FAQs

Your order will be processed via the following steps:

Step 1: During checkout you will be asked to either log in or register. If you are a new member, you must register in order to proceed. Once you have registered and paid for your order, you can view the current status of your transactions by going to ‘my transactions’ in your account profile.

Step 2: Once we receive your payment, Starting Business will send you an email acknowledging the details of your order.

Step 3: In ‘my transactions’ you will find all your transactions with the relevant application forms. If you have purchased a company formation and/or a bank account, please fill in and submit the relevant application form, with personal documentation, via email to [email protected]. Once submitted, our corporate executives will review your application and contact you within one business day. Please take note that our business hours are from 8:00am to 18:00pm Eastern European Time (EET), Monday to Friday.

Step 4: If your application is incomplete or invalid, our corporate executives will advise you of the reasons why and what is required. Sometimes, we may need additional information to properly determine whether your application meets the requirements of the relevant legislation or bank. Once confirmed, you must print and sign the application form and send it by post along with any other required documentation.

Step 5: Once your company is registered, originals of all corporate documentation will be sent to you as scanned copies by email and then couriered by DHL to your designated address.

As soon as your bank account opening order is accepted and processed by the bank, you will receive your bank account details and the contact details of your assigned bank official via email. The password, user ID, digipass, credit/debit card and other devices will be forwarded to you by the bank direct, or with the assistance of Starting Business.

We begin processing your order as soon as the online purchase is completed. Processing times will vary depending on the company type and jurisdiction chosen. Usually, international business companies can be registered within several working days (depending on jurisdiction chosen) upon receipt of all required documentation and information. Please note that we need up to 10 working days for legalisation of the corporate documents and delivery of the new company package to you by courier.

Our corporate executives can provide you with guidance on the types of companies and jurisdictions, choice of company name, formation procedures and other requirements. If you are unsure about any aspect of forming a company, you should consider seeking professional advice from our corporate executives. If you have any questions or need additional information, contact our live chat support or send us an email.

Please provide the following documents for all directors, shareholders, beneficial owners, and authorised signatories:

• A notarized copy of a valid passport. The passport must be signed and the signature must match the signature in the application form. The photograph must be clear and of good quality.
• An original or certified copy of a utility bill (e.g. gas, electricity, water or fixed line telephone - not a mobile phone bill) or bank statement (bank, building society or credit card statement). The document must be no more than 3 months old and should contain your name and current address. PO Box addresses are not accepted.
• An original or certified copy of a bank reference letter (dated within 3 months). You can request the reference letter from a bank where you hold an account. The reference letter should include confirmation that the relationship has been maintained for longer than 2 years, and that the business affairs are run satisfactorily.
• In cases where shareholders and/or directors are corporate bodies, a full apostilled set of corporate documents will be required: certificate of incorporation; list of directors, shareholders, and secretary; share certificate; copy of ‘declaration of trust’ between nominee shareholder(s) and ultimate beneficial owner(s) (if applicable); certificate of good standing (if the company has been operating for 12 months or more); notarized copy of a valid passport, utility bill and the reference letter for each individual director, shareholder and beneficial owner.
• A completed and signed application form. You can find the relevant application form in the ‘my transactions’ area of your account profile.

The name must not already be in use, be too similar to an existing company name or state a trading name. There are also restrictions on certain words and language. Therefore, we require you to provide us with 3 name choices. If your first name choice is not available, we will check the availability of the second or third. As part of our review process we will advise you if a name is problematic, allowing you to suggest alternatives.

Usually most international business companies use standard-format documents. However, the required set of documents may vary depending on the type of company and jurisdiction.

Upon registration of your company all corporate documentation will be sent to you as scanned copies by email and couriered to your designated address. These documents include:

• Official certificate of incorporation.
• Memorandum and articles of association.
• Appointment of first directors.
• Register of directors, shareholders and secretary.
• Share certificate.
• Power of attorney (if applicable).
• Declaration of trust (if applicable).
• A common company seal.

This list may slightly differ from document to document, depending on your chosen jurisdiction.

To provide you with the best possible service, all orders are shipped via DHL.
Shipping and handling charges are calculated and added to each order at the point of payment.
Delivery time is usually estimated to be 3-4 days, but may vary depending on the destination country.
We are not responsible for any delays in shipping due to natural disasters, strikes or events outside of our control.
A DHL tracking number will be assigned and provided to you once your documents have been sent.

