Europe

Malta: contracts, corporate, trademarks and employment

Malta is an English-speaking EU member state with a Companies Act modelled on English company law and a civil law contract code. Groups use it for EU holding companies, licensed gaming and financial services entities, intellectual property holding and family structures, and gain access to the EU trade mark through EUIPO alongside a national register.

Review a contract here, US$490 File a trademark, US$950 per class

Contracts Corporate Trademarks Employment Products here Questions

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Who signs off and files here
LegalMatrix prepares documents on its AI-assisted workflow and delivers in Malta through a Maltese law firm engaged as its delivery partner. Every document is reviewed and signed off by an advocate holding a Maltese warrant before release. National trade mark filings are made through the partner firm, and EU trade mark filings by a professional representative entitled to act before EUIPO.

Contracts

Topic	Essentials
Governing law	Maltese contract law is set out in the Civil Code (Cap. 16), a civil law code with strong common law influence in commercial practice. As an EU member state, Malta applies the Rome I Regulation on choice of law and the Brussels I (recast) Regulation on jurisdiction, so a choice of Maltese, English or another law is respected subject to EU and Maltese mandatory rules. The Malta Arbitration Centre administers domestic and international arbitration.
Language	Maltese and English are both official languages. Commercial contracts and company filings are routinely in English; statutes are enacted in both languages.
Electronic signature	The EU eIDAS Regulation (EU) 910/2014 applies directly: a qualified electronic signature has the legal effect of a handwritten signature across the EU, and other electronic signatures may not be denied effect solely because they are electronic. The Electronic Commerce Act (Cap. 426) gives electronic contracts and documents legal effect under Maltese law. Documents that must be made by public deed before a notary (transfers of immovable property, certain company and matrimonial instruments) and wills follow their own formalities. Check the authority: https://legislation.mt/

A public deed before a Maltese notary is required for transfers of immovable property and some other acts; private writings suffice for ordinary commercial contracts.
Duty on Documents and Transfers applies to share transfers in Maltese companies (generally 2 per cent of the higher of consideration and real value, with a higher rate where the company holds immovable property and exemptions for certain holding structures); check the Commissioner for Tax and Customs.
Consumer contracts are subject to the Consumer Affairs Act and EU consumer directives as transposed.
Company documents are executed by signature of the directors or company secretary as authorised; a company seal is optional.

Corporate

Topic	Essentials
Director duties	Article 136A of the Companies Act (Cap. 386) requires directors to act honestly and in good faith in the best interests of the company, to promote its well-being, and to exercise the degree of care, diligence and skill that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out those functions. Directors are personally exposed for wrongful and fraudulent trading. There is no residency requirement, but substance expectations make a Malta-resident director usual.
Shareholder rights	Ordinary resolutions pass by a simple majority of voting rights present; extraordinary resolutions require the majorities set in the Act and the memorandum (by default, members holding not less than 75 per cent in nominal value of the shares represented and entitled to vote at the meeting and at least 51 per cent of all shares entitled to vote; the memorandum may vary the percentages within limits; check the authority). Minority shareholders may apply to the court for relief from unfairly prejudicial conduct under article 402.
Share transfers	A private company must restrict the transfer of its shares in its memorandum or articles. Transfers are made by written instrument, approved by the board, assessed for duty on documents, entered in the register of members and notified to the Malta Business Registry on the prescribed form within the statutory period. Beneficial ownership changes are also notified to the Registry.

Every company must have a company secretary; a registered office in Malta is required.
The Malta Business Registry maintains a beneficial ownership register with access for competent authorities and, in prescribed circumstances, the public; check the authority.
Annual returns and audited financial statements are filed with the Registry; small companies have limited audit exemptions (check the authority).
Malta's full imputation tax system and refundable tax credit regime drive much holding-company use; LegalMatrix documents the structure, and tax advice comes from the client's tax adviser.

Trademarks

Approximate time from filing to registration without opposition, compared with two other offices. Compare all ten.

Topic	Essentials
Authority	Industrial Property Registrations Directorate, Commerce Department (national) and EUIPO (EU trade mark)
System	First to file under the Trademarks Act (Cap. 597), which transposes Directive (EU) 2015/2436. An EU trade mark registered at EUIPO covers Malta automatically.
Time to registration	National: approximately 6 to 8 months from filing to registration without deficiencies or opposition. EU trade mark: approximately 4 to 6 months unopposed. Check the authority.
Classes	Nice Classification. The national official fee is EUR 115 per class, each class treated as a separate application; EUIPO fees are EUR 850 for one class, EUR 50 for the second and EUR 150 for each further class (online). Check the authority.
Opposition	National: 90 days from publication. EU trade mark: 3 months from publication of the application.
Term	10 years from the filing date, renewable for further 10-year periods (both national and EU).

Malta is not a party to the Madrid Protocol; international extension is achieved through the EU trade mark, which can itself be a base or designation under Madrid.
Applicants without an establishment in the EEA must appoint a representative before EUIPO; the national office expects a local address for service.
Genuine use in Malta (national) or in the EU (EUTM) is required to avoid revocation after five years.
Applications may be filed in English or Maltese at the national office; EUIPO accepts any EU language with a second language from its five working languages.