Cayman Business Licensing Changes: Multi-year licences and increased fees
Nick Hemus
|
Articles
|
Changes to the Trade and Business Licensing Act and the Local Companies (Control) Act
The Cayman Islands Government have announced that the Trade and Business Licensing Board (the “Board”) is now offering Trade and Business Licences (“TBL”) for up to five years for Caymanian owned businesses. “Caymanian owned” is defined as at least 60% of shareholders and at least 60% of the directors of a company are Caymanian. At present, TBLs are only issued for one year and must be renewed on an annual basis. This change has been implemented to reduce the administrative burden on local operating businesses. The change took effect from 28th April 2026. The qualifying factors that have been published are that the business must be:
considered as low-risk by the Board – it is not clear what risk factors the Board will take into account, but we, as a minimum, would expect this to be relating to low-risk in relation to the Cayman Islands’ Anti-Money Laundering regime, given that the Department of Commerce and Investment is the statutory supervisor for those purposes;
Caymanian owned and operated;
able to demonstrate a history of compliance with Cayman Islands law; and
have no outstanding fines or breaches related to previous licences.
At the same time, changes have been implemented for both TBLs and Local Companies (Control) Act Licences (“LCCLs”). New regulations have been published: (i) the Trade and Business Licensing (Amendment of Schedule 1) Regulations, 2026 (“TBL Regulations”); and (ii) Local Companies (Control) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (“LCCL Regulations”). Both sets of regulations came into force on the 28th April 2026. The TBL Regulations and the LCCL Regulations have made changes to some of the fee categories, intending to increase revenues to government from targeted industries, in line with the financial statement made in Parliament in November 2025 by the Minister for Finance and Economic Development. Some of the fee increases are not as substantial as was first indicated, but there are still some major changes, which are detailed below.
Property Developers
Property Developers that are Caymanian owned businesses are subject to an annual TBL fee increased from $750 to $5,000. Any Property Developers that are not Caymanian owned (and hold an LCCL) will be subject to an annual TBL fee of $10,000 - $20,000. The annual LCCL fee has increased from $12,500 to $100,000.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
TBL for Property Developer (Caymanian owned) | $750 | $5,000 |
TBL for Property Developer (Non-Caymanian owned with LCCL) | $750 | $10,000 (where the company has 1-15 employees) $20,000 (where the company has 16 or more employees) |
LCCL for Property Developer | $12,500 | $100,000 |
Real Estate Agents
Caymanian owned real estate agencies are not subject to any fee increase, but any real estate agencies that are not Caymanian owned and hold an LCCL will be subject to an annual TBL fee of $10,000 and an annual LCCL fee of $50,000.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
TBL for real estate agency or agent (Caymanian owned) | $750 plus $750 for each affiliated agent | $750 plus $750 for each affiliated agent |
TBL for real estate agency (Non-Caymanian owned with LCCL) | $750 | $10,000
|
LCCL for real estate agency | $12,500 | $50,000 |
Accountants and Financial Service Providers
Accountants and financial services have been specifically targeted in this first set of regulations. The TBL Regulations define more categories of professionals who are now licensed specifically under the accounting professionals under the TBL Act, such as:
Accounting Service Providers - who are not necessarily accounting firms, but provide services similar to those which accountants provide (and specifically including bookkeeping and provision of financial statements);
Audit Firms – firms that are registered under the Accountants Act to provide auditing services;
Insolvency Firms - firms of qualified insolvency practitioners, are now caught within the wider scope of the amended regulations.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
Accountants | $2,000 for each professional member of the business | $2,500 for each professional member of the business |
TBL for Audit Firms | Not specifically defined | $50,000 - $600,000, on a tiered scale based on the number of employees |
TBL for Accounting Service Providers | Not specifically defined | $2,500 - $60,000, on a tiered scale based on the number of employees |
TBL for Insolvency Firms | Not specifically defined | $10,000 - $125,000, on a tiered scale based on the number of employees |
Exempt Companies
Any exempted companies that are carrying on business in are subject to an annual fee of $12,500, increased from $750.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
TBL for Exempted Companies | $750 | $12,500 |
If you have any questions or queries about anything relating to Cayman Islands company or commercial law, contact our team at info@beauforts.com and we will be pleased to assist.
Beauforts Legal provides sophisticated legal counsel to individuals, families and institutions with complex personal and commercial affairs. Drawing on experience from leading international firms, our team delivers practical advice across corporate, commercial, regulatory, property, intellectual property, immigration and private client matters. We combine technical precision with commercial insight to provide efficient and effective solutions to our clients.
