Company Incorporation in Qatar
Registration of a Qatari company — MOCI issues the commercial registration (CR) and trade licence under the Commercial Companies Law No. 11 of 2015, and up to 100% foreign ownership is permitted in most economic sectors under Foreign Investment Law No. 1 of 2019 (banking, insurance, exploitation of natural resources and commercial agencies are excluded, along with any sector the Council of Ministers carves out). MOCI's own Establishing Companies FAQ puts an LLC/WLL at a minimum of one and a maximum of 50 partners with no minimum or maximum capital for a general LLC, while a holding company requires QAR 10,000,000 of capital. A foreign investor can instead register in the Qatar Financial Centre — an English-common-law country inside Qatar with its own registrar, 100% foreign ownership and its own 10% corporate tax. Onshore, the contract of establishment and the register are in Arabic, and foreign corporate and personal documents must be consularised (Qatar is not an Apostille state) with certified Arabic translation.
15–45 business days
QAR
Compare the structures
Every column is a vehicle you can actually incorporate here, and each is bought on its own terms. Every fact carries where it was read: on the authority’s own page, or — marked Indicative — on a filing platform or publication we name and link. Anything we could not read anywhere is marked Pending verification and confirmed with the authority before you pay.
| Limited Liability Company (WLL — With Limited Liability)The main onshore vehicle for a foreign company entering Qatar — 1 to 50 partners, no minimum capital for a general LLC, and up to 100% foreign ownership in most sectors under Law No. 1 of 2019 | Single Person Company (one-member WLL / Sole Proprietorship Company)A solo founder or a wholly-owned subsidiary of a foreign parent wanting limited liability onshore without a second partner | Branch of a Foreign CompanyA foreign company awarded a specific Qatari contract — 100% foreign-owned and taxed at 10% on Qatari-source profit, but liability sits with the parent and a branch is generally tied to the contract rather than a general trading licence | Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) entityFinancial, professional and increasingly general-business firms wanting 100% foreign ownership, an English-common-law framework and an English-language registrar — an alternative REGIME to onshore MOCI registration, offering LLC, LLC(G), SPC, holding company, foundation, branch, partnership and LLP structures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum owners | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Maximum owners | 50 | 1 | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Minimum directors | 1 | 1 | Pending verification | 1 |
| Liability | limited | limited | unlimited | limited |
| Foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tax treatment | Corporate income tax at 10% applies to the profit share attributable to FOREIGN (non-Qatari/non-GCC) ownership; the shar… | Same as the WLL: 10% corporate income tax on the foreign-owned profit share; exempt to the extent owned by Qatari/GCC na… | A foreign branch is 100% foreign-owned and is taxed at 10% corporate income tax on its Qatari-source profits (no Qatari/… | QFC has its OWN tax regime: a competitive 10% corporate tax on locally-sourced profits, with 100% profit repatriation. I… |
| Audit required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audit threshold | Audited financial statements are required for the tax return; a WLL must appoint an auditor. The precise Commercial Comp… | Same audit position as the WLL - re-confirm the Law No. 11 of 2015 article. | Audited accounts required for the tax return. | QFC entities file audited accounts with the QFC under its own rules - confirm the specific QFC Companies Regulations thr… |
| Annual compliance | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Typical use | The main onshore vehicle for a foreign company entering Qatar - a WLL (also written LLC) with up to 100% foreign ownersh… | Solo founder or wholly-owned single-shareholder subsidiary of a foreign parent operating onshore. | Project-specific presence, most commonly for a foreign contractor delivering a defined public-sector contract; a branch … | A distinct, English-law jurisdiction WITHIN Qatar with its own registrar (the QFC Authority / Companies Registration Off… |
What we will need from you
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Passport copy for each partner, and for a foreign national an authenticated (consularised) copy
For a foreign body-corporate partner: legalised certificate of incorporation, memorandum/articles and a board resolution authorising the investment and appointing the manager
Qatar is NOT a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so these are CONSULARISED — notarised, attested by the foreign ministry of origin, legalised by the Qatari embassy/consulate and then super-legalised by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs — with a legal Arabic translation certified by an approved Qatari translation office.
