The agent who forms your company usually stays with it: as company secretary, registered office, registered agent or nominee, holding your documents and filing your returns for years. Choosing one on price alone is how founders end up with missed filings, frozen bank accounts and a company they can’t move. This guide shows how to check that an agent is allowed to do the work, what to ask, and when to walk away, from official sources checked in October 2026.
Check the licence or registration
Most places we work now require company service providers to be licensed or registered and supervised for anti-money-laundering, and several let anyone check online.
| Rule | How to check | |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | Carrying on a trust or company service business without a licence from the Companies Registry has been an offence since 1 March 2018; the penalty is a fine of HK$100,000 and 6 months’ imprisonment | The register of licensees is free to search at tcsp.cr.gov.hk, by name or licence number |
| Singapore | Corporate service providers must register with ACRA under the CSP Act, in force since 9 June 2025; unregistered providers face a fine of up to S$50,000 | Bizfile’s entity and people search |
| BVI | Registered agents need a licence from the Financial Services Commission | The FSC’s published lists of regulated registered agents and corporate service providers |
| United Kingdom | Company formation agents must be supervised for anti-money-laundering by HMRC or another supervisory body; from no earlier than November 2027, only Authorised Corporate Service Providers will be able to file for clients | GOV.UK’s list of Authorised Corporate Service Providers |
| United States | Delaware says registered agents “are not regulated by the State of Delaware”; Wyoming requires agents representing more than 10 businesses to register as commercial registered agents, subject to audits | The state lists, which are not endorsements |
818HI’s licensed firm is LAULEGA LIMITED, Hong Kong TCSP licence TC000573. You can look it up on the Companies Registry’s register before you talk to us. Where a service needs a local licence or address we don’t hold, we use a partner and say so: a registered corporate service provider in Singapore, a licensed registered agent in the BVI, and registered office providers in the UK and British Columbia.
Sources: HK CR: Guideline on licensing of TCSPs · HK TCSP register search · ACRA: who must register as a CSP · ACRA: corporate service providers · BVI FSC: registered agents · GOV.UK: ACSP list · Changes to UK company law: ACSPs · HMRC: TCSP supervision · Delaware: registered agents · Wyoming: commercial registered agents
Red flags
- “Anonymous” or “untraceable” companies. Under international anti-money-laundering standards, company service providers have to identify the beneficial owners behind every layer. An agent promising anonymity is either misdescribing the product or ignoring its obligations.
- No questions about you. A licensed provider must ask for your passport, address and where your money comes from before it acts. One that doesn’t isn’t doing its job.
- “Tax-free” without asking where you live. Your own residence and where the company is run often matter more than where it is registered; see where is your company really managed?
- A guaranteed bank account. Banks decide. An agent can prepare a good file and make introductions, not promise approval.
- A low headline price and no yearly figure. Ask what the company costs in year two: government fees, secretary, registered office or agent, accounts, audit and tax returns. See what cheap company formation actually costs.
- No licensed entity named. If the website doesn’t say which company is licensed, where, and under what number, ask. If they won’t say, leave.
Sources: FATF: guidance for trust and company service providers
Questions to ask before you sign
- Which entity provides the service, and what is its licence or registration number?
- Which services do you provide yourselves, and which through partners?
- What does the company cost each year after the first, in total?
- Who files what, by when, and how will you remind me?
- Where are my company’s documents and registers kept, and can I see them at any time?
- If I want to move to another provider, what do you hand over, and how long does it take? In Hong Kong, for example, changing company secretary is a routine filing; see changing your company secretary.
- Will you still be there for the bank account, the accounts and the audit, or only the formation?
An example
Invented for illustration. Tomasz in Warsaw compares two offers for a Hong Kong company. One costs half as much, promises “full anonymity” and a bank account “in 48 hours”, and names no licensed company. The other names its licensed firm and licence number, asks for his passport and a description of his customers, and gives him a yearly cost for secretary, office, audit and tax return. He searches the second firm’s licence on the Companies Registry’s register, finds it, and signs there.
Check us first
818HI’s licensed firm is LAULEGA LIMITED, Hong Kong TCSP licence TC000573. Look us up, then tell us what you need. We’ll give you the yearly cost before you start.
Talk to usFrequently asked questions
How do I check if a company formation agent is licensed in Hong Kong?
Search the Companies Registry’s register of trust or company service provider licensees at tcsp.cr.gov.hk, by name or licence number. Carrying on that business without a licence is an offence.
Do corporate service providers in Singapore need to be registered?
Yes. Since the Corporate Service Providers Act took effect on 9 June 2025, providers of the services it covers must register with ACRA. You can check through Bizfile’s entity and people search.
Are US registered agents licensed?
Not in Delaware: the state says registered agents are not regulated by it. Wyoming requires agents representing more than 10 businesses to register as commercial registered agents, and they are subject to compliance audits.
Is it a red flag if a formation agent promises anonymity?
Yes. Company service providers have to identify the beneficial owners behind a company under international anti-money-laundering standards. Banks and registries also record them.
What should a formation agent tell me about yearly costs?
A full figure for year two and after: government fees, company secretary, registered office or agent, accounting, audit if required, and tax returns. A low formation price without that is a warning sign.
General information for internationally mobile founders, not tax, legal or immigration advice for your situation. Rules and fees change; confirm your position with a qualified adviser in each country involved before acting.