Permits and authorizations to operate in Morocco: do you need them in 2026?

Article 35 of the 2011 Constitution guarantees freedom of enterprise and free competition. Anyone can therefore set up a commercial company (SARL, SAS, SA) and register it in the Commercial Register kept by the commercial court registry, without prior administrative authorization, in compliance with the legal requirements for setting up a business in Morocco (capacity, form, capital, registered office). However, where the activity affects public order, security, health, savings or financial stability, the law makes its exercise subject to a prior authorization. Registering the company and obtaining authorization to operate are two separate procedures: the first never exempts you from the second.

Approval is generally subject to a sector-specific minimum capital (often higher than the minimum capital requirements by company type), the good repute and qualifications of the managers, financial guarantees and a technical file. Review periods vary from a few weeks to several months depending on the authority. For crowdfunding, the forms and the approved platforms are presented in our guide on crowdfunding in Morocco (Law 15-18).

Beyond approvals, certain activities require an operating licence, an authorization or a prior declaration:

• Establishments selling alcoholic beverages: licence issued by the local authority (wilaya or province)
• Travel agencies: licence from the Ministry of Tourism (Law 11-16 on travel agencies); tourist accommodation: classification and operating authorization (Law 80-14)
• Manual currency exchange: approval from the Office des Changes for exchange offices
• Import-export of sensitive products: licences or authorizations for medicines, weapons, certain agricultural products or products subject to quotas (Law No. 91-14 on foreign trade); the other prerequisites are set out in the import-export conditions in Morocco
• Tobacco: authorization for distribution and sale (Law 46-02 on the tobacco regime)
• Tourist transport, taxis, driving schools: specific approvals
• Real estate brokerage: no professional card is required yet (a bill is in progress), but real estate agents are subject to due diligence obligations relating to anti-money laundering (Law 43-05 as amended by Law 12-18)

Regulated liberal professions may only be practised with the required diploma and after registration with the competent professional association. Examples:

• Lawyers: Law 28-08 on the organization of the legal profession
• Chartered accountants (experts-comptables): Law 15-89 regulating the profession of chartered accountant (Ordre des experts-comptables); certified accountants (comptables agréés): Law 127-12
• Notaries: Law 32-09 organizing the notarial profession
• Architects: Law 016-89 on the practice of the profession of architect
• Doctors: Law 131-13 on the practice of medicine; pharmacists: Law 17-04

These professions are practised on a self-employed basis or within a professional practice company (société d'exercice professionnel) whose form and capital composition are set by each professional law; they are excluded from auto-entrepreneur status. An ordinary commercial company cannot include these activities in its corporate purpose without complying with these rules.

In addition to sector approvals, certain premises and projects require:

• An opening and operating authorization issued by the president of the municipal council for classified establishments (établissements classés) (unhealthy, inconvenient or dangerous: workshops, restaurants, warehouses, industrial units)
• An environmental impact study or impact notice for the projects covered by Law 49-17 on environmental assessment, which replaced Law 12-03
• A building permit or an authorization for change of use issued by the municipality (Law 12-90 on town planning) for industrial and commercial premises
• An authorization to occupy the public domain for terraces, signs and displays

Certain activities are reserved for the State or for designated operators (games of chance and lottery, armaments, electricity generation and distribution, rail transport) or subject to a concession or to delegated management of public services (délégation de service public) (water distribution, port management, urban transport). Others are prohibited (narcotics) or strictly regulated (cannabis for lawful use: approval from ANRAC under Law 13-21).

Before registering the company, it is recommended to:

1. Precisely define the corporate purpose and the activities actually carried out
2. Check in the classification of economic activities (nomenclature des activités économiques) whether the activity is regulated
3. Consult the competent ministry or sector authority and read the applicable law
4. Gather the approval conditions: minimum capital, qualifications and good repute of the managers, guarantees, premises, timeframes and application fees
5. Check whether the authorization must be obtained before registration (the commercial court registry requires it for certain activities) or after (the authority then requires an extract from the Commercial Register)
6. Incorporate the company with a compliant corporate purpose and build the approval into the launch schedule

For MRE and foreign investors, the same rules apply; certain sector laws add conditions regarding the nationality or residence of the managers, to be checked before formation (see our guide to setting up a business in Morocco as a non-resident).

Charikaty is a private Moroccan legal-tech platform specializing in company formation and compliance. Here is what you need for a regulated activity: identify the competent authority, meet the approval conditions and incorporate a company whose corporate purpose is compliant. With Charikaty, you do the entire formation part online, simply and quickly: our legal experts check these conditions with you, draft a compliant corporate purpose and set up your company through our SARL formation service (OMPIC negative certificate, electronically signed articles of association, registration in the Commercial Register, tax identifiers, CNSS affiliation). We then provide you with the documents needed for your approval application (articles of association, Commercial Register extract, minutes) and support you in preparing the file.

More than 250 companies have already been set up with Charikaty.