Registration fees are only part of the picture. Here is a full first-year budget covering incorporation, ZIMRA, NSSA, banking, compliance and the costs founders routinely forget.
Incorporation itself
With Amashad, a Private Business Corporation is $120 and a private limited company is $150. That covers the name search, preparation and lodgement of incorporation documents, and delivery of your certificate.
Quotes that look dramatically cheaper usually exclude the name search, exclude document preparation, or leave you to chase the Registrar yourself.
The statutory registrations that follow
A registered company that cannot invoice or hire is not much use. Budget for ZIMRA tax registration at $60 and NSSA employer registration if you will have staff, both of which are prerequisites for compliant trading.
If you intend to bid for public contracts, PRAZ registration at $120 is effectively mandatory, and a ZIMRA tax clearance at $50 is what buyers ask for before paying you.
- Company registration: $120 (PBC) or $150 (Pvt Ltd)
- ZIMRA tax registration and BP number: $60
- ZIMRA tax clearance certificate: $50
- PRAZ supplier registration: $120
- Professional company profile: $50
Operating costs founders underestimate
Bank charges, accounting software or a bookkeeper, licence fees for your sector, local authority shop licences, and the cost of your first tax clearance all arrive within the first quarter.
So does the annual return. It is inexpensive if filed on time and expensive if ignored, because penalties accumulate and a company in default struggles to obtain clearances.
A sensible first-year budget
For a small trading company hiring two staff and bidding for contracts, a realistic first-year compliance budget is a few hundred US dollars in service and statutory fees, plus bookkeeping.
Treat compliance as a fixed cost of doing business, the same way you treat rent. Businesses that budget for it never lose a contract over a missing clearance.
Frequently asked questions
Are there hidden government fees?
Statutory fees are disclosed before you pay. Amashad shows the service fee and any identified statutory or third-party fees up front.
Is registration cheaper if I do it myself?
Marginally, if everything is correct first time. Most self-filers lose more in delays and rejected documents than they save.
Do I pay again every year?
Registration is once-off. Annual returns, tax clearance renewals and licence renewals are recurring.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Zimbabwe's principal company law is the Companies and Other Business Entities Act [Chapter 24:31], available at ZimLII.
Next guideDocuments You Need to Register a Company in Zimbabwe (Checklist)