Build an incorporation flow - Commenda — Entity Management, Indirect Tax, Compliance & Corporate APIs for Multinationals

This guide shows the recommended implementation sequence for a customer incorporation flow. Use Core concepts for the object model and the endpoint reference pages for exact request and response schemas.

Minimum happy path

Create or find the customer record and save customerId.
Read the jurisdiction catalog, choose country plus countryOptions, and fetch the requirements schema.
Create the incorporation and save incorporation.id.
Create or reuse required Commenda OS records, such as people, business entities, locations, and documents.
Register participants and upsert required participant documents.
Submit incorporation-level intake fields, then read validation until incorporationValidation.isComplete is true.
Submit for review, then track status and active issues.

Detailed implementation sequence

Phase	Developer question	What to do
Setup	What record owns the work?	Create a customer and save `customerId`.
Jurisdiction catalog	What can I incorporate?	Read the jurisdiction catalog and choose `country` plus `countryOptions`.
Requirements	What data do I need?	Fetch the requirements schema for the selected jurisdiction/type.
Progress setup	How will progress display?	Fetch the status workflow for the selected incorporation type.
Incorporation	How do I start the incorporation?	Create the incorporation and save `incorporation.id`.
Add customer records	What reusable records must exist?	Create or reuse Commenda OS people, business entities, and locations.
Participants	Who is involved?	Register reusable people/entities as directors and shareholders.
Documents	How do I attach files?	Follow Upload files for incorporation: upload customer files with multipart form data to obtain `fileId`, then upsert each file as a typed participant document.
Intake	What non-participant fields are needed?	Submit partial or complete intake updates.
Submit for review	How do I hand it to Commenda?	Read validation, call the submit endpoint when `incorporationValidation.isComplete` is `true`, then track `GET /partner/incorporation/{incorporationId}/status`.
Issues	What if Commenda needs corrections?	Read active/resolved issues, update the underlying intake/participants/documents, and optionally receive issue webhooks. Active issues set top-level status to `BLOCKED`.

IDs you’ll save

ID	Returned by	Used in	Notes
`customerId`	`POST /partner/customers` as `customer.id`	Create incorporation; Commenda OS customer-scoped endpoints	Numeric customer id.
`incorporation.id`	Create/list/get incorporation	Participants, documents, intake, direct read route	Use this as `{incorporationId}`.
`businessEntityId`	Create/list/get incorporation	Commenda OS business-entity endpoints for the entity being incorporated	Target business entity id for the entity being incorporated. For new Partner API incorporations, this is returned on create. It is different from corporate shareholder `businessEntity.id` values.
Person `id`	`POST /partner/commenda-os/customers/{customerId}/persons`	Participant `resource.resourceId`	Send as a number, for example `12`.
Business entity `id`	`POST /partner/commenda-os/customers/{customerId}/business-entities`	Corporate participant `resource.resourceId`	Send as a number, for example `44`.
Participant `id`	Register participant	Update participant roles; upsert participant documents	Incorporation-scoped participant id.
`fileId`	`POST /partner/commenda-os/customers/{customerId}/files`	Upsert participant document	Customer-scoped file id returned after multipart upload.
`documentId`	Upsert participant document	Read/list participant state	Incorporation-scoped typed document link.
`statusWorkflow.stages[].id`	Status workflow or incorporation status	Progress UI and issue-stage correlation	Stage ids come from the active workflow definition.
`issue.id`	List issues or issue webhook payload	Dedupe issue webhooks; correlate correction requests	One issue row represents one remediation episode.
`webhookSubscription.id`	Create/list webhook subscriptions	Read or delete webhook subscription	Partner-level subscription, not scoped to one customer.

Happy path: Singapore private limited company

This example uses one individual as both director and shareholder.

customerId = 77
personId = 12
incorporationId = 0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91
participantId = participant_123
passportFileId = 456
utilityBillFileId = 789

1. Create the customer

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/customers' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "email": "owner@example.com",
    "name": "Acme Singapore"
  }'

Save the returned customerId.

