Open a snack bar in Morocco: paperwork, premises, equipment and counter

Steps to open a snack bar in Morocco, in order

Order matters, because the next office often asks for a document from the previous one. Here is a sensible sequence to adapt to your case.

• Find the premises and check with the commune that a food business is allowed there, before you sign.
• Choose the legal form (sole trader or company).
• Reserve the name with OMPIC (certificat négatif).
• Create the business: trade register, tax ID and ICE, CNSS registration if you hire staff.
• File the business tax (taxe professionnelle) registration within 30 days of starting.
• Get the operating permit from the commune and pass the hygiene check.
• Equip, train the team, set up the counter, then open.

Choosing the legal form

For a small snack bar, two routes are common. As a sole trader (personne physique), you run the business in your own name: simple, but your personal assets are not separated from the business. As a company, an SARL can be created by a single partner (SARL AU), according to the business creation guide published by a Regional Investment Centre (CRI): it keeps the business's assets apart from yours, with more formalities and heavier accounting.

There is also the auto-entrepreneur status, registered on its national register (rn.ae.gov.ma) with the file lodged through partner organisations. Not every activity qualifies, so check yours on the official site before relying on it. To decide, an accountant or your region's Regional Investment Centre (CRI) can point you in the right direction.

Name, trade register and tax IDs

The OMPIC certificat négatif shows that the name you picked is not already taken. According to OMPIC, you apply online, you can propose up to three names, and the certificate issued for trade register registration is valid for 90 days. The name is only truly protected once it is entered in the trade register.

The business itself is created on the official DirectEntreprise platform (directentreprise.ma), set up under law 88-17 and rolled out nationwide in March 2025, according to the national portal maroc.ma. It brings together OMPIC, the commercial courts (trade register), the Official Printing Office, the tax administration (DGI) and CNSS. The same portal reports an average of about three days for a complete file submitted online. Fees are not listed here: check the rates shown on the platform on the day you apply.

Business tax and tax regime

According to the tax administration portal (tax.gov.ma), any individual or company carrying on a professional activity in Morocco is liable to the taxe professionnelle. Three points matter when you open:

• The registration declaration is due within 30 days of starting the activity.
• A newly created activity is exempt for five years from the year it starts. A change of operator or a transfer of activity does not count as a new creation, which matters if you take over an existing snack bar.
• Individuals under the single professional contribution regime (CPU) are permanently exempt from the taxe professionnelle. The CPU has turnover and health insurance conditions, so check the current thresholds on tax.gov.ma or with your accountant.

Commune permit and hygiene rules

A snack bar or café open to the public needs an operating permit from the commune. The list of documents, the hygiene office visit and the timing vary from one commune to another: ask the relevant department for the list in writing before starting works, because the fit-out (drainage, ventilation, toilets) may be inspected.

On food safety, law 28-07 governs food products. Order 244-13, which sets out the health authorisation file lodged with ONSSA, excludes retail sale and collective catering from its scope. So ask your commune and the provincial ONSSA office which authorisation applies to your activity, rather than assuming.

Either way, build hygiene basics into the design: a handwashing point, separate cold storage for raw and cooked food, washable work surfaces, closed bins, storage off the floor.

CNSS: registering your team

If you hire anyone, even one person, the business must register with CNSS no later than one month after hiring its first employee or apprentice, according to CNSS. Each employee must be registered, and wages are declared every month online on the Damancom portal. Before hiring, check whether the person already has a CNSS number: it stays with them for their whole working life.

Choosing premises and equipment

Judge premises by foot traffic at the hours you sell (lunch for a snack bar, mornings for a café), room for a queue in front of the counter, water supply, drainage, and enough electrical power for hot plates, fryer and refrigeration. Have the commune confirm the activity is allowed at that address before you sign.

Starter list for a snack bar, adapt it to your menu:

• Cold: fridge or upright chiller, freezer, refrigerated drinks display.
• Cooking: griddle or grill, fryer, oven or salamander, extractor hood.
• Prep: stainless steel work tables, colour-coded boards and knives, gastronorm trays.
• Washing: double sink, separate handwashing point.
• Counter: till or receipt book, price board, a phone or tablet.
• Coffee, if you serve it: espresso machine, grinder, water softener.
• Safety: fire extinguisher suited to cooking oil, first aid kit.

Running the counter from day one

In the first weeks, the counter shapes what customers think of you. Set one simple rule: the customer pays, gets a number, and knows when to collect the order, without crowding the kitchen. Calling numbers out loud works in a small, quiet place; it gets lost with noise or a football match on TV.

Stampylo is one option for that moment. The customer pays, scans the counter QR code with their phone and gets a number for the day; when you tap "Ready" on the counter tablet or phone, their phone rings. A TV to show numbers is optional. Limits to know: on iPhone the phone rings only while the page stays open on screen, and there is no link with a cash register. The same page holds a stamp loyalty card, and a stamp is added only on an order actually marked ready. The trial is free for 14 days with no card, then MAD 149 per month.

Questions