What does it cost to register a company in Togo? (2026)

Published 24 May 2026 · Volta Corporate, Lomé · 7-minute read

The honest answer has two numbers. The cost the Togolese state actually charges to register a company is small, under a few hundred dollars. The cost of ending up with a company that banks, files correctly and stays in good standing is higher, and most of it is professional fees rather than government charges. This guide separates the two so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

We are a registered agent in Lomé; the figures below are what we pay and see across real formations, in CFA francs (XOF) with dollar and euro equivalents at the fixed euro peg of 655.957 XOF to the euro.

The full cost breakdown

The do-it-yourself floor

If you are physically in Lomé, speak French, and have time to spend at counters, the unavoidable state-plus-notary cost of a standard SARL is under $350. The Centre de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE) is a genuine one-stop shop that produces the commercial-registry entry (RCCM), tax identification (NIF) and social-security registration (CNSS) from a single dossier, and it does so in about 48 hours. Nobody is hiding a secret process behind a high price.

So when an agent quotes more, the sensible question is not "why so much?" but "what does the difference buy?" The honest list:

• Correct statuts. The company's constitution sets the capital, the manager's powers and the share-transfer rules. Template statuts that are wrong for your situation cost far more to fix later than to draft properly once.
• Error-free filing. A rejected dossier means another trip and lost weeks. Getting the file right the first time is most of the value on a remote formation.
• The registered office. A real, reachable address that stays valid on the RCCM, with mail received and forwarded.
• The bank relationship. The single hardest step, and the one where a local agent who walks your dossier into the branch is worth the premium. See our full formation guide on why the bank, not the registry, is the real bottleneck.
• The compliance calendar. The annual maintenance that keeps the company alive, covered next.

The cost most people forget: annual compliance

Registration is a one-time event. A Togolese company then owes something every year, whether or not it traded:

• an annual tax return (déclaration de résultat), even in a dormant or loss-making year;
• a CNSS declaration, even with no employees;
• a maintained registered office — the address on the RCCM must remain real and reachable.

Miss these and penalties accumulate quietly, then surface at the worst moment: when you need a certificate of good standing for a bank, a partner or a tender. Budget the first two years, not just day one. A company that costs $350 to register and then lapses is more expensive than one properly maintained, because reinstating a delinquent company costs more than never letting it fall behind.

Variable and hidden costs to plan for

• Minimum capital. For a SARL this is set by the statuts and is commonly modest (often 1,000,000 XOF or less). It is your money, deposited into the company, not a fee, but you need it available at formation.
• Certified documents and courier. Physical certified copies and international courier of your RCCM extract and NIF certificate.
• Translation and apostille. If you will use the company's documents abroad (to open a foreign account, sign with a foreign counterparty), budget for certified translation and apostille.
• Bank minimum deposit. Some banks require an opening balance to activate the corporate account.
• SAS premium. The SAS offers governance flexibility but its statuts do more work, so drafting costs more than a standard SARL. Worth it when you have investors or share classes, not otherwise.

How the market prices it

Three tiers exist, and the gap between them is large. At the bottom, the CFE itself is cheap and some local desks add only a thin margin. At the top, global formation mills quote Togo at several thousand dollars, and local specialist firms of the Kafui type sit around €1,000–1,500 all-in. The mid-market, a fixed, published fee that includes the things that actually matter (correct filing, a real registered office, the bank account, the first year of compliance), is thinly served.

That is deliberately where we price. Volta Corporate's published fees are $790 for Essentials (formation plus first-year registered office), $1,490 for Complete (adding the corporate bank account opened in person and first-year compliance), and $449 per year for renewal thereafter. The number is on the page, in dollars, and it does not move after the first call.

General information as at July 2026, not legal or tax advice. Figures are indicative, vary by case, and are corrected on this page when they change. Government and notary charges are set by third parties and are subject to change.