In short
- Only a practising Cyprus advocate can draft the articles and swear form HE1 before the court.
- Secretary, office and nominee services come from a lawyer, an ICPAC accountant or a CySEC licensee.
- A standard registration costs the Registrar €175: €10 for the name and €165 for the incorporation.
- At handover you hold the certificate of incorporation, the registers and the UBO filing confirmation.
In this guide
Who may file a company in Cyprus: a practising advocate
The Registrar of Companies registers a company on papers that a lawyer stands behind. Its guidance says that only lawyers practising in the Republic of Cyprus can draft the memorandum and articles of association, under the Advocates Law. The lawyer entrusted with the incorporation signs form HE1, a statutory declaration that the lawyer swears before the court.
The law on administrative service providers says the same from the other side. Where it lists the services of a company manager, it adds that the power to form companies stays with lawyers. An agent, a consultant or an online platform can collect your documents, order the name, pay the fees and run the company afterwards. The articles, form HE1 and the oath belong to an advocate.
Ask any agent which advocate or law firm signs HE1 for your company. In a formation we file, a lawyer draws up the articles and swears the declaration, and our packages on the page for company formation in Cyprus include the Registrar's fees.
Who regulates formation agents in Cyprus: the Bar Association, ICPAC and CySEC
Agent is a trade word, and no licence carries it. The law regulates the services an agent sells and gives the supervision to three bodies. The Cyprus Bar Association supervises advocates and law firms. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) supervises its member accountants and the firms they own. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) licenses the other companies that sell the services.
| Provider | Supervised or licensed by | Where you check it |
|---|---|---|
| Advocate or law firm | The Cyprus Bar Association | The Bar's registers of advocates, of law firms and of administrative service providers |
| ICPAC accountant, or a firm its members own | ICPAC | ICPAC's lists of accountants, accounting firms and registered providers |
| Any other company selling secretary, office, nominee or director services | CySEC, by entry in its register | CySEC's list of approved providers, with licence number, date and services |
| The Registrar of Companies | Registers companies and licenses no provider | The company register: eSearch on the Registrar's site |
Only these persons may sell the services. Selling them without a licence or supervision is an offence that carries up to five years in prison or a fine of up to €350,000, or both. A licensed provider may sell only the services written in its own entry.
CySEC's list held 124 approved providers on 27 October 2026, and CySEC keeps a list of former ones. Ask which of the three bodies the agent answers to. If the answer is none, ask which law firm performs the services in the quote.
Which lines of a formation quote are regulated services
Section 4 of Law 196(I)/2012 lists the administrative services that need the licence or the supervision above. Most lines of a formation quote are on it.
| Line in the quote | In the law | Who may sell it |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of association and form HE1 | Formation stays with lawyers | An advocate or law firm |
| Company secretary | Section 4(1)(b)(ii) | A licensed or supervised provider |
| Resident or nominee director | Section 4(1)(b)(i) | A licensed or supervised provider |
| Nominee shareholder | Section 4(1)(b)(iii) | A licensed or supervised provider |
| Registered office address | Section 4(1)(b)(iv) | A licensed or supervised provider |
| Opening or managing a client's bank account | Section 4(1)(b)(vii) | A licensed or supervised provider |
A nominee director or shareholder acts for you, and you stay named as the beneficial owner in the register of beneficial owners. The page on nominee director and shareholder in Cyprus sets the service out.
The Registrar requires a registered office in Cyprus that is not a mailbox. The company's registers and its official letters are kept there.
How to check a formation agent in four steps
- Ask for the name of the advocate or law firm that will sign form HE1, and for the firm's registration number.
- Look the advocate up in the Bar Association's list of advocate members, by name or telephone number. The entry shows the court box number and the district. Look the law firm up in the Bar's registry of law firms, which gives its registration number and compliance officer. A company that a law firm owns and that sells the secretary or office service stands in the Bar's registry of administrative service providers.
- For a provider that is not a law firm, find it in CySEC's list of approved providers. For an accounting firm, ask ICPAC.
