Bahamas - Obtain License or Permit to Operate a Business from Home

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Procedure

Apply In-Person

1. The applicant has to submit an application form to the Business Licence Division office.
2. Visit the following link for Contact Details:Link.
3. The applicant can collect the form from any of the Business Licence Unit Offices.
4. The applicant can also download the form from the following Form Link.
5. The applicant has to first register a business name. Complete the application form with all details.
6. After filling in all the details submit the Application Form along with the supporting documents as mentioned in the “Required Documents” section to the Business Licence Division office along with the corresponding Fee.
7. For Family Islands the form can be returned to a Treasury Office or a Family Island Administrator if there are no Business Licence Division Offices.
8. If any of the detected names are rejected, the applicant will be alerted that their name choice was rejected and urged to choose from the remaining options on the form.
9. Once all document requirements are submitted and the name is approved, the application is then processed within seven working days.
10. The applicant will be contacted by the BLU office to inform them to collect their licence.
    

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Required Documents

• Proof of citizenship
• Appropriate Registration Fee
• Approvals related to your selected business
• Prerequisite Approval(s) from relevant government or regulatory agencies where required
• Copy of a Valid Passport or Original birth certificate as well as those of parents if one is born after July 1973. A birth Certificate must be accompanied by a proper identification (that is, Work ID, School ID, or Drivers Licence, along with the Mother’s Passport).  Note: if the mother was born after independence, the grandmother’s passport will also be needed.
• National Insurance Card.
• National Insurance Letter of Good Standing
• Business Name – If you currently are the holder of a Business Name but owe arrears, these must be paid to the Registrar General’s Department and the receipt indicating payment of arrears must be furnished.
• Certificate of Incorporation from the Registrar General’s Department must accompany the application where applicable
• Real Property Tax – If the applicant owns the property on which the business is located, real property tax must be brought to account or an agreement entered into for payment.
• Necessary Approvals– If the business operates a STORE or is involved in the SALE of ALCOHOL – they must seek approval as follows:
  • Department of Physical Planning (Zoning)
  • Royal Bahamas Police Force (Determines if the location is acceptable)
  • Ministry of Public Works, Building Control (Inspection of Building)
  • Department of Environmental Health Services (Sanitation Certificate)
• Letter of authorization for Third Parties/Appointed Representatives, where a Third Party is used, such as an accountant or lawyer authorising them to conduct business on their behalf.
  

Office Locations & Contacts

Business License/Valuation Unit
Ground Floor Charlotte House
North Charlotte & Shirley Streets
P. O. Box 3017
Nassau
New Providence
The Bahamas
E-mail: [email protected]               

[email protected]

Phone: (242) 325-2233, 325-1171, 325-2126
Fax: (242) 328-8003
Opening Hours: 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday
Contact Address Details Link
Contact Details for Family Island Link

Eligibility

• Any Bahamian citizen or permanent resident who is:
• Interested in registering a new business
• Existing Business Owner
  • Partnership
  • Privately Trading companies
  • Publicly Trading companies
  • Limited Liability Partnerships
  • Limited Liability Company
  • Sole-  Proprietorships
  • Home Based Businesses
• A non-Bahamian seeking to do business in The Bahamas must first get permission from the Bahamian Investment Authority.
  

Fees

A flat fee of BS$100 is charged for a new business licence. The fees for an existing business vary depending on the sort of business and the amount of money it makes.

Validity

There are no deadlines for submitting a new application. All former businesses, however, must be registered by March 31, 2011.

Documents to Use

Application Form Link

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

It is processed within seven working days.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
e.g. The state office holds birth records since january 1908.

Required Information

• Application Type
• Business Entity Type
• Trading Name
• Individual Name Contact/ Telephone/Fax/Status
• Location of Business Operation
• Email Address
• Website
• Mailing Address
• Location of Business Operation
• List of Owners/Partners/Managers/Members etc.
• Date Business Started
• Type of Business
• Product Description
• Financial Information
  

Need for the Document

It is required to operate the business from home.

Information which might help

Website Link

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Place some external links which might help.

Others

Publicly Trading companies, Limited Liability Partnerships and Limited Liability Company are registered at the Registrar General Office where the receive their certificate of incorporation.  This is brought to the BLU office to complete the Business Licencing process.