Starting a Business in Bahrain

This table summarizes the procedures and costs associated with setting up a business in Bahrain.

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Standardized company

Legal Form: With Limited Liability (WLL)
City: Manama

Registration Requirements Summary:


  Procedure Time to complete: Cost to complete:
1 Obtain lease agreement to prove location 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 1 day no charge
3 Obtain approval from the Municipality 2-3 days no charge
4 Notarize Memorandum of Association 1 day 35 BHD
5 Open an account at the bank and obtain proof of deposit of capital. 1 day no charge
6 Obtain Certificate of Registration from Ministry of Commerce 1 day 20 BHD
7 Register the company and employees with the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) 1 day no charge

Registration Requirements Details

Procedure 1.
Obtain lease agreement to prove location
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
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.
Procedure 2.
Draft standard Memorandum of Association and obtain preliminary approval from the Ministry of Commerce at the Bahrain Investment Center’s one-stop shop
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
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.
Procedure 3.
Obtain approval from the Municipality
Time to complete:
2-3 days
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The location of the company must be approved by the Municipality, which has a representative at the BIC’s one-stop shop.
Procedure 4.
Notarize Memorandum of Association
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
35 BHD
Name of Agency:
Comment:
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.
Procedure 5.
Open an account at the bank and obtain proof of deposit of capital.
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
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.
Procedure 6.
Obtain Certificate of Registration from Ministry of Commerce
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
20 BHD
Name of Agency:
Comment:
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.)
Procedure 7.
Register the company and employees with the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI)
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The documents required for registration are: 1) Copy of employer’s CPR, 2) Copy of the CR, 3) Copy of company contract.