KYC document checklist for corporate secretarial firms

In short

Last updated 2026-09-06

A corporate secretarial file has four parts: identity documents for every individual director and shareholder, a separate pack for any corporate shareholder traced through to its beneficial owners, the company's own formation documents, and a periodic refresh of all of it. Who must be identified, at what ownership threshold, and with which documents is set by each jurisdiction.

Grouped by whose documents they are. Collecting this as one list per company rather than one list per person is the usual mistake: on a file with unrelated shareholders it means each of them can see the others' identity documents and home addresses.

29 items, 4 stages

What to collect for an incorporation or onboarding

One checklist per person. Each director, each individual shareholder, and a corporate shareholder's authorised signatory should each have their own.

Every individual director and shareholder

One checklist per person

  • Passport or national identity document

    The primary identity document, showing full name, number, date of birth and nationality.

    Varies by country. Which documents are accepted as primary identification, and whether a certified copy is required rather than a scan, is set by each jurisdiction's regime.

  • Proof of residential address

    A document in the person's own name showing where they actually live, which is not the same as the registered office.

    Varies by country. Accepted document types and how recent they must be differ substantially — some regimes accept a utility bill within three months, others require a bank statement or a government-issued letter, and some require two separate documents.

  • Specimen signature

    For the statutory documents and any bank account opening that follows.

  • Consent to act as director

    A signed consent from each person being appointed, dated before or on the appointment.

    Varies by country. Whether a prescribed form exists, and whether it must be filed or only retained, is set by each jurisdiction.

  • Declaration of disqualification status

    A signed confirmation that the person is not disqualified from acting as a director.

    Varies by country. The grounds for disqualification and whether a declaration is required at all differ by country.

  • Tax residency and taxpayer identification

    Self-certification of tax residence and the corresponding reference number, for information-exchange purposes.

    Varies by country. Which self-certification regime applies and what it requires depends on the jurisdiction and on the entity type.

  • Politically exposed person declaration

    A declaration covering the person, their close associates and family members.

    Varies by country. The definition of a politically exposed person, and how far the definition extends to associates, is set by each regime.

  • Source of funds and source of wealth information

    Where the capital is coming from, and how the person's wealth was accumulated — two different questions that are often answered as one.

    Varies by country. What evidence is required, and at what risk rating, is determined by your own risk assessment under your jurisdiction's rules.

  • Contact details

    Email and phone for statutory notices, kept current between refreshes.

Corporate shareholders

Traced through to the individuals behind them

  • Certificate of incorporation

    Proof the shareholding entity exists, with its registered number and date of incorporation.

    Varies by country. The name and form of this document differ by country of incorporation, and some jurisdictions require it certified or apostilled.

  • Constitution, articles or bylaws

    The entity's governing document, showing who may bind it.

  • Register of directors and register of members

    Current officers and shareholders of the corporate shareholder, dated.

    Varies by country. Whether these registers are public, and how they must be evidenced where they are not, depends on the jurisdiction of incorporation.

  • Board resolution authorising the investment

    The decision to hold the shares and to appoint a representative, signed and dated.

  • Authorised signatory identification

    The full individual pack above for whoever signs on the entity's behalf.

  • Ownership structure chart

    The chain from the corporate shareholder through every intermediate layer to the individuals at the top, with percentages at each level.

  • Identity documents for each beneficial owner

    The full individual pack for every person identified at the end of that chain.

    Varies by country. The ownership percentage that makes someone a beneficial owner is commonly 25%, but it is not universal — some jurisdictions set it lower, and most also capture control exercised by other means regardless of percentage.

  • Good standing or incumbency certificate

    For an entity incorporated abroad, current confirmation it remains registered and in good standing.

    Varies by country. Availability, name and validity period of this document differ by jurisdiction.

The company itself

At incorporation

  • Proposed company names

    Two or three in order of preference, since the first choice is frequently unavailable or restricted.

    Varies by country. Name restrictions, reserved words needing approval, and required suffixes are set by each registry.

  • Registered office address and proof of it

    The official address, with evidence of the right to use it — a tenancy agreement, or your own registered office agreement where you provide it.

    Varies by country. Whether a residential address is permitted, and what proof the registry requires, differs by jurisdiction.

  • Business activity description

    What the company will actually do, mapped to the registry's classification codes.

    Varies by country. Classification schemes are country-specific, and some activities require a licence before or after incorporation.

  • Share capital and shareholding structure

    Share classes, number issued, amounts paid, and the split between shareholders.

