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The Kingdom of Bahrain allows three main forms for registering a commercial activity: the company, which is the broadest in scope and accepts one partner or more; the sole establishment, available to a Bahraini or a GCC national resident in Bahrain; and the virtual commercial registration (Sijili), which does not require a commercial address but is limited to specific activities.

Late renewal of the commercial registration leads to its suspension and to all related transactions at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce being blocked, with a knock-on effect on work permits at the Labour Market Regulatory Authority. Reactivation remains possible for up to three years from the date of suspension, after which the registration is lost for good.

Setting up a company in the Kingdom of Bahrain goes through nine stages: reviewing the activity and the nationality, security clearance, reserving the trade name, issuing the commercial registration without a licence, setting the address and registering the tenancy contract, obtaining the approvals of the competent authorities, notarising the incorporation contract, issuing the capital certificate, and finally issuing the licence and recording it on the registration certificate.

Tamkeen support covers part of a Bahraini employee's salary over three years, at 70% in the first year, 50% in the second and 30% in the third. It is subject to a salary cap of between 350 and 450 BD for secondary school graduates, and between 500 and 800 BD for bachelor's degree graduates.