Company Registration

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What is a Commercial Registration?

To start a business in the Bahrain investors are required to issue a Commercial Registration known locally as a CR.

A Commercial Registration certificate (CR) is a legal document issued to investors upon registering their establishment in the Kingdom of Bahrain with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism.

The Commercial Registration certificate includes the following information:

Commercial Registration number and establishment date.
Name of the legal representative of the establishment.
Legal form of the establishment.
Commercial name of the establishment (if provided).
Registration expiry date.
Activity/Business License (once the necessary approvals/licenses have been obtained)

Commercial Registration (CR) Types

There are three types of commercial registration certificates issued:

1) Commercial Registration certificate without license: Issued before obtaining approvals/licenses for the business activities.
2) Commercial Registration certificate with license: Issued after obtaining approvals/licenses for the business activities.
Virtual Commercial Registration (Sijili): Issued to give small individual enterprises and entrepreneurs the legal status to perform business activities and to simplify the procedures for the establishment of some businesses.
3) A Commercial registration without a license is obtained first to legally register your company in the Kingdom of Bahrain, making it easier and faster for you to set up your business.

It also allows investors to perform initial tasks related to the establishment of a company, such as leasing commercial space, approach banks, engage with vendors, secure a commercial name, as well as any other task not requiring a business license to be obtained.

Business Activities

There are over 350 business activities to choose from with different requirements for each business activity.