2. Choose jurisdiction and fetch requirements

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/jurisdiction-catalog' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

For Singapore private limited company requirements:

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/requirements?country=SG&countryOptions[corporationType]=PRIVATE_LIMITED_COMPANY' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

For the public progress stages:

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/status-workflow?country=SG&countryOptions[corporationType]=PRIVATE_LIMITED_COMPANY' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

Render your UI from the returned requirements schema, but treat the server response as informational. Commenda validates every intake update against the current server-side requirements.

3. Create the incorporation

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/customers/77/incorporations' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "country": "SG",
    "countryOptions": {
      "corporationType": "PRIVATE_LIMITED_COMPANY"
    }
  }'

Save incorporation.id. The initial incorporationStatus is usually AWAITING_CUSTOMER_INPUT.

4. Create or reuse a person

If the director/shareholder does not already exist in Commenda OS, create a reusable person:

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/commenda-os/customers/77/persons' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "firstName": "Jane",
    "lastName": "Founder",
    "email": "jane@example.com",
    "dateOfBirth": "1990-04-18",
    "countryOfCitizenship": "SG"
  }'

Save the returned person id. When you register the participant, send it as a number in resource.resourceId.

5. Register participants and roles

For Singapore private limited companies, use this role/type matrix:

Participant scenario	`participantType`	`resource.resourceType`	Supported role payload
Individual director	`INDIVIDUAL`	`KEY_PERSON`	`{ "role": "DIRECTOR" }`
Individual shareholder	`INDIVIDUAL`	`KEY_PERSON`	`{ "role": "SHAREHOLDER", "ownershipPercentage": number }`
Corporate shareholder	`CORPORATE`	`BUSINESS_ENTITY`	`{ "role": "SHAREHOLDER", "ownershipPercentage": number }`
Corporate director	`CORPORATE`	`BUSINESS_ENTITY`	Not supported.

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/participants' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "participantType": "INDIVIDUAL",
    "resource": {
      "resourceType": "KEY_PERSON",
      "resourceId": 12
    },
    "roles": [
      { "role": "DIRECTOR" },
      {
        "role": "SHAREHOLDER",
        "ownershipPercentage": 40
      }
    ]
  }'

For Singapore private limited companies, registered shareholder participant ownershipPercentage values must total 100. Participant writes that would make shareholder ownership exceed 100 are rejected; totals below 100 are accepted while the customer is still entering shareholders, but validation remains incomplete until the total equals 100. If the shareholder is a company, create or reuse a Commenda OS business entity first:

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/commenda-os/customers/77/business-entities' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "incorporationCountry": "SG",
    "legalName": "Acme Holdings Pte. Ltd.",
    "jurisdiction": "JUR_SG__GENERAL",
    "corporationType": "PteLtd"
  }'

Then register it as a corporate shareholder:

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/participants' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "participantType": "CORPORATE",
    "resource": {
      "resourceType": "BUSINESS_ENTITY",
      "resourceId": 44
    },
    "roles": [
      {
        "role": "SHAREHOLDER",
        "ownershipPercentage": 60
      }
    ]
  }'

To correct roles or ownership after registration, send the full desired roles array for that participant:

curl --request PATCH \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/participants/participant_123' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "roles": [
      { "role": "DIRECTOR" },
      {
        "role": "SHAREHOLDER",
        "ownershipPercentage": 40
      }
    ]
  }'

6. Upload and upsert documents

Upload each source document as multipart form data to create a reusable customer file. Upserting the participant document assigns that file to the participant document slot without changing the reusable file.

The multipart upload endpoint lives in the Commenda OS Partner API because files are reusable customer resources. For a shorter file-upload walkthrough, see Upload files for incorporation.

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/commenda-os/customers/77/files' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --form 'file=@./passport.pdf;type=application/pdf'

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/commenda-os/customers/77/files' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --form 'file=@./utility-bill.pdf;type=application/pdf'

Then upsert each file as a typed participant document:

curl --request PUT \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/participants/participant_123/documents/PASSPORT_SCAN' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "fileId": 456
  }'

curl --request PUT \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/participants/participant_123/documents/UTILITY_BILL' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "fileId": 789
  }'

For Singapore private limited companies, every individual director and individual shareholder needs both PASSPORT_SCAN and UTILITY_BILL.