- Search the agent's own company in the Registrar's register. The free entry gives its status, registered office, directors and secretary and the date of its last annual return. The guide to the Cyprus company register shows the search.
The name on the quote, the name in the register and the name on the account that receives your payment must be one name.
We do this for you Company formation in Cyprus from €1,699
What the fee of a formation agent covers, line by line
A formation price has five parts, and each has a different payee. A quote with one total for all five hides the part you can check against an official list.
| Part of the fee | Paid to | What the quote shows |
|---|---|---|
| State fees | The Registrar | €10 for the name and €165 for the incorporation, €175 for the standard procedure |
| Drafting and filing | The advocate | The lawyer's fee for the articles, the oath on form HE1 and the filing |
| Secretary and registered office | The provider | The period they cover and the price of the renewal |
| Nominee director or shareholder | The provider | A line of its own and the structure it follows |
| Bank introduction | The provider | The work done on the application. The bank decides whether it opens the account |
The Registrar's list adds fees for choices. The accelerated procedure costs €100 more for the incorporation and €20 more for the name, and with both the €175 becomes €295. Certified copies of the incorporation certificates, ordered with the registration, cost €120 with a copy of the memorandum and articles and €130 without. A company without share capital pays €235 in place of €165.
Subtract the Registrar's €175, or €295 for the accelerated procedure, from the total of a quote. What remains is the provider's own fee, and it should come in lines. Every state fee by item, and our packages, are in Cyprus company formation cost in 2026.
Red flags in a Cyprus formation quote
Six patterns in a quote repay one more question before you pay.
- A total with no Registrar's fees named. The fees are public and fixed. Ask to see the €175 as a line.
- No advocate named. Form HE1 carries the name of the lawyer or law firm sworn in court, and the articles carry the firm's name and address. Ask for both before you pay.
- A promise that a bank will open your account. The bank decides, and the law lists opening and managing a client's account as a regulated service. Ask what the provider prepares, then read how a bank account for a Cyprus company is opened.
- A registered office that is a mailbox. The Registrar requires an office that is not one. Ask for the street address and who keeps the registers there.
- A request to pay a person and not the firm. The invoice and the account should carry the name of the entity in the register.
- No request for your identity documents. The anti-money-laundering law has lawyers, accountants and company service providers verify the client and the beneficial owner when the relationship starts. Expect the request, and doubt the provider that makes none.
Eight things to get in writing before you pay
- The advocate or law firm that signs form HE1, with its registration number.
- The register that lists the provider, with the number.
- The Registrar's fees inside the price, and those that come on top: the accelerated procedure, the certified copies, the file of translations.
- The period the registered office and the secretary run, and the renewal price.
- The director, the secretary and the beneficial owner named on the filing.
- The holder of the register of members and the share certificates, and the date you receive copies.
- The person who files the beneficial owner details, and your copy of the Registrar's confirmation.
- The holder of the company's e-filing access, and what happens to it if you leave.
What you hold when the formation ends
A formation ends with a set of documents, and a rule stands behind each. Check the set against the quote before the last payment.
| Document or access | What it is | When |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of incorporation | Marks the start of the company's legal existence and carries its registration number | On registration |
| Memorandum and articles | The constitution as filed, signed in Greek | On registration |
| Registrar's certificates | Of shareholders, of directors and secretary and of the registered office, with certified copies of the articles and of the certificate. Each carries a code that anyone can check online for 90 days | Ordered with the registration, €120 with a copy of the articles and €130 without |
| Registers of members and of directors and secretaries | The Companies Law has the company keep both at its registered office | From incorporation |
| Share certificates | The company completes them and has them ready for delivery | Within two months of allotting the shares |
| Confirmation of the beneficial owner filing | The Registrar sends it. The filing is free, and a late one costs €100 and €50 a day, up to €5,000 | Within 90 days of incorporation |
| Tax number | The company applies to the Tax Department for it | Within 60 days of incorporation |
| E-filing access | A company files online with authorisation codes issued to it, and may give them to a registered user such as its provider | Agreed at handover |
For one provider to file the company and look after it, company formation in Cyprus starts with a quote that lists every line.
