The path to establishing a company
Want to establish a company and not sure where to start?
We explain the steps and the requirements and help you choose the activity and the options that suit your project in economic terms. Work that belongs to the legal profession, such as drafting contracts and incorporation procedures, is carried out by a licensed law office. Start here: the path from an idea to a company in operation.
- The initial consultation is free and without obligation.
- No work begins until you have approved a written proposal.
- A step the law reserves to a licence holder is carried out by one, and this page shows which, step by step.
The path in six steps, and who carries out each one
Commercial registration is the fourth step of six. Before it come the decisions and the file; after it comes what the company completes in order to operate. At each step you see what you provide, what we do, and what the authority or a licensed provider does.
Define the project
Activity, owners and location: three decisions that shape everything after them.
- What you provide
- The idea as it stands, who will own the project and where it will operate.
- What we do
- We study the project and ask the questions the authorities will ask later.
Check the activity and choose the route
Is the activity open to the proposed ownership? Which licence does it need? Which legal form suits it, inside a special economic zone or free zone or outside one?
- What you provide
- Your decision, once the options are compared.
- What we do
- We compare the options in economic terms and write down the path: which authority, which approval, which document, in which order.
- The authority or a licensed provider
- The competent authorities set the requirements. Legal questions go to a licensed law office.
Prepare the file
The studies, plans and documents the authorities will ask for, complete and correctly ordered before any application.
- What you provide
- Identity documents, and corporate documents where an owner is a company, attested where they come from outside Oman.
- What we do
- The feasibility study, the financial plan, the workforce plan and the requirement lists.
- The authority or a licensed provider
- Constitutive documents and contracts: a licensed law office. Constitutive documents are written in Arabic.
Registration and licences through the official channels
Commercial registration and licensing are carried out online through the Oman Business Platform, and many activities are licensed automatically.
- What you provide
- You are the applicant and the signatory.
- What we do
- We keep the file complete and in order, and tell you where the procedure stands at each stage.
- The authority or a licensed provider
- Incorporation procedures: a licensed law office. Decisions rest with the competent authorities.
After registration
The company completes its activity licences, chamber membership, premises and municipal licence, tax registration, labour and residence procedures, social protection registration and bank account.
- What you provide
- Signing and submitting, choosing the premises, and dealing directly with the bank.
- What we do
- Requirement lists for each authority, coordination, and a note of where each procedure stands.
- The authority or a licensed provider
- Each competent authority decides its own part.
While operating
An operating company has periodic obligations: renewing its registration and licences, filing an annual report and tax returns, keeping proper accounts, and keeping its ownership and signatory data current.
- What you provide
- Keeping the accounts, filing the returns and renewing on time.
- What we do
- A calendar of periodic obligations, financial and management advice, and training for your team.
- The authority or a licensed provider
- Audit: a licensed auditor.
The order shown is the logical one, not a prescribed official sequence. Requirements, fees and time frames are set by the competent authorities and change from time to time. We confirm the rules in force for each case before acting.
Six terms you will meet along the way
- Commercial registration
- The entry of the business in the Commercial Register, made online through the Oman Business Platform.
- Activity
- What the business is registered to do. Entering an activity in the commercial registration does not by itself give the right to practise it where a specific law sets additional requirements.
- Licence
- The approval an activity needs before it is practised. Many activities are licensed automatically; others need the approval of the competent authority.
- Legal form
- The Commercial Companies Law provides several forms, among them the limited liability company, the one-person company and the joint stock company.
- Trade name
- The name under which the business is registered and trades.
- Chamber membership
- Whoever carries on commercial business in Oman must be a member of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the law exempts certain very small trades.
What to bring to the first meeting
- The activity you intend to carry on, described in your own words
- Who will own the project, and their nationalities
- Where it will operate: the governorate, and whether inside a special economic zone or free zone
- Its size at the start: team and premises
- The documents you already hold: identity, an existing commercial registration, contracts
- Your questions, however basic they seem
Official tools and public bodies
Oman Business Platform (opens in a new tab)
The official channel for commercial registration and licensing, operated by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.
The platform's list of activities (opens in a new tab)
Look up your activity as it is officially classified: the activity check starts here.
Licence types on the platform (opens in a new tab)
How an activity is licensed: automatically, or with the approval of the competent authority.
Tax Authority (opens in a new tab)
The tax registration portal for an establishment carrying on economic activity.
Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (opens in a new tab)
The authority that supervises the special economic zones, free zones and industrial cities, if your route lies inside one.
Questions about establishing a company
The first step is a free initial consultation, without obligation. You describe the activity, who will own the project and where it will operate. We then explain the steps and the requirements and help you choose the activity and the options that suit your project in economic terms. Work that belongs to the legal profession, such as drafting contracts and incorporation procedures, is carried out by a licensed law office. Our page on the path to establishing a company shows each step and who carries it out.
Commercial registration and licensing are carried out online through the Oman Business Platform, operated by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion. It connects the government entities involved in establishing a business, and many activities are licensed automatically. You are the applicant and the signatory, decisions rest with the competent authorities, and legal work, including incorporation procedures, is carried out by a licensed law office. Our part precedes the application: we explain the requirements and prepare the business side of the file, so that it arrives complete and correctly sequenced.
Not always. Entering an activity in the commercial registration does not by itself entitle a business to practise it where a specific law sets additional requirements. After registration a company completes its activity licences, chamber membership, premises and municipal licence, tax registration, labour and residence procedures, social protection registration and bank account. The order is logical, not a prescribed official sequence. Registration opens the path; it does not end it. So we give you the path in writing, in its order, with a requirement list for each authority.
The Commercial Companies Law provides several forms, among them the limited liability company, the one-person company and the joint stock company; a holding company takes the joint stock form. A foreign company may also be registered as a branch or a commercial representative office under the applicable conditions. Legal questions on any form, and the constitutive documents, which are written in Arabic, belong to a licensed law office. Our part is to compare the options in economic terms, against your project's size and plan, before you decide.
An operating company has periodic obligations: renewing its registration and licences, filing an annual report, filing tax returns once registered with the Tax Authority, keeping proper accounts, and keeping its ownership and signatory data current. Whoever carries on commercial business must be a member of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the law exempts certain very small trades. Wages are paid through the Wage Protection System to accounts with banks or financial institutions supervised by the Central Bank of Oman. We set these out for you as a calendar, under the rules in force.
Entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises are served by dedicated public bodies, among them the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, which registers enterprises and issues the Entrepreneurship Card; the Development Bank; and Future Fund Oman, launched by the Oman Investment Authority. These are official bodies; Integrated Consultancy is a private company and does not represent any of them, and you deal with them directly. Our part is the business side of what you bring to them: a feasibility study and a financial plan for your project.
Integrated Consultancy is an economic consultancy. Legal work, including the drafting of contracts and company incorporation procedures, statutory audit, customs clearance and other separately licensed activities are carried out by providers that hold the relevant licence. Decisions on registrations, licences and permits rest with the competent authorities. Requirements, fees and time frames are set by the competent authorities and change from time to time. We confirm the rules in force for each case before acting. The bodies named on this page are official authorities of the Sultanate of Oman. Integrated Consultancy is a private company and does not represent any of them.
Next step
Begin with the matter in hand
Tell us about it in a first meeting. We listen, ask what needs asking and tell you plainly whether we can help, and how. The meeting is free and without obligation, under a non-disclosure agreement if you ask for one.