Trust and company services
Forming companies, supplying a registered office, acting as nominee director or administering trusts needs a trust and corporate service provider (TCSP) licence under FATF Recommendations 22 and 23. National regimes, in the UK, Cyprus and offshore centres among others, enforce fit-and-proper vetting, beneficial ownership registers and anti-money-laundering supervision on these corporate intermediaries.
Definition
Forming companies, acting as or arranging directors, nominee shareholders and trustees, and providing a registered office.
- FATF, Recommendations 22-23 and Glossary: TCSP: official text
Which licence you need
Licence families that typically permit this activity:
- TCSP · Cayman Islands
Trust Licence / Nominee Trust Company Licence
Trust Licence / Nominee Trust Company Licence under the Banks and Trust Companies ActCIMA
- TCSP · Cyprus
Administrative Services Provider (ASP) authorisation
CySEC
- TCSP · Estonia
Authorisation for providing trust and company services
FIU
- TCSP · Malta
Company service provider authorisation (Class A, B, or C)
MFSA
- TCSP · Netherlands
Trust office licence (Vergunning trustkantoor)
DNB
- TCSP · Seychelles
International Corporate Service Provider (ICSP) Licence
International Corporate Service Provider (ICSP) Licence under the International Corporate Service Providers Act 2003FSA
- TCSP · Singapore
Trust Company Licence
MAS
- TCSP · Switzerland
Trustee licence
FINMA
Where it can be licensed
Frequently asked questions
Why are trust and company service providers treated as gatekeepers by FATF?
Because a TCSP builds the corporate vehicles and trust structures that can obscure who actually owns them. FATF answers that by making TCSPs gatekeepers. They must verify beneficial owners, identify politically exposed persons and report suspicious transactions to the intelligence unit.
What records must a licensed TCSP maintain on client entities?
A TCSP keeps certified corporate formation records, registers of directors and members, identification documents for the ultimate beneficial owners, source-of-funds documentation and statutory accounting records, retained even after the business relationship ends.
Sources
- FATF Recommendations 22-23 and Glossary: TCSP · retrieved 2026-09-24
Planning trust and company services? Get the licence right first
Tell us your model and target markets. We check which licence it needs, and whether a narrower one will do, before you spend on an application.
A free preliminary assessment: we check your business model against the licence before you spend on an application. We handle this licence and any other fintech licence, including jurisdictions the Atlas does not cover yet.