A "Shelf Company" is a company that has already been formed and that has been put on a "shelf" until someone agrees to purchase it. The reasons we do that is because a lot of times our clients require a company immediately and are not able to wait for a week until all documents are prepared, approved and the company is incorporated.

Additionally, some of our clients prefer to buy a company that has been incorporated a while ago, as it gives a track record and sometimes more credibility to the company.

"Shelf companies" are more expensive as they are older and in most cases the annual maintenance fees from the time of incorporation might need to be paid.