Local Director Service
Get qualified local directors in 70+ countries.
Some registries won't incorporate you without a resident director. Some banks won't open your account without one. Commenda appoints a vetted professional in days: fast, reliable, and indemnified in writing.
At least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore (Companies Act, s. 145).
- Vetted professional, appointed in days
- Indemnity and defined scope, in writing
- Satisfies registries and bank KYC alike
Prefer a written quote? Get a fixed quote
Trusted by global businesses
The requirement you discover
three weeks into incorporation.
You pick the country, engage the law firm, start the paperwork. Then you learn the registry won't accept your board: every director lives abroad, and the law requires at least one who doesn't. Now the incorporation is stalled on a question nobody owns.
Appointing an employee is a liability
The first local hire gets asked to 'just sign on' as director. They carry personal statutory liability, you gain a governance problem, and the arrangement rarely survives their resignation.
Law firm nominees bill like law firms
Local firms provide nominee directors inside opaque retainers: hourly rates, annual escalations, and a director with no visibility into whether your filings actually got done.
The director is only the beginning
A resident director satisfies the registry on day one. But the appointment puts a person's name on your compliance record, and that person will resign the moment filings slip.
Where it's required
The countries that won't
incorporate you without one.
Residency requirements differ by country and entity type, and they change. We confirm the current rule for your jurisdiction before we quote.
Australia
At least one resident director for a Pty Ltd; two for public companies.
Brazil
Foreign shareholders and officers must maintain a resident legal representative in Brazil.
Canada
25% resident Canadian directors for federal corporations and in some provinces.
India
At least one director resident in India for 182+ days in the year (Companies Act, s. 149).
Indonesia
PT PMA companies typically appoint a resident director; foreign directors need a KITAS work permit.
Malaysia
At least one director ordinarily residing in Malaysia (Companies Act 2016).
New Zealand
A director living in New Zealand, or living in Australia and directing an Australian company.
Singapore
At least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore (Companies Act, s. 145).
Switzerland
At least one board member or officer with signing authority resident in Switzerland.
Vietnam
At least one legal representative resident in Vietnam at all times.
What you get
What the service includes.
A vetted professional, not a name off a list
Every Commenda director is a qualified professional who understands the statutory duties of the role: screened, referenced, and experienced in the jurisdiction.
Indemnity and scope, in writing
Every appointment comes with a full paper trail: consent to act, indemnity agreement, and a defined scope. The director satisfies the statute; your shareholders keep control.
Compliance the director can stand behind
Directors resign from non-compliant companies. Ours sit on the same platform that tracks your filings, so the appointment and the obligations are managed together.
One fixed annual fee
Priced per country, quoted upfront, flat for the year. No hourly billing, no retainer creep, no year-end surprises.
Swap in your own hire, anytime
Hired a country manager? We prepare the board resolution, file the change with the registry, and step down cleanly. No lock-in, no penalty.
Built into the formation workflow
Local director service is a line item in the same incorporation engagement, not a separate vendor to find, vet, and manage.
How it works
Appointed and on file
in days, not weeks.
Same workflow whether the director joins at incorporation or replaces one on an existing entity.
Step 01
Scope and quote
Tell us the country. We confirm the residency requirement and return a fixed quote, typically within 48 hours.
Step 02
KYC and appointment papers
Consent to act, indemnity agreement, and board resolution prepared and signed. Both sides complete KYC.
Step 03
Filed with the registry
The appointment is filed with ACRA, ASIC, MCA, or your local registry, as part of incorporation or as a board change.
Step 04
On file, on the platform
The director stays on file while filings run through Commenda. Ready to appoint your own? We hand over and step down.
A workaround,
or a system.
The requirement is statutory. The way most companies meet it is improvised. Commenda replaces the workaround with a service that holds up in an audit.
The usual workarounds
A person problem solved with a favor.
- An employee asked to 'just sign on'
- Personal liability nobody priced in
- Law firm nominee at hourly rates
- Director has no view of your filings
- Resigns the moment compliance slips
- Board change paperwork left to you
Commenda local director
A statutory requirement handled as a system.
- Vetted professional director
- Indemnity and defined scope, in writing
- Fixed annual fee, quoted upfront
- Same platform that tracks every filing
- Compliance managed alongside the appointment
- Clean handover when you hire locally
Where it fits
One line item in a
bigger engagement.
Most customers don't buy a director on their own. The service arrives as part of an incorporation, or inside a Fully Managed Entity where Commenda runs formation and every ongoing filing. Either way, the director, the registers, and the compliance calendar live on one platform.
Common questions
Don't let one missing
signature stall a country launch.
Tell us the country. We'll confirm the residency requirement, quote a fixed fee, and have a director ready to appoint, usually within days.
