The existence of a Liberian corporation begins on the date of filing its Articles of Incorporation with the Registrar of Corporations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia. The Articles of Incorporation is a publicly filed document and includes the following information:
• Name of the corporation
• Purpose for which the corporation is organized
• Share structure of the authorized capital of the corporation
• Number of initial directors
• Name and address of the incorporator
On the other hand, the Bylaws of a Liberian corporation is an internal corporate document. It contains rules and regulations which are to be consistent with the Liberian Law and is enacted by a corporation to provide a framework for its operation(s), rights and/or powers of its shareholders, directors, officers, and any other provisions related to the business of the corporation. Bylaws shall be adopted by the corporation at the time of incorporation or at a later time and maintained internally. There is no requirement to file the Bylaws with the Liberian Registry.
Please note that in many other jurisdictions, a publicly filed document upon which the existence of the company is based, includes the content of the Liberian Articles of Incorporation and bylaws combined and is known as Memorandum & Articles of Incorporation or Corporate Chapter, or otherwise.