Do I need a lawyer or a notary to set up a company in Morocco in 2026?

Going through a notary (Law 32-09) is required or very strongly recommended in the following cases:

• Contribution or transfer of a registered property: authentic deed required by the Real Rights Code (Code des droits réels) (Law 39-08, Art. 4), followed by entry with the Land Registry (Conservation foncière) (Law 14-07)
• Donations, emphyteutic leases (baux emphytéotiques) and other deeds that must take the authentic form
• Complex transactions where the evidentiary value (force probante) and the certified date (date certaine) of the authentic deed are preferable

For everything else, the private deed signed by the partners (shareholders), where applicable with an advanced electronic signature (Law 43-20), is sufficient to incorporate the company. A non-resident partner without an electronic signature may also grant a legalized power of attorney (at the Moroccan consulate), without going through a notary.

A lawyer is never mandatory to incorporate a commercial company, but can usefully help to:

• Draft the articles of association (statuts) and adapt the clauses to the partners' objectives (Laws 5-96 and 17-95 as amended), see how to draft the articles of association of a company in Morocco
• Prepare a shareholders' agreement (pacte d'associés) supplementing the articles of association, see the shareholders' agreement in Morocco
• Secure regulated activities (credit institutions governed by Law 103-12, healthcare, transport, etc.)
• Anticipate disputes between partners

Distinct from the notary and the lawyer, the contributions auditor (commissaire aux apports) assesses contributions in kind; this auditor is mandatory in certain cases:

• SARL: if the value of a contribution in kind exceeds 100,000 MAD OR if the total contributions in kind represent more than half of the capital (Article 53 of Law 5-96)
• SA: always mandatory as soon as there is a contribution in kind (Law 17-95)

In the absence of a contributions auditor, the partners are jointly and severally liable for 5 years, towards third parties, for the value attributed to the contributions in kind (Law 5-96). The valuation and the formalities are detailed in contributions in kind in Morocco.

Yes, except where the law requires an authentic deed: Law No. 88-17 on the electronic creation of businesses allows all formalities to be completed remotely, with privately executed articles of association signed by advanced electronic signature (Law 43-20, provider approved by the DGSSI) and then filed with the commercial court registry (greffe du tribunal de commerce) for registration in the Commercial Register (Registre du Commerce, RC) (Law 15-95, Law 53-95). A legal-tech company such as Charikaty coordinates this process without systematically using a notary, from the OMPIC negative certificate (Law 13-99) to CNSS affiliation (Dahir 1-72-184); the detailed comparison of the two routes (timeframe, cost, travel) is set out in our comparison of online company formation versus formation before a notary.

With or without a notary, the registration file contains the same documents (detailed in the documents required to register a company in Morocco): copy of the national identity card (CIN) or passport of the partners and the manager (gérant), OMPIC negative certificate (valid for 90 days), signed articles of association, proof of registered office (lease or business domiciliation contract [contrat de domiciliation], Law 89-17), bank certificate of capital deposit only if the capital exceeds 100,000 MAD (Article 51 of Law 5-96), contributions auditor's report where applicable and, for represented non-residents, a legalized power of attorney.

The public fees are identical whichever route is chosen:

Registration generally takes place within a few working days of filing a complete file; it must take place within 3 months of incorporation (Article 75 of Law 15-95) and before the negative certificate expires. With Charikaty, you send these documents online and we take care of the rest.

Charikaty is a private Moroccan legal-tech platform specializing in company formation and compliance. We determine with you whether an authentic deed is necessary in light of your contributions. In the vast majority of cases, articles of association as a private deed, an advanced electronic signature, a negative certificate and proof of registered office are enough. With our online SARL formation service, we draft your articles of association as a private deed, have them signed electronically (Law 43-20), file the application with the registry and provide you with your Commercial Register extract and your identifiers. When the nature of the contributions requires it, we bring in a partner notary (Law 32-09).

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.