SSM registration expired: late renewal, compound and penalty

When should I renew?

SSM's renewal page says you can apply any time before the expiry date and up to 12 months after it. The Registration of Businesses Act 1956 itself (s.5A(1)) asks for the application within 30 days before expiry, so renewing in the month before is the safe habit.

You can renew for 1 to 5 years at a time. The yearly fee is RM60 for a trade name, RM30 if the business uses your own name, and RM5 for each branch.

What happens if my SSM has expired?

Carrying on a business after its registration has expired is an offence under s.12(1)(b) of the Act: a fine of up to RM50,000, up to 2 years' jail, or both.

In practice SSM still lets you renew within 12 months of expiry, and offers a compound (a payment that settles the offence) for the late renewal.

How much is the SSM compound?

SSM does not publish a fixed compound table. The law (s.14) lets the Registrar compound the offence for up to half of the maximum fine. SSM's EzBiz renewal guide shows a "Compound Amount" for late renewals, so you see the figure when you renew. Amounts quoted on agents' websites are not from SSM, so we don't repeat them here.

My SSM expired more than a year ago (or 2 years ago)

SSM's renewal page is clear: a business that expired more than one year ago cannot be renewed. Ask SSM what to do next, and remember that trading in the meantime is the offence described above.

Where to renew

Online at ezbiz.ssm.com.my, at an SSM counter or EzBiz kiosk, or at Bank Simpanan Nasional and Bank Rakyat branches.

The Act applies in Peninsular Malaysia (and Labuan). Businesses in Sabah and Sarawak are not registered under it.