Registering a company in Pakistan is a sequence, not a single form: choose the right structure, reserve the name with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), file for incorporation, take the company’s NTN from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and only then open the bank account and the registrations your trade actually needs. This guide walks through each step in order, with the documents to prepare and the fee ranges that published registration guides cite — always confirm the live figures on SECP’s own fee schedule before you pay.
First, decide which structure actually fits
The three routes most founders in Pakistan choose between are a sole proprietorship, an SMC-Private company, and a Private Limited company — and they are not interchangeable. A sole proprietorship is not an SECP company at all: you register yourself with FBR for tax and trade under your own name, which is simple and cheap, but the business has no separate legal identity, so its debts and liabilities are personally yours.
An SMC-Private (single-member company) gives one founder a separate legal identity with one director. A Private Limited company needs at least two directors and suits co-founded businesses, anyone planning to bring in investors, and anyone whose clients — banks, platforms, larger companies — expect a registered company on the contract.
- • Sole proprietor: fastest start, no SECP step, no separate legal identity, personal liability.
- • SMC-Private: one founder, separate legal identity, annual SECP filings apply.
- • Private Limited: two or more directors, easiest structure for partners, investors and tenders.
- • Whichever you choose, the tax registration (NTN) step in this guide still applies.
Step 1: Reserve the company name with SECP
Create an account on SECP’s eServices portal, then use the name-availability search to check your proposed name before reserving it. Names that clash with an existing company, use restricted words (such as bank, trust, foundation or a regulated profession’s title without the relevant approval), or are judged deceptive will be rejected, so prepare two or three alternatives.
Published registration guides put the name-reservation fee at roughly PKR 200–500; treat that as a range to verify against SECP’s current fee schedule, not a fixed price. A reserved name is held for a limited period shown inside eServices, so file the incorporation while it is valid instead of reserving names speculatively.
Step 2: File the incorporation application
With the name reserved, submit the incorporation application through the same eServices account. You will need legible copies of the CNICs of every director and subscriber, the registered office address, the Memorandum of Association (what the company will do) and the Articles of Association (how it will be run) — SECP provides standard formats many small companies adopt — plus the declarations the portal generates for the directors to confirm.
Guides that rank for this process cite incorporation filing fees of roughly PKR 1,800–3,000 for a small private company, with the exact amount driven by your authorised capital and whether you file online — again, confirm the figure in eServices, which calculates it before payment. Pay through the payment channels the portal offers, and on approval SECP issues the certificate of incorporation digitally together with the company’s unique incorporation number. That certificate is the document every later step asks for.
- • CNIC copies of all directors/subscribers, spelled exactly as on the CNIC.
- • Registered office address inside Pakistan.
- • Memorandum and Articles — object clauses that honestly cover what you will trade in.
- • Name reservation reference and the incorporation fee calculated by eServices.
Step 3: Take the company’s NTN from FBR
A company needs its own tax registration, separate from the directors’ personal NTNs. Register through FBR’s IRIS system using the company’s SECP details — incorporation number, registered address, principal business activity and the particulars of the directors — and keep the particulars identical to what SECP holds, because mismatches surface later when banks and clients verify you.
If you are registering as an individual or freelancer alongside the company, the companion guide below walks through IRIS registration and filer status in full.
Step 4: Open the company bank account
Banks open corporate accounts only after incorporation, and each bank runs its own compliance process. Expect to provide the certificate of incorporation, the Memorandum and Articles, the company NTN, CNICs of the directors and authorised signatories, and a board resolution naming who may operate the account. Start this step early: payment gateways, marketplace payouts and many corporate clients will not pay a personal account in the company’s place.
Step 5: Add only the registrations your business triggers
Not every registration applies to every company, and registering for everything wastes money. Sales tax registration matters when you sell taxable goods or the specific services your province taxes — services are largely a provincial subject, so check the provincial revenue authority where you operate. A chamber of commerce and industry membership is commonly needed for trade, exhibitions and import–export work. EOBI and provincial social security registration arrive when you hire employees, a trade licence from the local authority when you operate physical premises, and PSEB registration is worth it for IT and IT-enabled services exporters.
- • Sales tax / provincial service tax: depends on what you sell and where.
- • Chamber of Commerce & Industry: common for trade, tenders and visas support letters.
- • EOBI + provincial social security: triggered by hiring employees.
- • Trade licence: physical shop, office or workshop premises.
- • PSEB: optional but useful for software and IT exporters.
Step 6: Get found — your first public profiles
Registration makes you legal; it does not make you findable. The same week you incorporate, claim the two free profiles customers actually check: a Google Business Profile for Maps and search, and a business listing on LocalePak so your company appears on its city and category pages with your real name, address, phone and services. Keep the name, address and phone identical everywhere — inconsistent details are the most common reason new companies look unestablished online.
Frequently asked questions
How long does company registration take in Pakistan? When the name is available and the documents are clean, the SECP steps are typically a matter of working days; bank-account compliance and extra registrations are what stretch the overall timeline.
What does SECP registration cost? Published guides cite roughly PKR 200–500 for name reservation and PKR 1,800–3,000 for incorporation of a small private company, but fees depend on authorised capital and filing route — SECP’s eServices shows the exact payable amount before you pay.
Can one person register a company alone? Yes — the SMC-Private structure exists for a single founder; a Private Limited company needs at least two directors.
Is an NTN the same as company registration? No. SECP registration creates the company; the NTN is its tax registration with FBR. You need both, in that order.
Sources and further reading
The sources below support the factual and methodological parts of this guide. Readers should check the linked pages for the latest updates.