Company registers in Morocco: local registers, the OMPIC central register and the ICE

Two levels: local registers and the central register

OMPIC describes the Registre Central du Commerce as one of the two components of the trade register. The other component is the set of local trade registers ¹. The register gathers information on natural and legal persons that carry on commercial activity or have a commercial structure. These persons must register and receive a registration number ¹.

OMPIC says the register informs third parties, and any person may ask for the information ¹.The central register has three tasks under OMPIC's description. It centralises for the whole kingdom the information held in the local registers. It issues certificates on registered trader names, company names and shop signs, plus certificates and copies of other entries. It publishes information on trader names, company names and shop signs ¹.

Registration steps and deadlines

For a company, OMPIC lists the certificat négatif (negative certificate, a name availability certificate) as the first step and the first document needed to create a company ³. Later steps include blocking the capital at a bank, registration of the deeds with the tax authority, enrolment for the taxe professionnelle (business tax) and then entry in the trade register ³. OMPIC says registration is the birth certificate of the company and must be made within three months of formation ³.

For an individual trader, the certificat négatif is optional and is needed only for a shop sign ³. The trader files a written application at the secretariat-greffe of the court where the main establishment sits. Registration is due within three months of opening the establishment or buying the business ³.

After registration, OMPIC states that two notices must be published within one month, one in a legal notices journal and one in the Bulletin Officiel ³.

Company names and the certificat négatif

To get a certificat négatif, the applicant files form CN1 for a company name or CN2 for a shop sign and pays the fees due ⁴. The certificate is valid for three months from the date of issue ⁴. OMPIC says the certificate confirms the name is available and reserves it for that period. Protection of the name starts only once it is entered in the trade register ⁴. A rejected applicant may file one free new request on form CNR within 15 days of the rejection ⁴.

OMPIC explains that a company name is protected across the whole national territory, limited to the company's field of activity ⁵. A shop sign is protected only locally and in its field of activity. A trader who wants a shop sign must declare it when registering, under article 42 of the Code de commerce (commercial code) ⁵.

Extracts, copies and online search

The central register issues several documents on request, each with its own form ². DirectInfo gives access to legal and financial information on businesses in the trade register. OMPIC says it offers a multi-criteria search of all businesses in the central register and ordering of documents ².

OMPIC applies two price lists. List 1 covers small and medium firms, very small firms, natural persons such as self-employed traders and craftsmen, and universities. List 2 covers all other users ⁷. OMPIC states that users of its online services get a reduction of up to 50 percent ⁷.

• Certificat d'immatriculation (registration certificate), form C1, with the legal details of the person or company ²
• Copies of the articles, minutes, financial statements or auditor reports, form C2 ²
• Certificate of non-registration across the whole country, form C3 ²
• Copie des inscriptions (copy of entries) with all later changes, form C4 ²
• Certificat de radiation (deregistration certificate), form C5 ²

The ICE common identifier

The Identifiant Commun de l'Entreprise (ICE, common business identifier) identifies a business and its branches in the same way across all administrations. It sits alongside the trade register number, the tax identifier and the CNSS social security number ⁶. It has 15 positions, including 4 for establishments and 2 check characters ⁶.

For a new company, OMPIC assigns the ICE when it issues the certificat négatif, and the number is printed on that certificate ⁶. For a new individual trader, the tax administration (DGI) assigns the ICE and prints it on the tax registration form ⁶.

Registration figures for 2026

OMPIC reported that 66,277 new businesses were registered in the trade register in the first eight months of 2026. Of these, 49,897 were legal persons and 16,380 were natural persons ⁸. The single-member SARL accounted for 65 percent of new legal persons ⁸. OMPIC issued 85,351 certificats négatifs from January to August 2026 ⁸.

Related registers in the Bulletin Officiel

Law 21-18 on sûretés mobilières (security interests in movable property) was promulgated by dahir 1-19-76 of 17 April 2019. Its official French translation and its implementing decree 2-19-327 of 8 October 2019 appear in Bulletin Officiel n° 6840 of 19 December 2019 ⁹.