What are the legal requirements to start a business in Morocco in 2026?

To set up a commercial company, the founder must have legal capacity within the meaning of the Code of Obligations and Contracts (Dahir des Obligations et Contrats, DOC). This means:

• Being of age (having reached 18 years of age) or an emancipated minor
• Not being subject to a ban on carrying on commercial activity (criminal conviction, commercial disqualification)
• For foreign nationals and MRE: the formation of a company by a non-resident is free, subject to the foreign exchange rules of the IGOC of the Office des Changes; contributions in foreign currency pass through a convertible dirham account and benefit from the guarantee of transfer of dividends (see our guide to setting up a company in Morocco as a non-resident)

Certain activities (banking, insurance, transport, health, education, private security) also require prior approval or authorization. The activities concerned and the procedures are presented in our guide on the authorizations and permits required to operate in Morocco.

Moroccan law offers a range of legal forms.

The choice depends on the number of partners, the need to raise funds, the acceptable level of liability and the desired tax regime. The SARL AU falls under Law 5-96 and offers a framework largely set by law, whereas the single-shareholder SAS, governed by Law 5-96 as amended and supplemented by Law 19-20, offers great freedom in drafting the articles of association. The articles of association can be drawn up by private deed (acte sous seing privé) signed electronically (Law 43-20); a notary is only required where a registered property (immeuble immatriculé) is contributed.

Before any registration, the founder applies for an OMPIC negative certificate from OMPIC (Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property, Office Marocain de la Propriété Industrielle et Commerciale, Law 13-99; Commercial Code, Art. 74). This certificate attests to the availability of the intended company name.

The application is made online to OMPIC (the OMPIC website): 232.76 MAD online, issued within 24 to 48 hours, valid for 90 days (the company must be registered within this period). With Charikaty, the application is included in your file. Protection of the trademark (Law 17-97) is a separate procedure with OMPIC.

The share capital is set by the articles of association and paid up according to the rules specific to each form (details in our guide on the minimum capital by type of company):

• SARL / SARL AU: freely set capital (Law 24-10), at least a quarter of the cash contributions paid up on incorporation and the balance within 5 years; deposit in a blocked bank account only if the capital exceeds 100,000 MAD (Article 51 of Law 5-96, Law 21-19)
• SA: minimum capital of 300,000 MAD (3,000,000 MAD in the case of a public offering), paid up to the extent of 25% on subscription and the balance within 3 years (Article 21 of Law 17-95); funds deposited in a blocked account
• SAS: freely set capital, fixed by the articles of association (Law 5-96 as amended and supplemented by Law 19-20)

Where the funds are blocked, the bank issues a blocking certificate (attestation de blocage) attached to the file; they are released on presentation of the Commercial Register extract. Contributions in kind are valued by a contributions auditor (commissaire aux apports) (always in an SA; in a SARL, if a contribution exceeds 100,000 MAD or if contributions in kind exceed half of the capital, Article 53).

The company must have a registered office in Morocco. Three options are possible:

• Ownership of premises (proof: land title or purchase contract)
• Commercial lease governed by Law 49-16 on leases of buildings for commercial, industrial or craft use
• Written domiciliation contract with a domiciliation provider registered in the Commercial Register (Law 89-17), generally 100 to 500 MAD excl. VAT/month

The registered office determines the competent commercial court (whose registry keeps the Commercial Register) and the tax office. Thanks to domiciliation, a physical office is not essential, as explained in our guide on the physical address required to set up a company in Morocco.

Once the five conditions are met, the registration file is filed with the commercial court registry of the registered office (Law 15-95; Law 53-95). Each authority issues its own document:

• Commercial court registry: registration in the RC and extract (about 1,200 MAD)
• DGI: tax identifier (IF), ICE and professional tax (taxe professionnelle), exempt for 5 years
• CNSS: company affiliation at the time of incorporation, declaration of employees from the first hire
• Legal publicity: legal announcements journal and Official Bulletin (from a few hundred to 1,500 MAD)

Documents to gather: identity document of the partners and of the manager, negative certificate, signed articles of association, proof of registered office and blocking certificate where applicable. Law No. 88-17 on the electronic creation of companies makes it possible to complete these formalities remotely, with an advanced electronic signature of the articles of association (Law 43-20); going through the Regional Investment Centre (Centre Régional d'Investissement) is not mandatory. With Charikaty, you send your documents online and the file is prepared, signed, filed and monitored without travelling, for registration in the Commercial Register within about 3 to 5 working days after filing (indicative timeframes, depending on the authorities).

Here is what you need to set up your business: legal capacity, a company form, a negative certificate, a capital set by the articles of association and a registered office in Morocco. And with Charikaty, you do everything online, in the simplest and fastest way.

Charikaty is a private Moroccan legal-tech platform specializing in 100% online company formation. We check with you that the five conditions are met, apply for the negative certificate, draft the articles of association and have them signed, file the application with the commercial court registry and follow up on obtaining your identifiers from the DGI and the CNSS. You receive your Commercial Register extract without travelling, including from abroad.