How do you open a car rental agency in Morocco in 2026?

You need a company whose main purpose is car rental without a driver, 500,000 MAD of fully paid-up capital and reserves, a person in charge who meets the good-character and qualification conditions, and premises. Then, within six months of the preliminary approval, come at least seven new vehicles and the registrations (commercial register, business tax, CNSS), followed by insurance for each car.

This guide summarises the cahier des charges of 9 April 2024 published by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics (official text in Arabic, PDF) and the ministry's procedure sheets, checked on 6 October 2026. The online sheets are older than the cahier des charges and contradict it on several points: this guide follows the cahier des charges and flags each difference. It does not replace the ministry office that handles your file, or a lawyer or chartered accountant.

New rules for car rental without a driver came into force on 15 April 2024, replacing those in force since 1997, according to Minister Abdessamad Kayouh's answer to Parliament, reported in June 2026 (in Arabic).

• Entry conditions: good character, financial capacity and professional competence.
• A minimum fleet raised from five to seven vehicles.
• New categories of rental vehicles, including motorcycles.
• A maximum operating period for vehicles by engine type, and rules for adding used vehicles.
• A transition period for agencies that already existed.

The legal basis is Decree No. 2-69-351 of 4 April 1970 on the operation of cars rented without a driver, as amended, cited at the head of the cahier des charges.

The deadlines in article 13 apply only to agencies that were operating before the new text: 29 March 2025 for the premises, the person in charge and the legal form, and 29 March 2027 for the minimum number of vehicles (29 September 2024 and 29 March 2025 for companies that already held a preliminary approval). At the end of April 2025, the ministry extended the deadline for some of these requirements to the end of 2025, according to Hespress and Le Matin (1 and 2 May 2025). A new agency benefits from none of these deadlines.

The cahier des charges distinguishes two people, who may be the same person. The company's legal representative (usually the manager, gérant) signs the application and the cahier des charges. The person in charge of the business (المسؤول عن النشاط) is a natural person linked to the agency, as an employee, shareholder or manager: they check rental contracts and documents and manage vehicle maintenance (article 7).

The cahier des charges of 9 April 2024 (article 4, in Arabic) asks, for the legal representative and for the person in charge, for:

• a copy of a valid electronic national ID card, or of a residence card;
• a criminal record extract (bulletin no. 3) less than 3 months old, showing none of the convictions listed in article 6;
• for the person in charge, proof of professional competence (diploma, or experience certified by the CNSS).

The person in charge is qualified with at least a specialised technician diploma or a university studies diploma ("دبلوم الدراسات الجامعية" in the Arabic text), or an equivalent, or with at least the level of the final year of the baccalauréat cycle and at least two years' experience in car rental without a driver, certified by the CNSS (article 7 of the cahier des charges). The ministry's older online preliminary approval sheet (in Arabic) still asks for the baccalauréat plus two years of higher education, or baccalauréat level plus 4 years' experience, and for a police record certificate (fiche anthropométrique).

If your documents match only one of the two versions, ask the ministry office which rule it applies before appointing the person in charge.

Set up a company whose articles of association give car rental without a driver as the main purpose (article 4 of the cahier des charges). The premises may also house another activity related to road transport (article 3). The ministry's older online sheet still asks for articles limited "exclusively" to this activity: have the wording of the company's purpose confirmed by the ministry office before signing the articles.

A company can be created online on DirectEntreprise, the platform set up under Law 88-17: reserve the trade name, then create the company. According to Morocco's national portal (in French), it connects OMPIC (the industrial and commercial property office), the commercial courts, the Official Printing Office, the tax administration (DGI) and the social security fund (CNSS), and a complete file takes three days on average. Notaries, lawyers and accountants file their clients' applications there.

If the legal representative is not named in the articles, the first file also includes the minutes of the general meeting that appoints them (article 4).

On money, plan for 500,000 MAD. Article 8 of the cahier des charges requires proof, in the first file, of capital and reserves of at least 500,000 MAD, fully paid up (certified copies of the documents). The ministry's older online sheet still mentions a bank certificate: check with your accountant and the ministry office which documents they accept before you pay in the capital.

File the first application, against a receipt, with the territorial office of the ministry in charge of transport that covers the company's registered office (article 4); the online sheets call it the provincial directorate of infrastructure, transport, logistics and water. According to the ministry sheet, the procedure is free; it gives processing times of 30 and 10 days without saying which step each applies to, and the cahier des charges sets no deadline.

1. An application signed by the legal representative.
2. The cahier des charges initialled on every page and signed on the last page by the legal representative, with the signature legalised, preceded by the words "read and approved, I undertake to comply with the clauses of this cahier des charges".
3. A copy of the valid electronic ID card, or residence card, of the legal representative and of the person in charge.
4. An up-to-date copy of the articles of association, with car rental without a driver as the main purpose.
5. The minutes of the general meeting appointing the legal representative, if the articles do not name them.
6. A criminal record extract (bulletin no. 3) less than 3 months old for the legal representative and for the person in charge.
7. The title deed of the premises, or a certified copy of a commercial lease of at least one year, renewable.
8. Proof of the professional competence of the person in charge.
9. Proof of financial capacity: 500,000 MAD of fully paid-up capital and reserves.

