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Commercial Registration

Virtual Commercial Registration (Sijili)

The virtual commercial registration, known as Sijili, is a commercial registration issued without a commercial address, so no premises need to be rented. It is not available for every activity, only for specific activities set out on a list approved by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. It suits anyone carrying out an activity that needs no premises and seeking to lower the cost of starting up.

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Who this service is for

  • Anyone carrying out an activity that does not require commercial premises
  • Anyone seeking to start their activity at the lowest possible cost
  • Anyone wanting to test a business idea before expanding

Issuing steps

  1. 1

    Checking that the activity is eligible

    The most important step, which covers confirming that the activity is among those permitted to be issued as a virtual commercial registration.

  2. 2

    Trade name reservation

    The name is approved under the naming conditions.

  3. 3

    Issuing the registration

    The registration is issued without a commercial address.

Key considerations

Not every activity is available

This is the single biggest cause of a transaction stalling, as many people start the procedure and then find that the activity is not on the approved list.

Conversion to a standard registration is available

Changing the type from a virtual commercial registration to a standard one, and the reverse, is an established transaction when the needs of the activity change.

Operating limits

Work visas cannot be issued under a virtual commercial registration, but Bahraini employees can be hired by registering them with the Social Insurance Organisation.

Common questions

A virtual commercial registration does not require a commercial address, whereas a standard registration does. The activities available for a virtual commercial registration are also limited to an approved list.

Yes. Changing the type is available in both directions.

Send the name of the activity, so it can be checked against the approved list and the exact result sent back to you.

Contact us

Send the name of the activity, so its eligibility as a virtual commercial registration can be checked before any procedure.