Form an offshore company
Nominee director guide 2026

Nominee director for a company: what it can do, and what it never hides

Updated 11 November 2026Rules in 21 places, November 2026About 11 minutes to read
The short answer

A nominee director is a real director in law, appointed so your name stays off the public register. It's legal in most places and banned in the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Banks, ownership registers and tax offices still see you. Give the orders yourself and you can be treated as the director.

What can a nominee do for me? Rules where I form
Privacy, honestly 2 places in our list that have banned nominee directors since December 2025 The Bahamas and Bermuda. Everywhere else a nominee is a real director, owing duties to the company, not to you.

A nominee director puts someone else's name on your company's public record. That's legal in most places, and it's useful for privacy. What it never does is hide you from the people who ask: banks, registers and tax offices. And it carries risks most sellers leave out. Here's how it works in law, place by place, from the company acts, registers and court cases.

Key takeaways

  • A nominee director is a real director in law, with duties to the company, not to you.
  • It keeps your name off the public register, not away from banks, registers or tax offices.
  • Nominee directors are banned in the Bahamas (from January 2026, under the IBC (Amendment) Act 2025) and Bermuda (from December 2025, under section 2(1A) of the Companies Act 1981).
  • If you give the orders, you can be treated as a shadow director, and the company can be taxed where you are.
  • Undated resignation letters, and share transfers held by anyone but you, are the clauses to question.
  • Offshore nominee directors cost about US$600 to US$900 a year.
Chapter 1

What is a nominee director?

BVI company, nominee director2026
Public register showsThe nominee
Registrar and agent seeYou and the provider
Your bank seesYou
Your tax office seesYou, through the CRS
Your tax office gets the bank report. Where you live: pick it

A person or company appointed as director in place of the real owner, usually by a licensed provider. No company law we read creates a lighter kind of director called a "nominee". So the nominee owes the usual duties to the company: to act in its interest, use care, avoid conflicts. A side agreement can't override them.

A nominee director can
  • Appear on the register of directors in your place
  • Sign routine documents the company needs
  • Meet a legal need for a director where you can't serve
A nominee director can't
  • Follow your instructions against the company's interest
  • Hide you from beneficial ownership registers or banks
  • Move the company's tax home if you still decide everything
1
Key takeaway

A real director in law, with duties to the company, not to you.

Chapter 2

What can a nominee director do for you?

I want to
2
Key takeaway

Off the public register, yes. Hidden from banks or tax offices, no.

Chapter 3

Where are nominee directors legal?

"Not found" means no rule turned up, not that none exists.

3
Key takeaway

Allowed with disclosure in most places, banned in two.

Chapter 4

Nominee director risks: for you and for them

For you, the owner
  • Give the orders and courts can treat you as a shadow or de facto director, with a director's liabilities
  • A board that only rubber-stamps your decisions leaves the company tax resident where you decide
  • A nominee who acts for the company, not you, can refuse your instructions
For the nominee
  • Full director duties and liability for what the company does
  • Signing documents they didn't check
  • Breach of duty if they simply follow your orders

In a 2020 case on Jersey companies, a board that "merely rubber stamped" its parent's decisions left the companies resident in the UK. Tax offices look at where key decisions are made in substance, not at whose name is on the register.

4
Key takeaway

Give the orders and you can be treated as the director.

Chapter 5

Nominee director agreement: terms to check

The agreement includes
5
Key takeaway

Undated resignations, and transfers held by anyone but you, are red flags.

Chapter 6

Who can see the real owner behind a nominee?

RegistersBeneficial ownership registers record you in most places on our list; US states are the exception
BanksIdentify the owner and controllers before opening an account
CRSBanks report accounts and their controlling persons to your tax office
2027From 10 July 2027, EU rules make nominees disclose who they act for

6
Key takeaway

Registers, banks and the CRS still see the owner.

Chapter 7

How much does a nominee director cost?

-30%
US$600 to US$900A year for an offshore nominee director at entry level; Panama listings start near US$100
S$2,000A year in Singapore, plus a S$3,000 refundable deposit
Up to US$8,600A year for a full director and shareholder package
ExtraSigned powers of attorney and trust declarations, often US$650 to US$900 more

Published provider prices, November 2026, anonymised. A cheap nominee who signs anything is the expensive kind.

7
Key takeaway

About US$600 to US$900 a year offshore, more where rules are strict.

Chapter 8

Nominee or resident director: when the law needs one

Some places require a director who lives there. That's a resident director, and the job is real: reading papers, attending board meetings, signing for the company.

  1. LabuanOne resident directorSince June 2022, a trust officer or an approved individual.
  2. Mauritius GBCTwo resident directorsAn Authorised Company run from abroad needs none.
  3. SwitzerlandOne person resident there who can signFor a GmbH, under Article 814 of the Code of Obligations.
  4. CuraçaoOne resident director for a gaming licenceOrdinary companies need none.
  5. SingaporeOne ordinarily resident directorOnly through a registered provider.
8
Key takeaway

Some places require a resident director: that is a different job.

Chapter 9

Nominee director questions, answered

?!
What is a nominee director?
A person or company appointed as director in place of the real owner, usually through a licensed provider. In law they are a full director, with duties to the company.
Are nominee directors allowed everywhere?
No, but in most places, yes, often with disclosure to a registry or regulator. The Bahamas and Bermuda have banned them.
Does a nominee director hide the owner?
Only from the public register. Beneficial ownership registers, banks and, through the CRS, tax offices still see the owner.
Can a nominee director follow my instructions?
Not against the company's interest. And if you give the orders, you can be treated as a shadow director yourself.
Is an undated resignation letter legal?
No official guidance endorses it, and it sits badly with a director's duty to act independently. Ask what it is for before signing one.
How much does a nominee director cost?
About US$600 to US$900 a year offshore at the entry level, more in places like Singapore with deposits and stricter rules.
Do you provide nominee or local directors?
Where the law allows and the role is real, yes, from US$480 a year in most offshore places, priced on each country page. Never to hide an owner from banks or authorities. See our guide to private companies.

Changelog

  • 11 November 2026: first published.
  • 13 November 2026: official sources linked inside the text.
Your company, privately

A company that keeps your name private, the lawful way.

Nominee directors from US$480 a year, where the law allows. Prices are on each country page.

Compare offshore companies Read the privacy guide