Company registers
Trade register deadlines and penalties in Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Libya and Egypt
Short answer
- Morocco, deadline to register a company
- Three months after the company is created 1
- Mauritania, deadline to register
- Three months from opening or formation 2
- Algeria, deadline to update the extract
- Three months after a change 3
- Algeria, trading without registration
- Closure until registration and DA 10,000 to 100,000 3
- Mauritania, false statements
- One month to one year in prison and 10,000 to 50,000 ouguiyas 2
- Algeria, forging an extract
- Six months to one year in prison and DA 100,000 to 1,000,000 3
Deadlines to register
| Country | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Morocco 1 | Company 1 | Within three months after the company is created 1 |
| Morocco 1 | Natural person trader 1 | Within three months after opening the establishment or acquiring the fonds de commerce 1 |
| Mauritania 2 | Natural person 2 | Within three months of opening or acquiring the business 2 |
| Mauritania 2 | Company or other legal person 2 | Within three months of formation 2 |
| Mauritania 2 | Branch or agency, Mauritanian or foreign 2 | Within three months of opening 2 |
| Mauritania 2 | Reserved trade name 2 | Entered within one year of the certificat négatif, or lost 2 |
After registration
In Morocco, OMPIC states that two notices are compulsory after registration, in a journal d'annonces légales (legal notices newspaper) and in the Bulletin Officiel, within one month 1. Changes are declared at the local register of the court for the company's seat on form M4 or 4/1 with supporting papers 1. A company is struck off automatically three years after its dissolution is recorded 1.
Mauritania's code has the same three-year rule for automatic deletion after dissolution 2. It strikes off a trader or company when insolvency proceedings close 2. A trader loses the privilege attached to a registered name that has not been used for more than three years 2.
In Algeria, article 37 of law 04-08 fines a failure to change the entries on the extrait du registre du commerce (trade register extract) within three months of a change in the trader's situation or status 3. The fine is DA 10,000 to 100,000, and the judge withdraws the register entry provisionally until the trader complies 3.
Algeria: penalties in law 04-08
The penalties below are those printed in law 04-08 as published in Journal Officiel n° 52 of 18 August 2004 3. Law 18-08 of 2018 changed articles 22, 25 and 41 bis and added an electronic portal, but did not rewrite these articles 4. Earlier amendments to law 04-08 were not checked.
| Offence | Article | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary trade without registration 3 | 31 3 | Closure of premises until registration and DA 10,000 to 100,000 3 |
| Non-sedentary trade without registration 3 | 32 3 | DA 5,000 to 50,000, with possible seizure of goods 3 |
| Inexact statements in bad faith to register 3 | 33 3 | DA 50,000 to 500,000 3 |
| Forging the extract 3 | 34 3 | Six months to one year in prison and DA 100,000 to 1,000,000 3 |
| No publication of legal notices under articles 11, 12 and 14 3 | 35 3 | DA 30,000 to 300,000 3 |
| No publication of notices under article 15 3 | 36 3 | DA 10,000 to 30,000 3 |
| Trade by a person other than the holder 3 | 38 3 | DA 1,000,000 to 5,000,000, with exceptions for spouse and first-degree relatives 3 |
| Sedentary trade without premises 3 | 39 3 | DA 10,000 to 100,000 3 |
| Trade without the required authorisation 3 | 40 3 | DA 50,000 to 500,000 and closure by the judge 3 |
| Activity outside the registered object 3 | 41 3 | One-month administrative closure and DA 20,000 to 200,000 3 |
| Breach of opening and holiday rules 4 | 41 bis 4 | DA 30,000 to 200,000, as rewritten in 2018 4 |
Mauritania: penalties in the Commercial Code
Under article 64, a trader, manager or branch director who does not request the required entries in time faces a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 ouguiyas once one month has passed after a formal notice from the administration 2. Under article 65, the court orders the missing entry within two months. A new fine may follow, and a branch of a business based outside Mauritania may be closed until it complies 2. Bad-faith false statements carry one month to one year in prison and 10,000 to 50,000 ouguiyas, or one of the two 2. Amounts are given in ouguiyas as written in the code.
Libya and Egypt
Libya's Ministry of Economy and Trade lists renewal documents for joint-stock companies, including the last approved balance sheet and the supervisory board report 5. The page gives no renewal period or late fee 5.
In Egypt, renewal fees for commercial registration can be paid at post offices under a March 2026 protocol, as reported by Fatima Suwairi of Al-Ahram 6. No official Egyptian source giving renewal periods or fines under Law No. 34 of 1976 could be opened for this page.
Common questions
How long do I have to register a company in Morocco?
Three months after creation, then two notices within one month 1.
What is the fine for trading without registration in Algeria?
DA 10,000 to 100,000 for sedentary trade, with closure until registration 3.
What happens if I miss a register deadline in Mauritania?
A fine of 10,000 to 50,000 ouguiyas after a one-month notice, and a court order to file within two months 2.
When is a dissolved company struck off in Morocco or Mauritania?
Does Libya set a renewal deadline for companies?
The ministry page opened gives renewal documents but no deadline 5.
Rules and fees change. Check the official source linked on this page before you act on it. Spotted an error? Email hello@maghrebregisters.com.
Sources
- OMPIC: Création et vie de l'entreprise (Creation and life of the business)
- WIPO Lex: Loi n° 2000-05 du 18 janvier 2000 portant Code de commerce, modifiée par la loi n° 2015-32 du 10 septembre 2015 (Law 2000-05 on the Commercial Code, as amended by law 2015-32), Mauritania
- Journal Officiel de la République Algérienne: N° 52, loi n° 04-08 du 14 août 2004 relative aux conditions d'exercice des activités commerciales (Official Journal No. 52, law 04-08 on the conditions for carrying on commercial activities) (18 August 2004)
- Journal Officiel de la République Algérienne: N° 35, loi n° 18-08 du 10 juin 2018 modifiant et complétant la loi n° 04-08 (Official Journal No. 35, law 18-08 amending law 04-08) (13 June 2018)
- Wizarat al-Iqtisad wa al-Tijara, Libya: al-Mustanadat al-matluba li-ta'sis al-sharikat al-musahima (Documents required to establish joint-stock companies)
- Bawwabat al-Ahram: Itahat khadamat jihaz tanmiyat al-tijara al-dakhiliya abr makatib al-barid (Internal Trade Development Authority services made available through post offices), by Fatima Suwairi (10 March 2026)
Related
- Company registers in Morocco: local registers, the OMPIC central register and the ICE
How Morocco's trade register works: local court registers, the OMPIC central register, certificats négatifs, the ICE number, extracts and deadlines.
- Company registers in Mauritania: the registre du commerce and APIM
Mauritania trade register under the Commercial Code as amended in 2015: local and central registers, deadlines, fines, extracts and the APIM one-stop shop.
- Company registers in Algeria: the CNRC and the trade register
How Algeria's trade register works under law 04-08: the CNRC, the register extract, legal notices in the BOAL, the 2018 e-portal and a common identifier.
- Company registers in Libya: al-sijill al-tijari and the Ministry of Economy
Libya commercial register: the Ministry of Economy and Trade, its register office and e-system, and documents to form or change a joint-stock company.
- Egypt's commercial register offices and the Internal Trade Development Authority
Egypt register offices are run by the Internal Trade Development Authority: office types, post office extracts, the UCR number and the 1976 law.