List of legal entity types by country

A business entity is an entity that is formed and administered as per corporate law[Note 1] in order to engage in business activities, charitable work, or other activities allowable. Most often, business entities are formed to sell a product or a service. There are many types of business entities defined in the legal systems of various countries. These include corporations, cooperatives, partnerships, sole traders, limited liability companies and other specifically permitted and labelled types of entities. The specific rules vary by country and by state or province. Some of these types are listed below, by country.

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Corporate law
By jurisdiction Anguilla Australia BVI Canada Cayman Islands India South Africa UK United States Vietnam European Union France Germany
General corporate forms Company Conglomerate Cooperative Corporation Holding company Joint-stock Partnership General Limited Limited liability Private limited Shell corporation Sole proprietorship
Corporate forms by jurisdiction European Union Societas (SE) Societas cooperativa (SCE) Societas privata (SPE) Societas unius personae (SUP) Economic interest grouping (EEIG) UK / Ireland / Commonwealth Charitable incorporated organisation (England and Wales) (CIO) Scottish charitable incorporated organisation (SCIO) Community interest company (CIC) Industrial and provident society (IPS) Limited company (Ltd.) by guarantee by shares proprietary public Unlimited company United States Benefit corporation C corporation Limited liability company (LLC) Low-profit LLC Series LLC Limited liability limited partnership (LLLP) S corporation Delaware corporation / statutory trust Massachusetts business trust Nevada corporation Others Aktiebolag (AB) Aktiengesellschaft (AG) Ansvarlig selskap (ANS) Aktieselskab (A/S) Aksjeselskap (AS) Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH) Kabushiki gaisha (K.K.) Naamloze vennootschap (N.V.) Osakeyhtiö (Oy) S.A. Société à responsabilité limitée (SARL) more...
Doctrines Business judgment rule Corporate governance De facto and estoppel corporations Internal affairs doctrine Limited liability Tag-along right Drag-along right Piercing the corporate veil Rochdale Principles Ultra vires
Related areas Civil procedure Contract Corporate registers
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For guidance, approximate equivalents in the company law of English-speaking countries are given in most cases, for example:

• private company limited by shares or Ltd. (United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Commonwealth)
• public limited company (United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Commonwealth)
• limited partnership
• general partnership
• chartered company
• statutory corporation
• state-owned enterprise
• holding company
• subsidiary company
• sole proprietorship
• charitable incorporated organisation (UK)
• reciprocal inter-insurance exchange

However, the regulations governing particular types of entities, even those described as roughly equivalent, differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. When creating or restructuring a business, the legal responsibilities will depend on the type of business entity chosen.[1]