Contract of establishment (memorandum / articles), authenticated
Drafted in Arabic. Drafting by a licensed Qatari lawyer is a separate market cost, not a statutory fee, and any Ministry of Justice / notary authentication fee must be read from the official MOCI fee schedule.
Trade name reservation
Confirm the reservation step and any fee against the MOCI Single Window checklist.
Lease / tenancy contract for the registered office
Manager's appointment and specimen signature
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| New commercial registration (CR) with one main activityThe strongly-corroborated figure is QAR 500 for a new CR and/or licence with one main activity, set by Ministerial Decision No. 60 of 2024 which cut the previous maximum of QAR 10,000 by up to ~90%; it appears in prose on the MOCI news page and is reported by Sovereign Group and a Qatari law firm, but the official schedule is published only as a scanned PDF. | Confirmed before payment |
| Annual CR renewalonly if it appliesReported (Sovereign Group, secondary) to have been reduced to QAR 500 under Ministerial Decision No. 60/2024. Confirm.moci.gov.qa/downloads/feesEn.pdf. | Confirmed before payment |
| Each additional activity on the CRonly if it appliesAlso reduced under Decision 60/2024, but the figure is not in the readable official schedule. Confirm.moci.gov.qa/downloads/feesEn.pdf. | Confirmed before payment |
| Commercial / industrial premises (trade) licence, annual — including branchesonly if it appliesReported reduced to QAR 500 annually for commercial, industrial and public premises including branches (Sovereign Group, secondary). Confirm.moci.gov.qa/downloads/feesEn.pdf. | Confirmed before payment |
| Notarisation / authentication of the contract of establishmentAn onshore WLL needs an authenticated contract of establishment; any Ministry of Justice / notary authentication fee must be read from the official MOCI fee schedule.moci.gov.qa/downloads/feesEn.pdf). Lawyer drafting is a market cost, not a statutory fee. | Confirmed before payment |
| QFC application / incorporation fee (QFC route)Confirm.qfc.qa/en/operating-with-qfc/registration and the QFC Authority's published fee rules. | Confirmed before payment |
| QFC annual licence / renewal fee (QFC route)only if it appliesAn annual renewal applies but no figure was confirmed from a readable QFC fee schedule. Confirm.qfc.qa/en/operating-with-qfc/registration. | Confirmed before payment |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Structure & Sector Check
Choose between the onshore MOCI route (WLL, single-person company, branch) and the QFC, and confirm the activity is not in a sector excluded from 100% foreign ownership under Law No. 1 of 2019 (banking, insurance, natural resources, commercial agencies).
Documents Consularised & Translated
Partner and parent-company documents are notarised, attested, legalised by the Qatari embassy and super-legalised by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then Arabic-translated by an approved translation office (Qatar is not an Apostille state). The QFC route runs in English instead.
Trade Name & Contract of Establishment
Trade name reserved and the Arabic contract of establishment drafted and authenticated; the manager is appointed with a specimen signature.
Commercial Registration Issued
MOCI issues the commercial registration and the trade licence. Fees are payable per the official MOCI schedule (reported at QAR 500 under Ministerial Decision No. 60 of 2024 — confirm before payment). MOCI publishes no service-level timeline; the range shown is our delivery estimate, not an authority SLA. For the QFC, registration follows the Client Portal application (service providers report about 2 weeks for a standalone company and 4–6 weeks for a subsidiary).
Tax Registration on Dhareeba
The company is registered with the General Tax Authority on Dhareeba so it can file the 10% corporate income tax return; a licensed auditor is appointed.
Indicative guidance — confirmed before payment
Requirements and statutory fees are set by Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) — Commercial Registration and Licenses Department (or the QFC Authority for the QFC route) and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.