Registering a company in Uganda: checklist
Pending verification: The current URSB incorporation fees. Treat the flagged points as provisional and confirm them before relying on them.
In brief
Incorporation at URSB gives your business a separate legal personality. This checklist runs name reservation to certificate and the first compliance steps.
Who it's for & when to use it
Who it's for: Founders, company secretaries and their advisers.
When to use it: When setting up a limited company.
When not to use it: For a sole trader or a simple business name (use the business-name route).
The checklist
1. Plan the company
- Decide the company type, the shareholding and the directors, and choose a registered office.
- Search and reserve the company name at URSB.
2. Prepare the documents
- Prepare the memorandum and articles and the prescribed incorporation forms; a single member can form a company (Companies (Single Member) Regulations).
- Gather the directors' and shareholders' identification and consents.
3. File and pay
- File the documents with URSB and pay the prescribed fees.
- On registration the company becomes a body corporate able to sue and be sued in its own name (Companies Act s.18); the certificate of incorporation is conclusive evidence (s.20).
4. Post-incorporation registrations
- File beneficial-ownership particulars and obtain a TIN; register for VAT/PAYE where applicable.
- Open a company bank account and obtain the trading licence.
5. Set up ongoing compliance
- Open and maintain the statutory registers and the minute book.
- Diarise the annual return and accounts deadlines.
Key authorities
- Companies Act, Cap. 106 (2023 Revision) — ss.3, 18, 20.
- Companies (Single Member) Regulations, 2016.
Checklist · Business & company.
Actively maintained.
Last reviewed 9 June 2026; next review due 9 June 2027.
This resource is a practitioner orientation and general information, not legal advice, and does not create an advocate–client relationship. It is AI-generated. Ugandan law changes and chapter and section numbers were revised in the 2023 Laws of Uganda. Verify every statute, rule, form, fee and authority against the current primary source — and the specific facts of your matter — before relying on it.