So all your entrepreneurial ambitions are about to come true as your startup gears up to take the market by storm. Congratulations, an excellent achievement, but a little bit of work before that.
We assume you are done formulating a strategy to execute your business plan and all now left is the paperwork mandatory for regulatory compliance. You know, the boring stuff that everyone hates but nobody can do without.
In Bahrain, when it comes to regulatory and legal compliances for a business, a commercial registration (CR) is one of the foremost requirements. Below, we’re going to discuss what exactly CR is for along with all the documents you’ll need to furnish to get one for your upcoming startup.
What is a CR certificate in Bahrain
Simply put, a commercial registration certificate is a piece of legal document that businesses and investors receive as soon as they register their organization with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, & Tourism (MoICT).
The Bahraini government issues two different types of CR certificates:
- CR certificate issued without a license for business activities.
- CR certificate issued to startups with approval for business activities.
For those out of the loop, business activity is used to define the nature of products and services that an organization provides. Each business activity comes with its own set of rules and guidelines. Apart from that, for certain activities, you may have to obtain your license form more than one concerned government agencies.
Documents and info required for commercial registration
The info below is a rundown of all the data you need to furnish while applying for a commercial registration certificate for your business.
Name and nationality of the applicant: You may have to provide your national ID and/or passport number.
Legal form of entity: You’ll have to specify what type of business you are going to be. Options available include Limited Liability Company (LLC), single-person company (SRC), and Bahraini Shareholding Company (BSC), just to name a few.
Authorized signatories: Authorized signature of the applicant(s) and all the stakeholders involved in the process.
Commercial name: Not mandatory.
Type of activity desired: You have to specify what type of business activities you intend to practice via your startup. You can change or add activities at a later stage.
Commercial address: Full address with documentary evidence. If you’re a freelancer or a single-person enterprise without an office, consider applying for Virtual CR under the MoICT’s new initiative dubbed Sijili.
These are just the basic info you will have to provide with the proper paperwork to obtain a CR certificate from the MoICT. Note that the requirements could vary depending on the type of startup you want to establish. For more details, visit the official Sijilat portal.
Meanwhile, if you have any doubt or queries, feel free to get in touch with StartUp Bahrain via our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
