Starting a business in Ghana
The ORC registers it, the Ghana Card is the TIN, and the choice between business name and company decides most of what follows.
Checked against the sources on 2026-08-30
Before anything else
Ghanaian registration runs through the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC, the successor to the old RGD), online via its portal or in person. The identity layer simplified recently: for individuals the Ghana Card PIN now serves as the TIN, so the separate tax-number hunt has largely disappeared.
The first fork mirrors Nigeria’s: a business name (sole proprietorship) is fast and personal; a limited company is a separate person with the compliance calendar that implies. Companies also carry a stated capital requirement that rises steeply for foreign participation - wholly Ghanaian companies face only nominal figures.
The legal shell
Business name or limited company?
Business name
Solo trade under a name.
Roughly GHS 160-250 in official fees, renewable annually.
No liability shield, and the annual renewal is easy to forget.
Company limited by shares
Growth, contracts, or any foreign shareholding.
Incorporation fees plus 1% stamp duty on stated capital; agents commonly GHS 1,500-3,000 all-in for locals.
Foreign participation triggers GIPC minimum-capital rules (from US$200,000 for joint ventures upward) - the number that decides structure for foreign founders.
The sequence
Search and reserve the name
Where: The ORC portal (egovonline / orc.gov.gh)
A name search first; reservations hold while the filing completes.
Register with the ORC
Takes: Days to a couple of weeks
Business names file a simple form; companies file the constitution details, directors (with Ghana Card), secretary and auditor particulars. The certificate carries the registration number the bank will ask for.
Confirm the GRA side
Where: The Ghana Revenue Authority
The Ghana Card PIN is the TIN for individuals; companies get their TIN through registration. VAT registration is compulsory past GHS 200,000 of taxable turnover over twelve months; below it, presumptive and simplified schemes exist for small operators.
SSNIT and the operating layer
Employer registration with SSNIT arrives with the first hire. A district assembly business operating permit is the municipal layer most guides forget - the fee is local, the requirement is general.
What it costs to start
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Business namePlus annual renewal. | ~GHS 160-250 |
| Company incorporation | GHS fees + 1% stamp duty on capital |
| District assembly permit | Local, by category |
| GIPC minimum capitalForeign participation only. | From US$200,000 |
The words on the forms
- ORC
- The Office of the Registrar of Companies.
- Ghana Card / TIN
- The national ID whose PIN now serves as the individual tax number.
- GRA
- The Ghana Revenue Authority.
- GIPC
- The investment centre whose capital floors bind foreign founders.
- SSNIT
- The pension scheme employers register with.
- Stated capital
- The declared company capital that stamp duty prices.
The traps
- Letting the business-name renewal lapse.
- Foreign shareholding entered casually and the GIPC floor discovered at the bank.
- Skipping the district assembly permit.
- Assuming an old RGD-era guide describes the current ORC portal.
Where to check this yourself
This is a map, not legal or tax advice - and an honest one about how it was drawn: the Germany guide was written by a person who walked the route; most other countries were drafted with AI against the official sources and have not yet been walked by someone who did it. Laws change. Every guide carries the date it was last checked and the sources to check it yourself - and if you have been through one of these routes, your corrections are exactly what this handbook wants.