have to fill up:
– Name Type (Personal Name, Trade Name)
– Business Name
– Incubator
– Is Online Seller? (If you are selling products online or not)
– Main Address and Mailing Address of Company
2: Branches
For this page, if you have any branches, you would have to fill up the address of the branches.
3: Business Code
The details that you would have to fill up are:
– Types of Businesses
– Business Code
4: Owners
On this page, you would have to double-check your details. If you have a partner, you are required to add the partner’s details as well.
5: Payment information
This is where you will see the total payment for your registration.
Step 4: Registration Payment
Registration Fees
SSM Business Info
SSM Business Info contains the latest information of a business (such as business name, registration number, registration date, registration expiry date, business form, business status, business address, business type, business branch information (if any)), information of the current and previous owner.
Personal Name
Registration fee – RM30
Business Info Fee – RM10
Trade Name
Registration fee – RM60
Business Info Fee – RM10
Mode of Payment
You can either make a payment over the counter or via online by using a Credit card or FPX (Financial Process Exchange – Online banking) service.
Step 5: Done!
You would have to wait a few days or so to get the approval of your business. You can check your status on EzBiz.
Chapter 5: How To Register Sendirian Berhad (Sdn. Bhd.)
Step 1: Register an account on MyCOID2016
You have to register an account on MyCOID2016.
There are two ways to register an account on MyCOID2016: over the counter and online.
What does Sdn. Bhd. stand for?
Sdn. Bhd. actually stands for Sendirian Berhad, which is a private limited company. For more information on Sdn. Bhd., you can read more about the types of business you can register with SSM.
1. Over The Counter Registration for MyCOID2016
Upon Arriving at SSM
To register an Sdn. Bhd company or business, you have to go to Level 17. The procedure would be a little different compared to registering an enterprise.
There are a few computers available where you can register an account on MyCOID2016.
2. Online Registration for MyCOID2016
The steps taken to register at SSM and online is the same as you would still have to use the computers available at SSM to register an account.
Step 1: Click Login/Sign Up
There are 4 sections that you have to fill up: Login Information, Personal Details, Contact Information, eCharge Information, GST Information
Step 2: Activation of account
The only way to activate your account is to do it over the counter. You can’t activate it online. Just head over to SSM and take a number to activate.
Step 3: Incorporating your company or business
#1: Name Search
To start incorporating your company or business, you have to do a company name search. You can either do this through MyData or with your MyCOID2016 account or SSM. The thing about performing a company name search through SSM is that its completely free of charge! MyData requires a certain amount of payment.
#2: Submission of application
After settling the name of your company, you can proceed with getting all the necessary documents needed to complete your application.
#3: Sdn Bhd Registration Cost
The total payment for incorporating your company is RM1010.
#4: Appointing a company secretary
Within 30 days, it is required to hire a company secretary to handle various responsibilities.
Step 4: Done!
Now all you have to do is just get the appropriate license, permit or approval from the respective authorities before proceeding with your business.
Chapter 6: How To Register A Company As A Foreigner
If you are a foreigner with an intention to start a company in Malaysia, you only have the option to register an Sdn. Bhd company. You can choose to either start a local company or bring in a foreign company over to Malaysia.
To know more details on how to start a company in Malaysia as a foreigner, we have written an article on it here: How To Register a Company in Malaysia with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) as a Foreigner
Chapter 7: How To Get to SSM (HQ KL)
How To Get To SSM Via Car
MENARA SSM@SENTRAL
No 7, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5
Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50623 Kuala Lumpur.
How To Get To SSM Via LRT
To get to SSM with LRT, it is very easy. Take the LRT to KL Sentral and walk towards Cha Time, take the route heading towards KLIA Express.
Then, walk straight towards CIMB and take the entrance at the front as you walk further ahead.
After that, turn towards the right and take the bridge to Axiata Arena.
After that, you have to turn left and walk all the way straight. You’ll stumble upon SSM on your left.
How To Get To SSM Via Bus
You can take bus number 780, 800 and T819 that stops around the areas of KL Sentral.
Operating Hours
Day: Monday – Friday
Service Counter: 8.15 am – 4.15 pm
Chapter 8: Conclusion
It can be confusing to figure out the right steps on how to register a company in Malaysia. Hopefully, with this guide, you’ll be able to get a clearer picture of how it works.
Whether you are a young entrepreneur or someone that’s been in the business industry for years, you will eventually need to register your business or company at one point. It is actually really easy and fast to legally register your business or company. With online businesses becoming such a hit right now, why not take the chance and check out the endless business opportunities online?
With that being said, all new businesses and companies need websites. We offer various packages that will definitely suit your needs, namely, creating a website or even our SEO services to help rank your new business to be on the first page!
