Registering an offshore company can either be a relatively easy process or one full of a lot of headaches and problems depending on who is providing you with advice. The term "offshore" scares a lot of people into thinking that there is something special about registering an offshore company. There really is no mystery to it, and it can be done by just about anyone with the time and the money to do it regardless of whether they visit the offshore country.

In some instances, you may not have a choice in the matter since some jurisdictions automatically appoint or assign a registration agent. His primary responsibility is the handling of all official communication between you and the registrar. And since you will most likely be dealing with a country that may or may not have a registrar that speaks English, having a translator is probably not such a bad idea.

When incorporating your offshore company there are from 4 to 7 important documents that you will want to have created depending on the type and size of company you are setting up. These documents are;

Power of Attorney, Memorandum of Incorporation, Article of Incorporation, First Meeting Minutes, Certificate of Incorporation, Primary Documents that are Certified, Shares and Share stock transfer form.

There are hundreds of websites and law firms on the internet that say they are offshore friendly. Remember, not all firms that can register your offshore company were created equal. In fact, only when dealing with a licensed law firm are you fully protected and your contact fully covered by attorney client privilege. If you work with a company that is not a law firm you run the risk that they have their communications seized in an investigation. Your name will end up on the authorities radar because you dealt with a non law firm and hence are not protected.

In most cases, your company's documents will require certification, since documents that are issued in one country are usually acceptable on in the country of issuance and nowhere else. A government officer, such as the Registrar of Companies, or a notary official can usually handle the certification of all documents, again for a fee. Most countries a uniform system called a "2nd Tier Certification" of public documents in order to make a document acceptable from a legal standpoint. This all came about due to the Hague Convention of 1961 wherein the Apostille legislation was drafted and ratified.

What this 2nd Tier Certification amounts to is basically the same thing as a witness to a notary. The signature of the person conducting the initial local certification is confirmed by a 2nd level certification stamp. This stamp is referred to as Apostille and a designated government office, such as a Foreign Affairs office, is usually the issuing party. And just like with an automobile registration, this process is very similar in that it is renewable every year pursuant to the original date of registration in your documents.

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