7. Submit intake data

Intake updates are merge-based and may be partial. Use this endpoint for incorporation details such as company name options and registered office address choice.

curl --request PATCH \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/intake' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "requirements": {
      "companyNameOptions": [
        { "name": "Acme SG Pte. Ltd." },
        { "name": "Acme Asia Pte. Ltd." },
        { "name": "Acme Global Pte. Ltd." }
      ],
      "registeredOfficeAddressSource": "commendaService"
    }
  }'

8. Check readiness to submit

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/validation' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

Check incorporationValidation.isComplete. When it is true, the incorporation is eligible to submit for Commenda review.

9. Submit for review

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/submit' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

The submit endpoint refreshes validation before accepting the handoff. If the incorporation is incomplete, it returns 400 with validation details. If it succeeds, Commenda begins review. The response usually returns incorporationStatus: "IN_PROGRESS" once review starts.

10. Track status

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/status' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

Use this response for customer-facing progress. It includes the top-level incorporationStatus, ordered stages, and active blockingIssueIds.

Requirements guide

Requirements area	What it means	How to use it
`blocks`	UI-friendly groups of fields	Render fields by block if you want a guided UI.
`fields`	Incorporation-level data, such as company names or registered office address choice	Submit these keys under `requirements` in the intake endpoint.
`required.when` / `appliesWhen`	Rules that make a field required or applicable only when another field has a value	Re-evaluate the UI when the controlling field changes. Non-applicable fields are ignored by validation.
`participantRequirements`	Required roles such as director or shareholder	Satisfy these by registering participants, not by sending arrays in intake.
`resourceFieldsByParticipantType`	Required fields on a participant’s referenced Commenda OS resource	Complete these fields on the person or business entity before submitting.
`documentRequirements`	Required typed documents for a participant role/type	Satisfy these by upserting customer files as participant documents.
Version fields	Requirements version metadata	Store these in logs for debugging. Do not send them back or gate UI behavior on exact values.

Validation issues use paths that point to the missing or invalid requirement.

Example path	Meaning	Fix
`companyNames.companyNameOptions`	Company name options are missing or invalid	Submit valid names through the intake endpoint as `requirements.companyNameOptions`.
`registeredOfficeAddress.registeredOfficeAddressLocation`	A partner-provided registered office address location is required	Submit a Commenda OS location reference as `requirements.registeredOfficeAddressLocation` or choose `commendaService`, which means Commenda should provide the registered office address service.
`registeredOfficeAddress.registeredOfficeAddressLocation.resourceId`	The referenced registered office address location is missing or inaccessible	Use a Commenda OS location for the same customer record as the incorporation, create or update the location through the Commenda OS Partner API, or choose `commendaService`.
`participants.directors`	A required director participant is missing	Register a person or business entity as a director.
`participants.participant_123.resource.lastName`	A referenced participant resource is missing a required field	Update the reusable Commenda OS person or business entity, then reread the incorporation validation.
`participants.participant_123.resource.residentialAddress`	A Singapore individual director or shareholder is missing a residential address	Update the Commenda OS person with `residentialAddress: { ... }`.
`participants.participant_123.documents.PASSPORT_SCAN`	A participant is missing a passport scan	Upload a customer file, then upsert it as `PASSPORT_SCAN` for that participant.

Fetch requirements after the user chooses a jurisdiction and corporation type. Render your UI from the requirements response, but decide readiness from validation returned by write/read calls because Commenda may update requirements over time.

Completion semantics

incorporationValidation.isComplete means the current data satisfies the incorporation requirements and is eligible to submit. It does not by itself hand the incorporation to Commenda.

AWAITING_CUSTOMER_INPUT
  -> SUBMITTED    after POST /partner/incorporation/{incorporationId}/submit succeeds and before Commenda review work starts
  -> IN_PROGRESS  when Commenda review is in progress
  -> BLOCKED      when there are active partner-visible issues or review start/runtime failures
  -> COMPLETED    when the incorporation is complete

Correction requests are represented by read-only issues and surface as BLOCKED while active.