Your order will be processed via the following steps:

Step 1: During checkout you will be asked to either log in or register. If you are a new member, you must register in order to proceed. Once you have registered and paid for your order, you can view the current status of your transactions by going to ‘my transactions’ in your account profile.

Step 2: Once we receive your payment, Starting Business will send you an email acknowledging the details of your order.

Step 3: In ‘my transactions’ you will find all your transactions with the relevant application forms. If you have purchased a company formation and/or a bank account, please fill in and submit the relevant application form, with personal documentation, via email to [email protected]. Once submitted, our corporate executives will review your application and contact you within one business day. Please take note that our business hours are from 8:00am to 18:00pm Eastern European Time (EET), Monday to Friday.

Step 4: If your application is incomplete or invalid, our corporate executives will advise you of the reasons why and what is required. Sometimes, we may need additional information to properly determine whether your application meets the requirements of the relevant legislation or bank. Once confirmed, you must print and sign the application form and send it by post along with any other required documentation.

Step 5: Once your company is registered, originals of all corporate documentation will be sent to you as scanned copies by email and then couriered by DHL to your designated address.

As soon as your bank account opening order is accepted and processed by the bank, you will receive your bank account details and the contact details of your assigned bank official via email. The password, user ID, digipass, credit/debit card and other devices will be forwarded to you by the bank direct, or with the assistance of Starting Business.

We begin processing your order as soon as the online purchase is completed. Processing times vary depending on the bank requirements and jurisdiction chosen. Usually the bank account can be activated within 1 week (upon receipt by the bank of all required documentation and information). You will be notified via email on the progress of your account opening.

Most of the international banks we cooperate with do not require a personal visit and the account opening procedure may be completed remotely.
If a personal interview is required, we will arrange your meeting with the bank officer in the nearest branch or representative office.

No. If you choose the bank account opening option, we shall review your application along with your personal documentation to see if it is complete and valid. The bank will then approve or decline the account, depending on how the nature of your business - and other information provided by you - fits with their business model. As an indication, more than 90% of our cases have been approved by their chosen bank.

When we receive a pre-approval confirmation from a bank regarding account opening, this means that the bank has collected all required initial information and standard documents on a person or company. Based on this collected information, the client qualifies for the bank account opening. If the bank has any further questions to complete the processing of your requested account, they will contact us for more details. Once the account is processed, approved and activated, you will have full access and will be able to send and receive payments.

Banks are entitled at their sole discretion to accept or reject applications to open an account. As such, we will introduce you to the bank and guide you through every step of the account opening process. However, we cannot guarantee that your account will be approved by the bank and successfully opened.

If the bank declines your personal or corporate account, we will evaluate the situation and offer alternate banking options. However, more than 90% of our cases have been approved by our partner banks.

Please provide the following documents for all directors, shareholders, beneficial owners, and authorised signatories:

• A notarized copy of a valid passport. The passport must be signed and the signature must match the signature in the application form. The photograph must be clear and of good quality.
• An original or certified copy of a utility bill (e.g. gas, electricity, water or fixed line telephone - not a mobile phone bill) or bank statement (bank, building society or credit card statement). The document must be no more than 3 months old and should contain your name and current address. PO Box addresses are not accepted.
• An original or certified copy of a bank reference letter (dated within 3 months). You can request the reference letter from a bank where you hold an account. The reference letter should include confirmation that the relationship has been maintained for longer than 2 years, and that the business affairs are run satisfactorily.
• In cases where shareholders and/or directors are corporate bodies, a full apostilled set of corporate documents will be required: certificate of incorporation; list of directors, shareholders, and secretary; share certificate; copy of ‘declaration of trust’ between nominee shareholder(s) and ultimate beneficial owner(s) (if applicable); certificate of good standing (if the company has been operating for 12 months or more); notarized copy of a valid passport, utility bill and the reference letter for each individual director, shareholder and beneficial owner.
• A personal CV. In this document you should mention your work experience, qualifications, education, current place of work, and position.
• A completed and signed application form. You can find the relevant application form in the ‘my transactions’ area of your account profile.

• A notarized copy of a valid passport. The passport must be signed and the signature must match the signature in the application form. The photograph must be clear and of good quality.
• An original or certified copy of a utility bill (e.g. gas, electricity, water or fixed line telephone - not a mobile phone bill) or bank statement (bank, building society or credit card statement). The document must be no more than 3 months old and should contain your name and current address. PO Box addresses are not accepted.
• An original or certified copy of a bank reference letter (dated within 3 months). You can request the reference letter from a bank where you hold an account. The reference letter should include confirmation that the relationship has been maintained for longer than 2 years, and that the business affairs are run satisfactorily.
• A personal CV. In this document you should mention your work experience, qualifications, education, current place of work, and position.
• A completed and signed application form. You can find the relevant application form in the ‘my transactions’ area of your account profile.

