Company Registration in Pakistan (2026): SECP eServices Portal, Form 1 Memorandum, Fees and Timeline

Registering a private limited company in Pakistan takes between two and seven working days through the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan's online portal — provided the documents are complete, the name is cleared, and the prescribed fees are paid at the time of submission. The Companies Act 2017 governs the entire process, replacing the older Companies Ordinance 1984 and introducing the single-member company as a recognised structure alongside the private limited company.

Two structures worth knowing before you file

The Companies Act 2017 (Act No. XIX of 2017) defines a private company under Section 2(47) as one that restricts the right to transfer shares, limits membership to fifty persons excluding employees, and prohibits any invitation to the public to subscribe to its securities. A single-member company (SMC), defined under Section 2(63) of the same Act, allows one natural person to form and own a company outright — removing the older requirement of at least two subscribers.

For most small businesses and startups, the SMC is the simpler path. For partnerships, joint ventures, or ventures seeking institutional investment, the private limited company gives more structural flexibility. Both are registered through the same SECP eServices portal and follow nearly identical documentary requirements.

Name reservation: the first step on SECP eServices

Before any incorporation document is prepared, the proposed company name must be reserved. Log in at eservices.secp.gov.pk, navigate to "Company Name Availability" and submit up to three name options in order of preference. The SECP checks names against its database of existing companies, trademarks, and names that may mislead the public or suggest government affiliation.

Name reservation is valid for sixty days from approval. If incorporation is not completed within that window, the name lapses and must be re-applied for. The fee for name reservation is currently PKR 1,000 per online application (revised effective November 2024), payable through the portal's integrated payment gateway using a debit card, credit card, or internet banking.

The Memorandum of Association and Form 1

Two foundational documents drive every incorporation filing: the Memorandum of Association (MoA) and the Articles of Association (AoA). Under the Companies Act 2017, the MoA contains the company's name, registered office province, objects clause, and the liability statement. A standard template is sufficient for most private companies — the Act significantly simplified the old multi-clause object structures.

The MoA must be filed as Form 1 under the Companies (General Provisions and Forms) Regulations 2018. Each subscriber signs the form in front of a witness. For a private company with two or more subscribers, each subscriber's name, father's name, CNIC number, address, and number of shares taken must be listed precisely as they appear on their Computerised National Identity Card.

A solid starting point for drafting this document is the Memorandum of Association template for Pakistan, which reflects the structure required under the 2017 Act and the 2018 Regulations.

The AoA governs the internal management of the company — how meetings are called, how directors are appointed, and how shares are transferred. SECP allows companies to adopt the Model Articles prescribed in Schedule II of the Companies (General Provisions and Forms) Regulations 2018, which removes the need to draft bespoke articles for straightforward businesses.

Form 29: director and officer particulars

Form 29 — the "Particulars of First Directors/Officers of the Company" — must be filed simultaneously with Form 1. Every proposed director, CEO, and company secretary must provide full name, father's name, nationality, CNIC number, residential address, and date of appointment.

Each director must also sign a consent to act and confirm they are not disqualified under the Companies Act 2017. A director who is an undischarged insolvent, has been convicted of fraud or breach of trust, or has been disqualified by a court cannot serve on the board of a Pakistani company. SECP's eServices portal validates CNIC numbers against NADRA records in real time during submission, so data entry must be exact.

For a single-member company, Form 29 records the sole member as both subscriber and director. A nominee director is not mandatory at incorporation, though the Act requires every SMC to maintain a record of a nominee who would inherit the membership in the event of the member's death.

The CUIN number

Once SECP approves the incorporation, the company receives a Corporate Universal Identification Number (CUIN). The CUIN is a permanent, unique identifier — it does not change even if the company changes its name, registered address, or directors. Every official document, return, and correspondence submitted to SECP must reference this number.

Alongside the CUIN, SECP issues a digital Certificate of Incorporation bearing the registration date and the company's formal legal name. Both are available for download through the eServices portal immediately after approval.

Fee schedule (2026)

SECP filing fees depend on the company's authorised share capital and are set out in the Seventh Schedule to the Companies Act 2017, which SECP has updated periodically. Following revisions that took effect in November 2024, the online incorporation fee for a local company with authorised capital up to PKR 100,000 is PKR 2,200; fees scale upward with each capital slab and are higher still for physical filings. Because the Seventh Schedule is subject to revision, the definitive current figures should be confirmed using SECP's official fee calculator at secp.gov.pk before submission.

Online filing through eServices is both cheaper and faster than filing in person at a Company Registration Office, so there is no practical reason to file physically unless specific circumstances require it.

Timeline: what to expect

A straightforward online filing typically follows this sequence:

1. Day 1 — Name reservation applied and approved (automated for most names, with manual review for ambiguous cases taking one to two extra days).
2. Days 1–2 — MoA, AoA, and Form 29 prepared and signed; CNIC copies collected from all directors and subscribers.
3. Day 2–3 — Documents uploaded through eServices; fees paid online.
4. Days 3–7 — SECP review. Routine applications are processed within three to five working days. Queries from SECP (if any documents are deficient) pause the clock; the applicant typically has fifteen days to respond before the application is treated as withdrawn.

SECP's eServices portal sends email notifications at each stage — submission receipt, queries, and final approval. Incorporation certificates are issued digitally; there is no need to attend an office.

NTN registration with FBR

Incorporation with SECP does not automatically create a tax registration. A newly incorporated company must separately register for a National Tax Number (NTN) with the Federal Board of Revenue under the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

The good news: SECP and FBR have integrated their systems. A company can obtain its NTN simultaneously with the Certificate of Incorporation if the integration is working correctly on the date of filing — the portal forwards the required data to FBR automatically. In practice, some companies still receive their NTN within a few days of incorporation rather than instantly; checking the FBR's Taxpayer Profile on the IRIS portal (iris.fbr.gov.pk) within a week of incorporation confirms whether the NTN has been generated.

If the automated integration fails, the company's authorised representative must register manually through IRIS by submitting Form IT-1, along with the Certificate of Incorporation, MoA, AoA, and CNIC copies of directors.

Companies with annual turnover exceeding the Sales Tax threshold under the Sales Tax Act 1990 must also register for Sales Tax through the IRIS portal — NTN registration alone does not trigger sales tax obligations.

Post-incorporation filings

Registration is the beginning, not the end. Within thirty days of incorporation, the company must:

• Open a bank account in the company's name and deposit the subscribed share capital (for paid-up capital requirements).
• File the first statutory return if directors or officers change from those listed in Form 29.
• Ensure the registered office address is physically accessible and that the statutory records required under the Companies Act 2017 are maintained there.

Annual returns under Section 130 of the Act must be filed within thirty days of the annual general meeting. Failure to file returns or to maintain statutory records exposes directors to penalties under Sections 487 and 488, which can include fines and, in serious cases, personal liability.

Common points of failure

Most delays stem from a few recurring issues: CNIC data mismatches between Form 29 and NADRA records; object clauses that are too broad or contain regulated activities (banking, insurance, non-banking finance) without appropriate licencing disclosures; and company names that are identical or deceptively similar to an existing registered name.

A practical check before filing: search SECP's Company Search on the eServices portal for any name that phonetically resembles the proposed name, not just exact matches. The SECP has discretion under Section 10 of the Companies Act 2017 to reject names it considers misleading regardless of technical uniqueness.

For the actual documents — MoA, AoA, and Form 29 — accuracy on first submission is worth the extra time in review. A query from SECP resets the timeline and can add a week or more to the process.