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Set up a business in Morocco — step-by-step

From idea to live company in Agadir in roughly 10 working days. This guide is written for Souss-Massa founders by founders, and walks through every form, fee and Centre Régional d’Investissement counter you will visit.

Step 1 — Choose your legal structure

The five structures available to a Moroccan founder are:

Most Agadir software, agritech and tourism founders start as a SARL or SARL-AU and convert to SA when they raise a Series A. See our deeper legal-structure checklist.

Step 2 — Reserve your company name (Certificat Négatif)

1. Submit 3 proposed names to OMPIC via directinfo.ma or in person at OMPIC Agadir.
2. Fee: MAD 230.
3. Turnaround: 24–72 hours. Validity: 90 days.

Step 3 — Draft and sign your statuts

• Statuts (articles) should set out: corporate object, share capital, gérance, transfer of shares, profit allocation.
• For SARL/SARL-AU you can use the statuts standards templates from CRI Souss-Massa, but a notaire or avocat costs around MAD 2 000–4 000 and is strongly recommended.
• SA requires a notaire and a commissaire aux apports for in-kind contributions.

Step 4 — Deposit capital & open a corporate account

Open a compte bloqué at any Moroccan bank (Attijariwafa, BCP/BP, BMCE-BoA, CIH, CFG or one of the digital-first players such as CIH Mobile). Deposit your share capital, get the bank attestation, and the account converts to a normal current account once the company is registered.

Step 5 — File at CRI Souss-Massa (single window)

Bring or upload to cri-invest.ma:

• Certificat négatif (OMPIC).
• Signed statuts (4 originals).
• Bank attestation of capital deposit.
• Identity documents of all associés (CIN or passport).
• Lease or domiciliation contract for your registered address.
• Form M0 (creation declaration).

The CRI single window will simultaneously register you with:

Total CRI fees for a SARL with MAD 100 000 capital are typically MAD 1 500–2 200.

Step 6 — Publish in the Bulletin Officiel

Within one month, publish a creation notice in a journal d’annonces légales and in the Bulletin Officiel. Cost: roughly MAD 800–1 200. Your CRI contact will send the package.

Step 7 — Activate online tools

• SIMPL-IS / SIMPL-TVA at simpl.tax.gov.ma — mandatory for all corporate filings.
• DAMANCOM at damancom.ma — CNSS payroll declarations.
• Adi-DGI / e-facturation — phased rollout 2026–2027 for B2B invoicing.
• OMPIC e-services at directinfo.ma — annual filings and beneficial-owner register.

Step 8 — Hire your first team member

See our deeper hiring, CNSS & AMO guide. The shortest version:

1. Sign a CDI or CDD; register the contract with the Inspection du Travail.
2. Affiliate the employee with CNSS within 30 days.
3. Run payroll: 6.74 % CNSS + 4.11 % AMO + IR-PAS.
4. If you hire a recent graduate via the ANAPEC Idmaj programme, the first 12 months are exempt from CNSS & IR.

Step 9 — Stay compliant in year one

• Quarterly TVA declaration (or monthly if turnover > MAD 1M).
• IS instalments: 25 % of prior-year tax in March, June, September, December.
• Annual: financial statements and tax return by 31 March (year-end 31 December).
• OMPIC annual filing of accounts within 30 days of AGM.
• CNSS payroll declarations monthly.

Typical total cost & timeline