The European Union Savings Tax Directive (EUSTD) became effective on 1 July 2005 and applies to EU residents that receive interest on savings instruments, deposit accounts, etc. Currently, it does not affect interest paid to companies. The EUSTD is an agreement between the EU member states to automatically exchange information between states about individuals who reside in one EU member state but earn interest in another.

For security reasons we do not manage client accounts and do not offer such services. Once your account is finalised, the bank will forward all e-banking security devices, credit/debit cards and PINs directly to your correspondent address. Only authorised signatories will be able to access your personal or corporate account.

A digipass (or security token) is an online payment security device that generates a unique code. It is used together with your user ID and passcode for making payments. If you are an authorised signatory and have applied for online banking, then the bank will automatically send you one of these devices.

Step 1: Complete the online application form on the trademark page via four simple steps:

• Choose your word, mark and/or logo
• Select the territory in which you wish to register your trademark
• Select the class of your business
• Fill out your details in the ‘owner’s details’ section and proceed to checkout

Step 2: Once we receive your payment, Starting Business will send you an email acknowledging the details of your order. We will then start to process your order further.

Step 3: Your application form will be reviewed no later than one working day after receipt. If your application is incomplete or invalid, our corporate executives will advise you of the reasons why and what is required.

Step 4: Once your order is accepted and processed by the relevant trademark authority, you will receive your trademark certificate via email (a hard copy will also be couriered to your designated address).

We will make propositions and offer solutions for changing the trademark scope in order to maximise your chances of succeeding with your application.

An EUTM (formerly known as a common trademark (CTM)) is a unified trademark registered that is protected in all member states of the European Union, rather than on a national level. The EUTM system is administered by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (formerly the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)).

Yes. We can assist with trademark registration in any member country of the Madrid system, as well as other non-member countries. If you wish to register your trademark outside of the EU, please send us a request via our contact form.

An application for a registered trademark can be filed by any individual, company or legal entity for the use of representing goods or services in the market. Many people seek the assistance of a professional consultancy firm to facilitate their trademark search and registration application on their behalf, as the process can be time consuming and complex depending on the jurisdiction(s) you are seeking to register in.

Registering a trademark will ensure that your business entity's name, identity and logo are protected within your selected jurisdiction(s) of registration. It also ensures that your entity's brand, name or logo does not infringe upon other registered trademarks while granting you legal rights; if need be, it allows you the ability to take legal action against any party that infringes upon your trademark rights. A registered trademark will instantly make competitors aware that the trademark is already taken and deter them from using a trademark that is similar.

Any available name, slogan, logo, colour, smell, strap-line, buy-line, design, or shape can be registered as a trademark.

The validity of a registered trademark depends on the jurisdiction(s) that the mark is registered in. Typically, most jurisdictions adopt a validity period of 10 consecutive years from the date of registration. A registered trademark is also renewable every 10 years thereafter, providing the mark is used in compliance with the appropriate trademark laws. Some jurisdictions stipulate that non-use of a trademark for a specified period of time will result in the removal and revocation of trademark rights from the owner.

About 9 to 12 months depending on various factors.

No. Starting Business fees, and the EUTM application fee, cover all expenses of the processing and examination of your application.

The trademark (TM) symbol is used to serve as an identifier on an unregistered trademark, while the registered trademark (®) symbol is used to demonstrate a registered trademark. The servicemark (SM) symbol is similar to TM, but denotes a service rather than a product.

The renewal of a registered trademark will typically take place every 10 years as this is the most commonly used validity period of a trademark. The trademark owner will be notified up to 6 months prior to the expiry of the trademark, and trademark renewal proceedings will then be put into place, either by the owner or by a representative professional consultant. A registered trademark needs to be renewed for as long as it is required in commerce, as non-renewal will render the trademark redundant and without any legal protection.

The first thing to note is that the infringing trademark must have caused a “likelihood of confusion” to the public, and must have caused harm to your registered trademark. The main factors taken into account for cases of trademark infringement are the similarity of the trademarks in question, and the similarity of the goods or services that the marks represent. Under trademark law, all owners of a registered trademark have exclusive rights and are provided with a great deal of legal protection in cases of infringement or passing off.