Cayman Business Licensing Changes: Multi-year licences and increased fees
Nick Hemus
|
Articles
|
Changes to the Trade and Business Licensing Act and the Local Companies (Control) Act
The Cayman Islands Government have announced that the Trade and Business Licensing Board (the “Board”) is now offering Trade and Business Licences (“TBL”) for up to five years for Caymanian owned businesses. “Caymanian owned” is defined as at least 60% of shareholders and at least 60% of the directors of a company are Caymanian. At present, TBLs are only issued for one year and must be renewed on an annual basis. This change has been implemented to reduce the administrative burden on local operating businesses. The change took effect from 28th April 2026. The qualifying factors that have been published are that the business must be:
considered as low-risk by the Board – it is not clear what risk factors the Board will take into account, but we, as a minimum, would expect this to be relating to low-risk in relation to the Cayman Islands’ Anti-Money Laundering regime, given that the Department of Commerce and Investment is the statutory supervisor for those purposes;
Caymanian owned and operated;
able to demonstrate a history of compliance with Cayman Islands law; and
have no outstanding fines or breaches related to previous licences.
At the same time, changes have been implemented for both TBLs and Local Companies (Control) Act Licences (“LCCLs”). New regulations have been published: (i) the Trade and Business Licensing (Amendment of Schedule 1) Regulations, 2026 (“TBL Regulations”); and (ii) Local Companies (Control) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (“LCCL Regulations”). Both sets of regulations came into force on the 28th April 2026. The TBL Regulations and the LCCL Regulations have made changes to some of the fee categories, intending to increase revenues to government from targeted industries, in line with the financial statement made in Parliament in November 2025 by the Minister for Finance and Economic Development. Some of the fee increases are not as substantial as was first indicated, but there are still some major changes, which are detailed below.
Property Developers
Property Developers that are Caymanian owned businesses are subject to an annual TBL fee increased from $750 to $5,000. Any Property Developers that are not Caymanian owned (and hold an LCCL) will be subject to an annual TBL fee of $10,000 - $20,000. The annual LCCL fee has increased from $12,500 to $100,000.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
TBL for Property Developer (Caymanian owned) | $750 | $5,000 |
TBL for Property Developer (Non-Caymanian owned with LCCL) | $750 | $10,000 (where the company has 1-15 employees) $20,000 (where the company has 16 or more employees) |
LCCL for Property Developer | $12,500 | $100,000 |
Real Estate Agents
Caymanian owned real estate agencies are not subject to any fee increase, but any real estate agencies that are not Caymanian owned and hold an LCCL will be subject to an annual TBL fee of $10,000 and an annual LCCL fee of $50,000.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
TBL for real estate agency or agent (Caymanian owned) | $750 plus $750 for each affiliated agent | $750 plus $750 for each affiliated agent |
TBL for real estate agency (Non-Caymanian owned with LCCL) | $750 | $10,000
|
LCCL for real estate agency | $12,500 | $50,000 |
Accountants and Financial Service Providers
Accountants and financial services have been specifically targeted in this first set of regulations. The TBL Regulations define more categories of professionals who are now licensed specifically under the accounting professionals under the TBL Act, such as:
Accounting Service Providers - who are not necessarily accounting firms, but provide services similar to those which accountants provide (and specifically including bookkeeping and provision of financial statements);
Audit Firms – firms that are registered under the Accountants Act to provide auditing services;
Insolvency Firms - firms of qualified insolvency practitioners, are now caught within the wider scope of the amended regulations.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
Accountants | $2,000 for each professional member of the business | $2,500 for each professional member of the business |
TBL for Audit Firms | Not specifically defined | $50,000 - $600,000, on a tiered scale based on the number of employees |
TBL for Accounting Service Providers | Not specifically defined | $2,500 - $60,000, on a tiered scale based on the number of employees |
TBL for Insolvency Firms | Not specifically defined | $10,000 - $125,000, on a tiered scale based on the number of employees |
Exempt Companies
Any exempted companies that are carrying on business in are subject to an annual fee of $12,500, increased from $750.
Category | Previous Annual Fee | New Annual Fee |
TBL for Exempted Companies | $750 | $12,500 |
If you have any questions or queries about anything relating to Cayman Islands company or commercial law, contact our team at info@beauforts.com and we will be pleased to assist.
Beauforts Legal provides sophisticated legal counsel to individuals, families and institutions with complex personal and commercial affairs. Drawing on experience from leading international firms, our team delivers practical advice across corporate, commercial, regulatory, property, intellectual property, immigration and private client matters. We combine technical precision with commercial insight to provide efficient and effective solutions to our clients.
Jump to Section