Bahrain

Starting a Business in

Bahrain

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Bahrain. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

Compare Bahrain to 184 other economies.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: With Limited Liability (WLL)
  • Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: BHD 20,000
  • City: Manama

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain lease agreement to prove location

The lease agreement is required to obtain preliminary approval from the Municipality. If the entrepreneur decides to use the services of an attorney, it is common practice for the entrepreneur to use the address of the law firm until a lease is obtained within 3 months.
1 day no charge
2 Draft standard Memorandum of Association and obtain preliminary approval from the Ministry of Commerce at the Bahrain Investment Center’s one-stop shop

The entrepreneur obtains preliminary approval from the Ministry of Commerce by presenting the required documents to the Bahrain Investment Center (BIC)'s one-stop-shop. the required documents are: (1) Draft Memorandum of Association, (2) Board resolution, (3) CPR copies of the company representative, (4) CVs of partners, (5) Lease agreement.
1 day no charge
3 Obtain approval from the Municipality

The location of the company must be approved by the Municipality, which has a representative at the BIC’s one-stop shop.
3 days no charge
4 Notarize Memorandum of Association

Once the registration approval has been obtained from the Ministry of Commerce, the Memorandum of Association has to be notarized by the notary public. A notary is available at the Ministry of Justice’s booth at the BIC one-stop shop.
1 day BHD 27
5 Open an account at the bank and obtain proof of deposit of capital

The capital has to be deposited in an account at a commercial bank and a proof of deposit has to be obtained. Two commercial bank branches are available at the BIC one-stop-shop.
1 day no charge
6 Obtain Certificate of Registration from Ministry of Commerce

When the approval from the municipality is obtained, the MoA is notarized and the capital is deposited into the bank, the entrepreneur returns to the Ministry of Commerce to obtain the Certificate of Registration (C.R).
1 day BHD 30
7 Register the company and employees with the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI)

The documents required for registration are:

• Copy of employer’s CPR
• Copy of the CR
• Copy of company contract
1 day no charge
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