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Bahamas trust and fiduciary business regulation

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas pages identify which trust-related roles fall within its corporate service provider oversight. They also show the service categories and details published in the licensee register, along with the application steps.

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas administers the Financial and Corporate Service Providers Act, 2020 and regulates corporate service providers. Covered activities include acting as trustee of an authorized purpose trust and as registered representative of a private trust company.

Other corporate service provider activities include forming, registering or managing an international business company and providing registered agent or registered office services. The categories concern services performed by way of business. The rules attach to roles and activities, so not every person involved in a trust is a regulated provider. Banks and trust companies are licensed and supervised separately by the Central Bank of The Bahamas under the Banks and Trust Companies Regulation Act, 2020.[1]

The Commission also administers the securities and investment funds laws and oversees digital asset activity. Its rules on trust roles sit in its corporate service provider framework.[1]

Published licensing and registration categories

The published provider list labels each entry by classification, license type and registered financial or corporate services. Its visible classifications include companies and individuals, while license types include Corporate and Financial & Corporate. The services column specifies the activities registered for each provider.[2]

Trust-related service entries include acting as a registered representative for a private trust company and acting as registered trustee for a purpose trust. The list also names corporate services for international business companies, executive entities, foundations and segregated accounts companies. These categories describe the services shown in the register, not a single general trust license.[2]

  • Private trust company services include acting as a registered representative.[2]
  • Purpose trust services include acting as a registered trustee.[2]
  • Other listed categories include services for international business companies and exempted limited partnerships.[2]
  • The register distinguishes corporate service provision from entries that also identify financial services.[2]

How the public register works

The Commission publishes lists of its licensees and registrants. The published financial and corporate service provider list presents rows with the provider name, classification, license date, license type, registered services and registered personnel details. It also has contact and registered office fields.[1][2]

The Commission's online search feature is under development, so the published lists are the main way to look up a provider. The register presents provider records and their declared service categories in a list.[1]

Questions and answers

Does the published list show one general trust license?

The list describes registered services by activity, including private trust company representative services and purpose trust trustee services. It displays license type separately from the service descriptions.[2]

Can the Commission page be used as a live search tool?

Not yet. The Commission's search feature is under development, and lookups currently rely on its published lists of licensees and registrants.[1]

Related glossary terms

  • Trust register: A trust register is an official record of trusts, their parties or trustees, such as the UK Trust Registration Service and EU beneficial-ownership registers.
  • Corporate trustee: A corporate trustee is a company that acts as trustee of a trust, rather than an individual acting in that role.

Related articles and guides

Tools and official documents

  • Foreign trust reporting role finder: Tick the roles that describe a connection to a foreign trust or foreign account to see the forms the IRS and FinCEN instructions discuss. Roles can overlap.
Sources and data notes
  1. Securities Commission of The Bahamas, Supervision. https://scb.gov.bs/supervision/. Retrieved .
  2. Securities Commission of The Bahamas, FCSPs as at 30 September 2026. https://scb.gov.bs/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FCSPs-as-at-30-September-2026.pdf. Retrieved .

Dates in this block record when each source was read for this page.