1) What is sole proprietorship?

Sole Proprietorship registration is the most common and simplest legal business structure option in Malaysia. Sole Proprietorship is governed by Companies Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) and Registration of Businesses Act 1956.

2) What are the requirements to form a sole proprietorship in Malaysia?

Owner must be a Malaysian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Malaysia, aged 18 years and above.

3) What are the information needed to register a sole proprietorship in Malaysia?

The information needed to register a sole proprietorship are:

Copy of owner identity card (I/C)
Proposed Name of the business
Complete Registration of a new business – Form A (Application form)
Proposed Nature of the business
Letter of approval from Government Agency (if applicable)

4) How long will it take to incorporate a sole proprietorship in Malaysia?

The business can normally be set up within few hours to 1 working day.

5) What are the procedures to incorporate a sole proprietorship in Malaysia?

The following are the procedures to register Sole Proprietorship in Malaysia:


Complete SSM Form	Conduct Name Search	Pay Annual Fee	Your Company Is Ready
You need to visit nearest SSM with your photocopy IC and fill in the business registration form. It can be obtained at SSM counter	SSM officer will check on availability of your proposed business name	Once everything confirmed, you need to pay your annual fee as follow: a) Trade name – RM60 per year b) Personal name – RM30 per year c) Branch (s) – RM5 per year each	The business registration certificate can be obtained at SSM counter within 1 hour after payment made
START	IMMEDIATELY	IMMEDIATELY	CONGRATULATIONS

6) Can foreigner incorporate a sole proprietorship in Malaysia?

No. Sole proprietorship is only available for Malaysia Citizen or Permanent Resident.

7) How much is the yearly maintenance fee of a sole proprietorship in Malaysia?

Sole proprietorship need to pay RM30 (personal name) or RM60 (trade name) per year to renew the business registration. The business can be registered or renewed for a period of 1 to 5 years and not exceeding 5 years with the specified prescribed fee.

8) What is the major different between sole proprietor / partnership and private limited company (Sdn. Bhd.)

The major different is the liability to creditors. The liability of the shareholders of the private limited company (Sdn. Bhd.) to creditors is limited to capital originally invested while sole proprietorship/partnership have unlimited liability to their creditors. Private limited company (Sdn. Bhd.) is a legal entity, it will not be terminated in the case of changes in shareholders or directors.

9) Can I determine the date of incorporation for a sole proprietorship?

Some business owners may wish to register their business at certain date due to personal favor, fengshui, or private reason. However, due to the various type of unforeseen factors from Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) such as staff absenteeism, online system corruption and etc., business owners are not able to determine the date of incorporation of the new business.

10) Can a sole proprietorship change its status to partnership?

Yes, A partnership can change its status to a sole proprietorship or from sole proprietorship to partnership (trade name) by registering such a change using (Form B) and registration fee is RM20.00.

11) How to terminate/close a sole proprietorship?

Sole proprietorship can be closed/terminated by notification to Registrar or expiry of the registration. Business owner shall notify the Registrar within 30 days from the date the business ceased operation. In the case of the death of the owner of the business, the person responsible or the next –of-kin of the deceased owner shall within 4 months from the date of such death notify the Registrar. Complete Notification of Termination of Registered Business ((Form C) for active business. Form C is not required to be submitted for business that has expired.

12) Can I set up / incorporate sole proprietorship myself?

Yes, you can visit nearest SSM with your photocopy IC and set up/incorporate sole proprietorship yourself.

Sole Proprietorship

FAQs