Don't be a nominal shareholder or hold shares for someone else
Grade ABig benefitMoneyFreeLittle timeNo willpower
If your name is on the register, you're a shareholder in law. Pay subscribed capital on time; miss the deadline and you owe make-up plus company losses. If another founder didn't really pay in at formation, you share liability for the gap. Someone else runs the business; the debt sits on your name.
- Cost
- No money. When someone asks to «borrow your ID for a shareholder slot» or «hold shares in your name for now», refuse.
- Benefit
- A registered shareholder is a legal shareholder. Pay subscribed capital in full by the deadline in the articles; otherwise pay the shortfall and compensate company losses. If a founder didn't contribute at formation, other founders at formation share joint liability for that gap. When the company can't pay due debts, creditors may demand early payment of capital not yet due. The operator isn't on the register; the obligation is still yours (nationwide, from July 2024).
- Notes
- A nominee agreement between the nominal holder and the actual investor is valid unless a statutory invalidity applies. The actual investor can't get their name on the register without consent from over half of the other shareholders. If the nominal holder sells or pledges shares, courts apply Civil Code good-faith acquisition rules: a buyer who didn't know, paid a fair price, and registered may keep the shares; the investor can only sue the nominal holder. A draft new interpretation was released in September 2025; when finalized and in force it replaces the current text. As of September 2026, the 2020 amended version remains in force—this item follows it. Risks of being a nominal legal representative: section 8, item 28.
Sources · 2
- 全国人大常委会 (2023). 公司法（2023 年修订，第四十七、四十九、五十、五十四条）. gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202312/content_6923395.htm
- 最高人民法院 (2020 修正). 关于适用《中华人民共和国公司法》若干问题的规定（三）（法释〔2011〕3 号，2014 年法释〔2014〕2 号、2020 年法释〔2020〕18 号两次修正，第二十四、二十五条）：「如无法律规定的无效情形，人民法院应当认定该合同有效」「实际出资人未经公司其他股东半数以上同意，请求公司变更股东……人民法院不予支持」「名义股东处分股权造成实际出资人损失，实际出资人请求名义股东承担赔偿责任的，人民法院应予支持」. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff808181799def980179…（国家法律法规数据库）；最高人民法院 (2025). 关于适用《中华人民共和国公司法》若干问题的解释（征求意见稿）第九十条. court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/477881.html