The Trust Company of the Marshall Islands (TCMI) and its parent company, International Registries, Inc. (IRI) through a joint venture agreement with the Marshall Islands government, is authorized by legislation to administer the maritime and corporate programs for the Marshall Islands. The TCMI acts as registrar and registered agent for Marshall Islands non-resident companies.

The Marshall Islands government initiated the ship registry program in 1988 and in 1990 adopted the Maritime Act, which is a modern law in line with shipping industry standards.  To aid the ship registry program, the Marshall Islands also enacted the Marshall Islands Associations Law in 1990, which encompasses the Business Corporations Act, Partnership and Limited Partnership Act, Unincorporated Associations, and the Limited Liability Company Act.  These laws are modeled on U.S. corporate law with flexibility for organization of corporate governance and with modifications suitable for off-shore companies, such as electronic or facsimile filings, bearer shares (allowing ownership by way of physical possession of the stock certificates), and no requirement for apostilles or notarizations by consular officials for the execution of documents.  As a result, the Marshall Islands ship registry has become one of the largest and fastest growing registries in the world.