    Varies by country. Minimum capital, permitted share classes and currency rules are set by each jurisdiction.

  • Financial year end

    Chosen at incorporation and driving every filing deadline afterwards.

  • Beneficial ownership declaration

    A signed declaration identifying every individual who ultimately owns or controls the company.

    Varies by country. Whether this is filed with a registry, kept in a private register, or both, and who may access it, differs by jurisdiction.

  • Signed engagement letter and fee agreement

    Your own terms with the client, including what you are and are not responsible for.

The periodic refresh

On your own review cycle

  • Re-dated identity documents

    Replacements for anything that has expired since the last review, particularly passports.

    Varies by country. How often a refresh is required, and whether it is risk-based or on a fixed cycle, is set by your jurisdiction and your own policy.

  • Current proof of address

    A recent document for each person, since residential addresses change more often than identity documents.

  • Confirmation of changes

    A positive confirmation of what has and has not changed — officers, shareholders, beneficial owners, activity, address. "No news" is not confirmation.

  • Updated ownership structure chart

    Where any corporate shareholder's own ownership has moved since the last review.

  • Refreshed declarations

    Politically exposed person status and tax residency re-confirmed, both of which change without anyone thinking to tell you.

This is a general checklist, not a legal requirement

Who must be identified, the ownership percentage at which someone becomes a beneficial owner, which address documents are accepted and how recent they must be, whether certification or notarisation is required, and which registers must be maintained or filed are all set by each jurisdiction and revised. This page names no regulator, no statute and no filing.

Treat it as the starting list to adapt, not a rule to rely on. The authority that will actually assess the file is the one whose current published requirements decide it.

Collect this over WhatsApp

One link per director, not one per company

An incorporation with four unrelated shareholders is four separate collections against one deadline, and none of them should see the others' documents.

  • Build the list once as a template, reuse it for every incorporation.
  • One link per person, sent over WhatsApp or email, with no login and no app.
  • Reminders chase what is missing and cancel themselves when it arrives.
  • Each upload is checked on arrival, then filed into your own cloud storage.
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Corporate secretarial KYC questions

What KYC documents are needed to incorporate a company?

For each individual director and shareholder: a passport or national identity document, proof of residential address, a specimen signature, consent to act, and declarations covering tax residency and politically exposed person status. For any corporate shareholder: its formation documents, current registers, a board resolution, identification for its authorised signatory, and identity documents for the individuals at the end of its ownership chain. For the company: proposed names, registered office proof, business activity, share structure and a beneficial ownership declaration. Which of these a particular jurisdiction requires, and to what standard, differs — this is the starting list to adapt, not a statement of any country's law.

What ownership percentage makes someone a beneficial owner?

Twenty-five per cent is the most commonly used threshold, but it is not universal and treating it as universal is a mistake. Some jurisdictions set a lower figure, and most regimes also capture people who exercise control by other means — through voting rights, board appointment rights, or an agreement — regardless of what percentage they hold on paper. Work from your own jurisdiction's current definition and your own risk assessment, not from a number on a checklist.

Does this checklist make my firm compliant?

No, and nothing on this page should be read that way. This is a list of documents to collect. Customer due diligence, sanctions and adverse-media screening, risk assessment, ongoing monitoring, record-keeping and every filing remain your firm's own obligations under your own jurisdiction's rules, and several regimes require steps that no document collection can satisfy — including, in some places, a live video call for remote incorporations. Collecting the documents on this list is one input to that work, not a substitute for it.

Should each director get their own upload link?

Yes, and on a file with unrelated shareholders it is the only correct default. A checklist in ChaseDocs belongs to exactly one contact, so one director never sees another's identity document or residential address, and the whole file is still tracked together as one group. Sharing a single link across four shareholders means each of them can see the other three's personal data, which is a problem you have created rather than inherited.

How does ChaseDocs handle identity documents that never expire?

It returns no validity verdict rather than a false pass. A document that carries no expiry date — a Singapore NRIC, for example — cannot be checked against a date, and the honest answer is silence. Where a document does carry an expiry, ChaseDocs checks it against the date you put on the request and requires six months' remaining validity. That six months is ChaseDocs' own default hygiene rule. It is not an ACRA requirement, not a regulatory threshold, and not configurable. ChaseDocs also performs no screening of any kind: no sanctions, politically exposed person or adverse-media checks, no biometric or liveness check, and no lookup against any register. The AI reads a document and judges the document; it does not attest that a person is who they say they are.

More lists like this on our checklists index, or read For corporate secretarial firms.

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