What is the difference between setting up a company online and through a notary in Morocco in 2026?

Electronic formation is based on:

• Law No. 88-17 on the electronic creation of businesses: it allows the formalities to be completed remotely; with Charikaty, everything is done online
• Law No. 43-20 on trust services: advanced electronic signature (recommended level for company deeds), issued by a provider approved by the DGSSI
• Law No. 15-95 Commercial Code (Code de commerce) and Law No. 53-95 on commercial courts: registration in the RC

The incorporation deed takes the form of a private deed, signed electronically by the partners (shareholders). Each step of the remote process is detailed in our guide to setting up a company 100% online in Morocco.

Formation by notarial deed is based on:

• Law No. 32-09 on the organization of the notarial profession
• Law No. 14-07 on land registration: for contributions of registered real estate
• Law No. 5-96 / Law 24-10 (SARL), Law No. 17-95 as amended by Law No. 19-20 (SA) and Law No. 5-96 as amended and supplemented by Law No. 19-20 (SAS)

The incorporation deed takes the form of an authentic deed: it benefits from stronger evidentiary value (force probante), a certified date (date certaine), and is kept as an original (minute) by the notary's office.

Timeframe: the electronic route is generally faster. With Charikaty, allow about 6 to 8 working days (negative certificate (certificat négatif) in about 24 hours, articles of association drafted immediately and registered in about 24 hours, registration in the RC in 3 to 5 working days, publication in about 24 hours). These timeframes are indicative, depend on the administrations and assume a complete file and available advanced electronic signatures.

Travel: the electronic route is carried out entirely remotely, whereas the authentic deed is signed before the notary.

• Contribution or transfer of a registered property (Law 14-07): authentic deed mandatory and entry with the Land Registry (Conservation Foncière)
• Donation or emphyteutic lease (bail emphytéotique) subject to the authentic form
• Certain clauses of the articles of association or agreements for which the parties choose a notarial deed for its evidentiary value
• Authenticated powers of attorney for non-residents who do not have an advanced electronic signature

The notary may also play a role in the electronic route, for example by authenticating powers of attorney or drawing up ancillary deeds (Law 32-09), but is not systematically required there.

• SARL or SARL AU set up by a resident or non-resident founder, with cash capital and/or standard contributions in kind
• SAS (Law 5-96 as amended and supplemented by Law 19-20) with extensive digitized statutory content
• Formation of a company by a non-resident holding an advanced electronic signature certificate, in compliance with Law 43-05 as amended by Law 12-18 (the bank verifies the identity of the partners and managers and the origin of the funds) and the IGOC published by the Office des Changes (foreign exchange authority)

The rules specific to founders who do not reside in Morocco are detailed in the guide to setting up a business in Morocco as a non-resident.

Regardless of the channel chosen, the company must:

1. Obtain an OMPIC negative certificate (Law 13-99): 232.76 MAD online, valid for 90 days
2. Draft articles of association (statuts) that comply with the chosen company form and have them registered with the DGI
3. Provide proof of the registered office (siège social): commercial lease (bail commercial) (Law 49-16) or business domiciliation (domiciliation) (Law 89-17, from 100 to 500 MAD excl. tax per month)
4. Deposit the share capital in a blocked account (compte bloqué) and obtain the deposit certificate (attestation de blocage) (cash contributions: mandatory for an SA, and for a SARL only when the capital exceeds 100,000 MAD)
5. Where applicable, involve a contributions auditor (commissaire aux apports) (Article 53 of Law 5-96; mandatory for an SA for any contribution in kind)
6. Apply for registration in the RC with the commercial court registry (fees of about 1,200 MAD)
7. Obtain the IF, the ICE and the business tax (taxe professionnelle) from the DGI, publish the notice of incorporation in a legal announcements newspaper (journal d'annonces légales) and in the Official Bulletin (from a few hundred to 1,500 MAD) and register the company with the CNSS

These public fees are supplemented by the fees of the chosen professional: the role and fees of the notary or the lawyer are presented in our guide to choosing a lawyer or notary to set up a company.

Charikaty is a private Moroccan legal-tech platform specializing in company formation and compliance. We direct founders towards the electronic route or the notarial route depending on the nature of the contributions, the profile of the partners and the constraints of the articles of association. For the electronic route, here is what you need: a negative certificate, articles of association signed by advanced electronic signature (Law 43-20), proof of the registered office and the partners' identity documents; with Charikaty, you do everything online. With our online SARL formation service, we prepare the articles of association, have them signed electronically, submit the file to the commercial court registry and provide you with your Commercial Register extract and your identifiers (IF, ICE, business tax), without travel.

With Charikaty, setting up a SARL in Morocco costs from 4,550 MAD including VAT, official fees included, and is done entirely online. More than 250 companies have already been set up with Charikaty.