What is an NIB and how does OSS work?
The NIB is your business identity number and OSS is the system that issues it. Getting the classification right is the whole job.
OSS — *Online Single Submission* — is Indonesia's integrated business licensing platform. The NIB, *Nomor Induk Berusaha*, is the business identity number it issues, and it functions as your company's registration, import identity and, depending on risk level, part of its operating licence.
How the system works
Indonesia operates risk-based licensing. What you need to trade depends on the risk classification of the activity you register.
Low risk. The NIB alone is sufficient to operate.
Medium-low and medium-high risk. The NIB plus a standard certificate, which may be self-declared or require verification.
High risk. The NIB plus a full licence, with prior verification and often physical inspection.
Accommodation and food and beverage activities generally sit above low risk, which means an NIB by itself is not enough to operate a villa rental or a restaurant.
KBLI is the whole job
Every activity has a KBLI code — the Indonesian standard classification of business fields, updated to KBLI 2025 under BPS 7/2025.
Your company registers specific KBLI codes, and those codes determine what it may lawfully do, what licences it needs, what minimum capital applies, and crucially whether foreign ownership is permitted at all and at what percentage.
Get the code wrong and the company either cannot do what you intended, or is doing it without proper authorisation. Neither is discovered at formation. Both surface later, usually at a licence renewal, a tax audit or a sale.
This is the single most consequential decision in forming a PT PMA, and it is routinely delegated to whoever is handling the incorporation without the owner understanding what was chosen.
The July 2026 change
Bali closed new foreign-owned villa and homestay registration to PMA companies with effect from 22 July 2026.
If your plan involves a PT PMA operating short-let accommodation, the classification has to be confirmed currently available before the structure means anything. A company holding a property it cannot lawfully operate carries the full compliance cost with none of the commercial benefit.
Ask this question first, in writing, from someone who will still be around when the answer matters. Do not accept "it can be arranged".
What you need to get an NIB
The company must exist first: deed of establishment before a notary, approval from the Ministry of Law, domicile, and a tax registration.
Then OSS registration requires the company documents, the NPWP, the registered address, shareholder and director details, the chosen KBLI codes and the declared investment value.
A PT PMA — a foreign investment company — carries a minimum investment value threshold that applies per KBLI code per location, and paid-up capital requirements. These are substantial and they are checked. Budget for them properly rather than treating them as a formality.
The registered address problem
OSS requires a registered address that is zoned for the activity. An address in a residential zone will not support a commercial registration.
A virtual office solves this for many service activities and is widely used. It does not solve it for activities requiring physical premises, which includes accommodation. A villa rental business needs the actual property to be appropriately zoned, and no office arrangement substitutes for that.
After the NIB
Registration is the start of an ongoing obligation, not the end of a process.
LKPM, the investment activity report, is filed quarterly by PMA companies and it is genuinely enforced. Missed filings accumulate and affect standing.
Monthly and annual tax filings continue whether or not the company trades.
Licence renewals and standard certificates have their own cycles.
Changes — new activity, new address, new shareholder, new director — all have to be reflected in OSS. A company whose OSS record does not match reality has a problem waiting.
If you are buying an existing PT PMA
Check the registered KBLI codes against what you intend to do. Check LKPM filings are current. Check tax filings are current. Check the NIB status is active and the licences are valid. Check the registered address is still correct and appropriately zoned.
A dormant or non-compliant company is a liability you would be acquiring, and cleaning one up costs more than forming fresh in most cases.
Common questions
What is an NIB in Indonesia?
The Nomor Induk Berusaha, the business identity number issued through OSS. It serves as company registration and, for low-risk activities, as the operating licence itself.
What is KBLI and why does it matter?
The Indonesian business activity classification, updated to KBLI 2025. The codes a company registers determine what it may lawfully do, what licences and capital apply, and whether foreign ownership is permitted.
Is an NIB enough to operate a villa rental?
No. Accommodation sits above low risk, so additional certification or licensing is required, and Bali closed new foreign-owned villa and homestay registration to PMA companies on 22 July 2026.
Can I use a virtual office for a PT PMA?
For many service activities, yes. Not for activities requiring physical premises such as accommodation, where the actual property must be appropriately zoned.
What ongoing filings does a PT PMA have?
Quarterly LKPM investment activity reports, monthly and annual tax filings whether or not the company trades, and licence renewals. OSS records must also be updated for any change.
Want me to find you the right one?
Tell me what you are looking for and I will come back to you personally. Four questions, about ten seconds, then it opens straight into my WhatsApp.
Kai, Bali property adviser