Human Resource

The Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade’s Unregulated Services list defines 71 business activities across 10 sub-sectors that require an Unregulated Services Sector (USS) license for companies with 50% or more foreign ownership.

To make it easier to navigate, our list strips it down to just the activities / codes and groups them under more conventional categories.

Once you find relevant activities, you can quickly ctrl+f to the right part of KPDN’s official guide or reach out to us for help. We’ve also included an overview of USS licenses at the end to help readers understand implications it has on setting up a foreign-owned service business in Malaysia.

Let’s begin.

Transportation & logistics

• S1: Passenger transportation by man- or animal-drawn vehicles

• S2: Freight transportation by man- or animal-drawn vehicles

• S3: Transportation of other freight

• S4: Transportation of petroleum and natural gas

• S5: Parking services

Real estate & property

• S6: Renting or leasing services involving own or leased residential property

• S7: Renting or leasing services involving own or leased non-residential property

• S8: Residential buildings and land sales

• S9: Residential vacant land sales

• S10: Non-residential buildings and land sales

• S11: Non-residential vacant land sales

Equipment & goods rental / leasing

• S12: Leasing or rental services concerning machinery and equipment without operator

• S13: Leasing or rental services concerning goods transport vehicles without operator

• S14: Leasing or rental services concerning office machinery and equipment (incl. computers) without operator

• S15: Leasing or rental services concerning other machinery and equipment without operator

• S16: Leasing or rental services concerning televisions, radios, video cassette recorders and related equipment and accessories

• S17: Leasing or rental services concerning video tape

• S18: Leasing or rental services concerning furniture and other household appliances

• S19: Leasing or rental services concerning pleasure and leisure equipment

• S20: Leasing or rental services concerning other personal or household goods

Research & development (R&D)

• S21: R&D on cultural sciences, sociology and psychology

• S22: R&D on economics

• S23: R&D on law

• S24: R&D on linguistics and languages

• S25: R&D on other social sciences and humanities

Consulting, marketing & business services

• S26: Market research services

• S27: Public opinion polling services

• S28: General management consulting services

• S29: Marketing management consulting services

• S30: Human resources management consulting services

• S31: Production management consulting services

• S32: Public relations services

• S33: Project management services (non-construction)

• S34: Other management services n.e.c

Cleaning & maintenance services

• S35: Disinfecting and exterminating services

• S36: Window cleaning services

• S37: Janitorial services

• S38: Other building cleaning services

Photography & imaging services

• S39: Portrait photography services

• S40: Advertising and related photography services

• S41: Action photography services

• S42: Specialty photography services

• S43: Photography processing services

• S44: Restoration, copying and retouching services

• S45: Other photographic services

Administrative & support services

• S46: Packaging services

• S47: Collection agency services

• S48: Telephone answering services

• S49: Duplicating services

• S50: Translation and interpretation services

• S51: Specialty design services

• S52: Publishing and printing (contract basis)

Repair & technical services

• S53: Repair of fabricated metal products

• S54: Repair of machinery and equipment

• S55: Repair of office, accounting and computing machinery

• S56: Repair of electrical machinery and apparatus

• S57: Repair of radio, TV and communication equipment

• S58: Repair of medical, precision and optical instruments

• S59: Repair of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers

• S60: Repair of other transport equipment

Organisations & advocacy

• S61: Services by business and employers organisations

• S62: Special group advocacy services

Laundry & textile care services

• S63: Laundry collection services

• S64: Textile and fur product cleaning services

• S65: Dry cleaning services

• S66: Pressing services

• S67: Dyeing and colouring services

Personal care & beauty services

• S68: Hairdressing and barbers’ services

• S69: Cosmetic treatment, manicuring and pedicuring

• S70: Other beauty treatment services

Funeral & end-of-life services

• S71: Funeral, cremation and undertaking services

Implications of needing a USS license

A USS license requires entities such as branch offices and foreign-owned subsidiaries (50% or more shareholding) to have a minimum of RM1 million in paid-up capital per branch.

If this seems exclusionary, it is! KPDN uses them to protect smaller local businesses by regulating foreign participation. 

A USS license is a supporting document for many other key applications including business premise licenses and Employment Passes, making it not just a requirement unto itself but for the entire business setup and operation process.

Let MISHU handle your USS license application

If you are a foreign business planning to set up a service-based venture in Malaysia, consider our professional USS license application services for a one-stop solution for company incorporation, visa applications, and full licensing support.