Registration Of Societies

Governing Law and Regulations Made Thereunder - Societies Act 1966
- Societies Regulations 1984
- Societies (Application for Vesting Order) Regulations 1993

Definition of a Society under the Act
Under section 2 of the Societies Act 1966, a society is defined as inclusive of any club, company, partnership or association of seven (7) or more persons whatever its nature or object, whether temporary or permanent, but does not include :-

any company registered under the provisions of any written law;
any company or association constituted under any written law;
any trade union registered or required to be registered under any written law;
any company, association or partnership formed for the sole purpose of carrying on any lawful business that has as its object, the acquisition of gain;
any cooperative society registered under any written law;
any organisation or association established under any written law relating to the registration of schools, that such organisation or association forms part of the curriculum of a school;
any school, management committee of a school, parents, association or parent-teachers, association registered or exempted from registration under any law.

How to Set Up a Society ?

An inaugural meeting needs to be held on the formation of a society which is attended by not less than 7 persons and their names recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
The formative meeting must pass the following resolutions:
agree on the formation of the society.
approve the name of the society.
approve the place of business(address) to be registered.
appoint Members of the Protem Committee for handling the registration of the society.
approve the constitution and rules of the society to be registered.
record the proceedings of the inaugural meeting (minutes of the meeting) of the society as well as the resolutions as enunciated above.

How To Make An Application ?

All applications must be made under section 7(1) of the Act accompanied with the following particulars:
6 copies of statutory application forms (Form 1)* at a cost of RM 1.00 per copy.
6 copies of a list of Protem Committee Members in a specific format.
6 copies of the constitution and rules of the society.
6 copies of any flag, symbol, emblem, badge or other insignia together with its explanation .
2 copies of the minutes of the meeting containing the above mentioned resolutions.
Letter of consent for making use of the address or the place of business, where applicable( in cases where the society does own the premise).
RM 30.00 worth of postal stamps affixed to the first copy only of the application form (Form 1).
application forms (Form 1) are obtainable from the Headquarters or at any of our State offices upon payment of the prescribed fees.

Where to Submit Application ?

Applications for registration of societies must be submitted at the State Registration of Societies Department in which the proposed society is located.