Mauritania

Starting a Business in

Mauritania

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Mauritania. 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 Mauritania to 184 other economies.

YearNew business densityNumber of new limited liability companies
2011 6.1794,050

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) - Limited Liability Company
  • Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: MRO 1,000,000
  • City: Nouakchott

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Deposit the legally required initial capital in a bank and obtain deposit evidence


1 day no charge
2 Deposit the company’s deed and articles of association with the notary

The law in Mauritania does not require the notarization of the statutes for limited liabilities companies. However, the Commercial Court has always required this document to be notarized. The notarization fee is based on a scale by company capital:

Fee schedule for depositing incorporation documents:

• MRO 1–2 million capital: 2%.
• MRO 2–3 million capital: 1.5%.
• MRO 3–7 million capital: 1%.
1 day 2% of capital up to MRO 1,000,000 + 1.5% of capital from MRO 1,000,001 to MRO 3,000,000 + 1% of capital from MRO 3,000,001 to MRO 7,000,000.
3 Register the statuts with the Direction des Domaines

The "Direction des Domaines" records the registration number, the date, and the denomination of this legal act. A specimen of the act is preserved indefinitely, in theory.

The fee schedule for registering the statutes is 0.25% of the capital plus MRO 200 per page for the stamps.
1 day 0.25 % of capital + MRO 200 per page for stamps
4 Registration with the Clerk’s Office for Commercial Registry (Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce)


2 days included in previous procedure
5 Publication in a newspaper

The fee to publish an announcement in the Official Gazette is MRO 20,000–30,000. Although promoters must wait 1–2 weeks for the announcement to be published, they can continue with the registration process.
2 weeks MRO 20,000 to 30,000
* 6 Register with the Tax Department (Direction Générale des Impots) and get a fiscal number


1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) MRO 60,000
* 7 Register for social security with the Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale

After social security registration, the company receives a visit by the Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale. However, the company can operate before the visit.
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge
* 8 Apply to the Ministry of Labor for a permit to start a lucrative business

Any person who exercises a lucrative activity in Mauritania must apply for a permit from the Labor Ministry. The permit is of unlimited duration.
4 days, depending on complexity of drafting and availability of notary (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge
* 9 Send a notification letter of starting the business to the Labor Inspector


1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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