Starting a business in Jersey: the steps, and where your website fits

Starting a business in Jersey means a few registrations before the fun part. None of them is hard, but the order matters and some catch people out. This is the sequence we would follow, with the 2026 fees, checked against gov.je, the JFSC and the JOIC in September 2026.

We are a UK web studio, not business advisers. The Business Hub (opens in a new tab) and Jersey Business (opens in a new tab) give free, definite answers for your situation.

1. Get a business licence

Under the Control of Housing and Work Law you need a licence to run a business in Jersey, whether or not it makes a profit. That includes most sole traders. The main exception, on the Business Hub (opens in a new tab), is a sole trader with no employees, or a company with one member, working under eight hours a week and holding Permanent Entitled, Entitled, Entitled for Work Only, Licensed or Licensed for Lease Only status. A business where nobody is paid at all doesn’t need one either. Trading without a licence you need is a criminal offence.

A licence for a resident business costs nothing. You apply online through one.gov.je, and the Business Hub aims to decide resident applications within five working days. If you will employ people, the licence also sets which staff you can take on. Permanent Entitled, Entitled and Entitled for Work Only (opens in a new tab) staff need no permission, while Standard, Licensed and Licensed for Lease Only staff do (Standard replaced Registered status on 14 September 2026). In 2026 each permission carries an annual charge of £55.14 for a Standard worker and £247.02 for a Licensed one.

2. Register a business name, or form a company

If you trade under a name that is not your own, register it as a business name. You apply for it alongside the business licence, and the JFSC’s 2026 fees are £77 to register and £62 to renew every three years. The Business Names Law also expects the owners’ real names on your business communications.

If you are forming a limited company instead, incorporation costs from £205 (five business days) to £856 (two hours), and an ordinary company pays £220 a year for its annual confirmation. The company name has to appear on your letters, invoices and order forms, and the registered office address on your letters and order forms.

3. Social Security, tax and GST

• Social Security: business owners pay Class 2 contributions (opens in a new tab) monthly. In 2026 the standard rate is £757.75 a month, and the Startup Plan brings it down to £252.58 a month for up to two years. Ask about the Startup Plan when you register.
• Income tax: tell Revenue Jersey when you start trading. Sole traders complete the self-employment section of their personal tax return.
• GST: 5%, but you only have to register (opens in a new tab) once taxable sales reach £300,000 a year. Most new businesses are well under that.

4. Register with the JOIC

If you hold any customer details at all, and almost every business does, you must register with the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner (opens in a new tab). It costs £70 a year for organisations with fewer than ten staff. A consultation earlier in 2026 proposed lower fees for small businesses, but no outcome had been published when we checked, so budget for £70.

5. Then the online side, in this order

• Your domain name, in your own name. Register it to the business, not to whoever builds your site. A .je costs £49 a year direct from the registry; our .je or .co.uk guide helps you choose.
• Email on that domain. hello@yourbusiness.je reads as established in a way a free webmail address does not.
• A Google Business Profile. This is often how people find a new business first, even without premises. See getting found without a shopfront.
• A simple website. What you do, where, what it costs roughly, and one obvious way to get in touch. It does not need to be big. Our checklist of what to prepare covers the details.
• The legal pages. A privacy notice, cookie consent if you use analytics, and your business details. Jersey law names letters and invoices rather than websites, so treat your site the same way and show your business or company name. Our guide to what a website must show has the rest.

Free help, and money

Jersey Business offers free, confidential one-to-one meetings with business advisers, a start-up checklist and a business plan template. It is worth one conversation before you register anything.

Grants are more limited than people hope. The main scheme is closed for 2026 and sole traders are not eligible for it. Our guide to grants for a business website in Jersey explains what exists and what does not.

Do sole traders need a business licence in Jersey?

Usually, yes. Most sole traders need one (many people call it a trading licence; the official name in Jersey is a business licence). The exception is a sole trader with no employees working under eight hours a week who holds Permanent Entitled, Entitled, Entitled for Work Only, Licensed or Licensed for Lease Only status. If that is not you, apply for a licence before you start trading: it is free for a resident business, and trading without one you need is a criminal offence.

How do I register a business in Jersey?

Apply for your business licence online through one.gov.je. If you trade under a name that is not your own, register the business name with the JFSC at the same time (£77, then £62 every three years), or incorporate a company instead (from £205). Then set up Class 2 Social Security, tell Revenue Jersey you have started trading, and register with the JOIC if you hold customer details.

How long does a business licence take?

The Business Hub aims to decide applications from resident businesses within five working days. Allow longer if you plan to employ staff who need permission, because the licence also sets who you can take on.

The short checklist

• Business licence through one.gov.je (free for resident businesses).
• Business name registered, or company incorporated, with the JFSC.
• Class 2 Social Security set up, and the Startup Plan considered.
• Revenue Jersey told you have started trading.
• GST checked (likely nothing to do under £300,000).
• JOIC registration (£70 a year under ten staff).
• Domain in your name, business email, Google Business Profile, then the website.