You can register a Marshall Islands DAO LLC online from our Get Started page. Once the service agreement is signed and paid, onboarding starts in MIDAO's portal and follows the steps below.
Most projects receive their charter about 30 days after their documents are submitted. Counting the time it takes to finish the operating agreement and KYC, the whole process usually runs four to eight weeks.
If you are still comparing entity types and jurisdictions, start with our step-by-step guide to forming a DAO LLC. This page covers what happens once you have chosen MIDAO.
What Happens After You Sign Up
The members who must be identified complete KYC (or KYB for a company member): anyone with 25% or more of the governance rights, or the managers if no one reaches that, or at least one member if neither applies. We provide templates for the Operating Agreement, the Certificate of Formation and the Foreign Investment Business License (FIBL) application, we submit the signed documents, and about 30 days later you receive your charter. Our docs walk through each step of the registration process, including the onboarding portal and the KYC and KYB requirements.
Where the Time Goes
A registration has two phases, and they move at different speeds.
- Preparation, one to four weeks. Your team finalizes the operating agreement, signs the formation documents and completes KYC. This phase is mostly in your hands: a single founder using our templates can finish in days, while a team negotiating custom governance terms can take a month.
- Government processing, about three to four weeks. Once MIDAO submits the complete filing, the Marshall Islands government reviews it and issues the charter.
Government processing used to take about 60 days. The DAO Act, as amended in 2023, requires the government to approve and register a DAO LLC within 30 days of the initial application, and the 2024 DAO Regulations let filings move between offices electronically.
Several Government Offices Review Each Filing
A DAO LLC filing is not a single stamp. The Registrar of Corporations, in the Office of the Attorney General, certifies the formation. The Secretary of Finance signs off on the Foreign Investment Business License, which a DAO LLC needs because its members are usually not Marshall Islands citizens. The government also runs background checks on the people who completed KYC, covering the fraud, money-laundering and other disqualifying history the 2024 DAO Regulations list.
Each handoff adds time, which is why a complete, consistent filing matters more than any other factor. A filing that goes back for corrections restarts part of the queue.
Four Ways to Get Your Charter Sooner
- Start with one founding member. Coordinating several people through KYC is the most common source of delay. You can register with a single member and add the rest once the entity exists.
- Use our templates as written. The operating agreement templates cover most structures. Heavy customization adds review rounds; you can amend the agreement after formation.
- Run KYC and the formation documents in parallel. The FIBL application and Certificate of Formation can be signed while KYC is still underway.
- Tell us your deadline. There is no formal guarantee on government timing, but when a launch date or counterparty deadline is at stake, we raise it with the government and follow the filing closely.
Express Formation in 24 Hours
If you need an entity immediately, TurboDAO, MIDAO's express partner, offers 24-hour incorporation for $10,000 on top of the standard MIDAO package. It includes extended operating agreement customization and a year of virtual office and telephone service. Launchpads and ecosystems that register many projects can also arrange pre-paid shelf entities that are ready to deploy when a project needs one.
What to Hold Until the Charter Arrives
Until the charter is issued, the DAO LLC does not exist yet, so it cannot be the party that signs contracts, holds a treasury or issues a token.
- Keep going: product development, drafting your operating agreement, organizing your team and preparing your token design.
- Wait for the charter: signing major contracts in the DAO LLC's name, moving treasury funds into it and launching your token.
If your launch date is fixed, count back at least eight weeks from it, or use express formation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to register a Marshall Islands DAO LLC?
About 30 days from submission of complete documents to charter. Including preparation of the operating agreement and KYC, most projects finish in four to eight weeks.
Is the registration timeline guaranteed?
No. Government processing times vary, and there is no formal guarantee. MIDAO follows each filing and escalates when a registration runs past the normal timeline.
Can we register with one member and add others later?
Yes. Registering with a single founding member is the fastest route, and members can be added after the DAO LLC is formed.
Can a DAO operate without registering?
It can operate, but not as a legal entity, and courts may then treat it as a partnership or association of its members. Recent cases show how that plays out; what the courts have decided in the Ooki DAO and Lido DAO cases covers them. Without an entity there is also no separate registered legal person to sign contracts, open a bank account or hold assets in the DAO's name. See why an unincorporated DAO is legally exposed.
Can I register a DAO as a non-profit?
Yes. A Marshall Islands DAO LLC can be formed as non-profit or for-profit. A non-profit DAO LLC pays no RMI entity-level income tax (members may still owe tax where they live) and has no economic owners, only members with governance rights; it must spend its funds on its stated purpose, such as developing open-source software, and can still pay members and contributors reasonable compensation. A for-profit DAO LLC can distribute profits and pays a 3% gross revenue tax. See non-profit vs. for-profit.
What does registration cost?
The setup fee is $9,500 standard, and as low as $3,000 for projects with under $250,000 in treasury and funding, all-inclusive. See pricing for annual fees and what is included.