Legal form

The legal form decides who is liable for a company's obligations, what it has to file, and what the register publishes about it. In Malta the most common is the private limited liability company (kumpanija privata b'responsabbiltà limitata, Ltd), where the owners' liability is limited to what they put in.

The forms the register records, most common first: Ltd — kumpanija privata b'responsabbiltà limitata, private limited liability company. The most common form. Registration numbers begin with C.; plc — kumpanija pubblika b'responsabbiltà limitata, public limited liability company; en nom collectif — soċjetà en nom collectif, general partnership. Registration numbers begin with P.; en commandite — soċjetà en commandite, limited partnership. The share-capital variety is a distinct form from the ordinary one, though both are written en commandite.; Overseas company — kumpanija barranija, branch of a company incorporated elsewhere. Registration numbers begin with OC.; SE — Societas Europaea, European company.