Issues and correction requests

Commenda can create partner-visible issues when an incorporation needs correction or additional information.

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/incorporation/0f9a8f5e-7f7c-4c1b-a60a-b1022f9d8c91/issues?status=ACTIVE' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>'

Issues are read-only over the Partner API. To resolve them, fix the underlying data through the normal endpoints: update intake fields, register or update participants, upload and upsert replacement documents, or otherwise provide the requested information. Commenda resolves the issue after review. Each issue row represents one remediation episode. Resolved incorporation issues are not reopened; if the same kind of correction is needed again later, Commenda creates a new issue with a new issue.id. Active issues are also returned by the status endpoint as blockingIssueIds. If an issue scope includes stageId, that issue is attached to the matching stage’s blockedByIssueIds; otherwise it blocks the first non-completed stage. Issue codes include MISSING_INFORMATION, INVALID_INFORMATION, DOCUMENT_REQUIRED, DOCUMENT_INVALID, COMPANY_NAME_REJECTED, and OTHER. Commenda may add additional issue codes in future API updates.

Issue webhooks

Subscribe to issue events if your integration should react without polling:

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.prod.commenda.io/api/v1/partner/webhook-subscriptions' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: <partner_api_key>' \
  --data '{
    "url": "https://partner.example.com/commenda/webhooks",
    "eventTypes": [
      "INCORPORATION_ISSUE_CREATED",
      "INCORPORATION_ISSUE_RESOLVED"
    ]
  }'

The create response includes the full signing secret once. Later reads return only secretPreview. Webhook delivery is asynchronous and retried. Your endpoint should respond within 10 seconds and dedupe deliveries by eventId.

Common errors and fixes

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
`400` on create incorporation	Unsupported `countryOptions` or missing `countryOptions[corporationType]`	Fetch the jurisdiction catalog and use an advertised option value.
`403` on customer-scoped call	The customer is not accessible to the partner API key	Check the `customerId` and API key.
`404` when registering participant	The referenced person or business entity is not visible to the customer	Create or fetch the resource through Commenda OS first.
`400` when registering or updating participant	Shareholder role is missing `ownershipPercentage`, role/resource type is unsupported, or ownership would exceed 100	Follow the selected incorporation requirements and adjust existing shareholder roles before adding more ownership.
Incomplete validation for shareholders	Ownership percentages do not total 100	Update shareholder participant roles so totals equal 100.
`400` when uploading customer file	Missing file part, unsupported MIME type, or file too large	Send exactly one binary `file` part and a supported file type.
`404` when upserting document	The participant or file cannot be found	Register the participant and upload the customer file first.
`400` when upserting document	File type is incompatible or the document kind is not required for this participant	Use a required `documentKind` from the requirements response and a compatible customer file.
`400` for intake	Field value does not match the current incorporation requirements	Read `invalidRequirements` and update the field.
`400` on submit	The current state is incomplete	Read the returned validation details or call `GET /partner/incorporation/{incorporationId}`, then fix missing/invalid requirements before retrying submit.

​Minimum happy path

​Detailed implementation sequence

​IDs you’ll save

​Happy path: Singapore private limited company

​1. Create the customer

​2. Choose jurisdiction and fetch requirements

​3. Create the incorporation

​4. Create or reuse a person

​5. Register participants and roles

​6. Upload and upsert documents

​7. Submit intake data

​8. Check readiness to submit

​9. Submit for review

​10. Track status

​Requirements guide

​Completion semantics

​Issues and correction requests

​Issue webhooks

​Common errors and fixes

Minimum happy path

Detailed implementation sequence

IDs you’ll save

Happy path: Singapore private limited company

1. Create the customer

2. Choose jurisdiction and fetch requirements

3. Create the incorporation

4. Create or reuse a person

5. Register participants and roles

6. Upload and upsert documents

7. Submit intake data

8. Check readiness to submit

9. Submit for review

10. Track status

Requirements guide

Completion semantics

Issues and correction requests

Issue webhooks

Common errors and fixes