Legal forms of business in Indonesia
The nine forms Indonesian companies are registered under: what separates them, how each one is set up, and what it obliges you to do every year. The first choice is not the name but whether the business becomes a legal entity of its own.
Legal entities
The business becomes a legal person: its property, debts and licences are not its owner’s.
PT 261,146 companies in our corpus
Perseroan Terbatas (limited liability company)
A legal entity whose capital is divided into shares. A shareholder risks only what they paid for their shares, and that is the main reason this form is chosen.
PT Perorangan 5,626 companies in our corpus
One-person company for micro and small businesses
A PT founded by one person, with no notary, through an electronic filing. The youngest form on this list: it has only existed since the Job Creation Law.
Koperasi 4,707 companies in our corpus
Cooperative
A legal entity owned by its own members, which shares its surplus according to how much each member used it — not according to how much they put in.
Yayasan 30,178 companies in our corpus
Foundation
A legal entity made of assets set aside for a social, religious or humanitarian purpose. It has no members and no owners.
Dana Pensiun 154 companies in our corpus
Pension fund
A legal entity that runs a pension programme. Its assets are legally separate from its founder’s and may only be used for pension benefits.
Not legal entities
No separation: the business’s debt is ultimately the debt of the people behind it.
CV 19,275 companies in our corpus
Commanditaire Vennootschap / limited partnership
A partnership with two kinds of partner: one who runs the business and is fully liable, and one who only puts in money. Not a legal entity.
Firma 726 companies in our corpus
General partnership (Fa)
A partnership carried on jointly under one name, in which every partner is liable for the whole of the partnership’s debt, jointly and severally.
UD
Usaha Dagang / sole proprietorship
One person trading under a name. The cheapest and fastest form, and the only one that does not separate the business from its owner at all.
Persekutuan Perdata 220 companies in our corpus
Civil partnership (maatschap)
Two or more people contribute something to a partnership in order to share the profit. This is the form licensed professional practices use.
Micro, small, medium, large: the rupiah thresholds and what changes in each class.
Need help with the bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping and tax filing are obligations that run every year, not a task you finish when the business is registered.
Bookkeepers, accountants and tax consultants across Indonesia
A summary of the rules in force, not legal advice. Rules and thresholds change — check with the relevant authority before you register.