What is the minimum capital by company form in Morocco in 2026?

Historically, the SARL was subject to a statutory minimum capital (10,000 MAD before 2011). Law No. 24-10 (2011) amending Law 5-96 abolished any minimum requirement. Today, the share capital of a SARL or a SARL AU is freely set by the articles of association, from 1 MAD. In practice, most founders choose a capital of 10,000 to 100,000 MAD for reasons of credibility.

Law 17-95 maintains a minimum capital for the public limited company (société anonyme):

• 300,000 MAD for the private SA (not making a public offering)
• 3,000,000 MAD for the SA making a public offering

The SAS is governed by Law 5-96 as amended and supplemented by Law 19-20. Long reserved for companies with substantial capital, it was extensively reformed by Law No. 19-20 (2021), which opens it up to all entrepreneurs. It is characterized by extensive freedom in drafting the articles of association:

• Freely set share capital, fixed by the articles of association, with no minimum
• Freely organized internal structure (mandatory president, then general managers [directeurs généraux], committees, adjusted voting rights)
• Possibility of a single-shareholder SAS (SAS à associé unique), whether a natural person or a legal entity
• Statutory auditor mandatory only above the legal thresholds

This flexibility makes it a vehicle of choice for start-ups, joint ventures and holding structures (see our guide to setting up a holding company in Morocco).

The auto-entrepreneur status, created by Law 114-13, requires no capital. It is suitable for natural persons carrying on a commercial, industrial, craft or service activity whose annual turnover does not exceed 500,000 MAD (trade, industry, crafts) or 200,000 MAD (services). The auto-entrepreneur registers in the national auto-entrepreneur register (registre national de l'auto-entrepreneur, RNAE) and pays a final flat-rate IR (IR libératoire) of 0.5% or 1% of turnover collected. They can then transfer their activity to a commercial company (SARL, SARL AU, SAS) in compliance with the applicable tax and legal rules, including deregistration from the RNAE.

Beyond the statutory minimum, the capital should reflect:

• The financing needs of the business (purchase of stock, equipment, salaries for the first months)
• Commercial credibility with suppliers, customers and banks
• Sector-specific rules (banking, insurance, transport, travel agencies, approvals), which often impose a higher capital than the general minimum (see the permits and authorizations required to operate in Morocco)
• The future strategy for opening up the capital (entry of investors, nominal value of the shares)
• The 100,000 MAD threshold above which a SARL must block the funds in a bank before registration

Capital is not an expense but a contribution, as our guide on the cost of setting up a company in Morocco points out.

The capital can change:

• Capital increase through new contributions, capitalization of reserves or set-off against receivables (Law 5-96 for the SARL; Law 17-95 for the SA; Law 5-96 as amended and supplemented by Law 19-20 for the SAS), decided by partners representing at least 3/4 of the shares in a SARL (Art. 75)
• Capital reduction, whether or not motivated by losses
• Any change is subject to registration with the DGI within 30 days, an amending entry in the Commercial Register kept by the commercial court registry (greffe du tribunal de commerce) and publication in the Official Bulletin and in a legal announcements newspaper (see legal publication in the JAL and the Official Bulletin)

With Charikaty, the drafting of the deeds, the electronic signature, the filing with the registry and the legal publications are done online.

To set your capital, here is what you need: choose the legal form, check its statutory minimum, provide for at least one quarter of the cash contributions to be paid up and, above 100,000 MAD in a SARL, for the funds to be deposited in a bank. With Charikaty, a private Moroccan legal-tech platform, you do everything else online, simply and quickly. Our experts advise you on the sizing of the capital suited to your project and to the chosen form, draft the articles of association, add to the file the blocking certificate (attestation de blocage) issued by your bank when the deposit of funds is required, then file your registration application with the commercial court registry. You receive your Commercial Register extract, your IF, your ICE and your CNSS affiliation without travelling, whether you are in Morocco or abroad. Discover our online SARL formation service.

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