The preliminary approval is valid for six months; after that, the applicant loses it. It is personal and cannot be transferred (article 4 of the cahier des charges). The cahier des charges provides no extension; an older online sheet of the ministry describes one on a simple signed request: ask the ministry office whether it still exists before relying on it.

The preliminary approval is valid for six months. Within that time, article 4 of the cahier des charges requires a second file:

• a commercial register certificate less than 3 months old, whose purpose includes car rental without a driver;
• a business tax (patente) registration certificate less than 3 months old, for the same activity;
• the company's CNSS membership certificate;
• the CNSS registration certificate of the person in charge of the business;
• an administrative document proving that the agency has the minimum number of vehicles (at least seven new vehicles, article 8).

The ministry's older online licence sheet (in Arabic) still asks for "at least five new cars", whereas the cahier des charges requires at least seven new vehicles of the same category, proven within six months of the application (article 8): plan for seven vehicles. That sheet also asks for a VAT certificate, a floor plan of the premises signed by the authorities and the municipality, and a mechanic holding a CAP (vocational certificate) registered with the CNSS, with the manager's commitment to employ them. The 2024 cahier des charges mentions none of these documents: ask the ministry office whether it still requires them.

The ministry's territorial office then issues the decision to open and operate on the basis of this second file (article 4). The decision is personal: it cannot be transferred, free of charge or for payment (article 5).

The procedure is free according to the ministry sheet, which gives processing times of 15 and 30 days without saying which document each applies to; the cahier des charges sets no deadline.

An older procedure published on the portal of the Sbata district (Casablanca) (in French), which predates the 2024 text (it still names the Ministry of Equipment and Transport, individuals and five cars), provided for an inspection report on the premises. The 2024 cahier des charges does not mention such a visit, but it does provide for checks by ministry officers (article 12).

According to the ministry's online sheets, each rental car goes through two procedures with the provincial directorate, both free and handled within 30 days.

1. Approval to register a car intended for rental without a driver: the application, a copy of the insurance certificate and the WW certificate.
2. Authorisation of the car for rental without a driver: the application, a copy of the insurance certificate and a copy of the registration document (carte grise) marked "car rental without a driver".

Before putting a car into rental, article 10 of the cahier des charges also requires you to give the ministry office for your registered office a copy of its registration document, of a valid technical inspection certificate (except for a new car registered under WW plates) and of a valid insurance certificate. Withdrawing a car before the end of its operating period is declared to the same office, with the original registration document and the reason.

Also take into account each car's maximum operating period: 5 years for a combustion engine, 6 for a hybrid, 7 for an electric car (article 9 of the cahier des charges). It sets how often you renew your fleet, and therefore your financing needs.

Third-party liability insurance is compulsory for every car. Article 120 of the Insurance Code (Law 17-99) (in French) requires anyone who may be liable for damage caused to third parties by a motor vehicle to be insured with an insurance company.

• The insurance covers the policyholder, the owner and anyone driving the car with their permission, which includes your customers (article 122).
• The cover cannot be less than 50 million dirhams per vehicle and per event (article 123).
• Every driver must be able to show a document proving the insurance (article 126): keep the certificate in each car.

The Code's obligation covers liability towards third parties. Cover for your own cars (theft, fire, damage) is negotiated with your insurer, and your rental contract should state clearly what the customer pays in case of damage.

Yes. According to the CNDP (Morocco's data protection authority, page in French), any processing of personal data must be declared before it starts, except for the cases set out in Law 09-08. A rental agency records each customer's identity, phone number and driving licence.

The CNDP requires prior authorisation, not just a declaration, when the data include the national ID card number. That is the case if your contracts record the customer's CIN number, as Rentoth's do.

• Prior declaration: form F214 (simplified) or F211 (standard).
• Prior authorisation: form F113 (simplified) or F112 (standard).
• Data hosted outside Morocco: the CNDP allows a transfer abroad only in certain cases (a country on its list, the person's express consent, a transfer needed to perform the contract, or the CNDP's express authorisation); the request for transfer abroad uses form F118, and the CNDP grants it only once the processing itself has been declared or authorised.

The last point also concerns your software: Rentoth's data are hosted outside Morocco, and its privacy policy names each provider and the country where it processes data; reuse that information in your CNDP file.

From the first rentals, you need to know at any moment which car is rented, to whom, under which contract and deposit, and when its papers expire. Before opening, prepare:

• a schedule of cars and bookings;
• a written rental contract, with the customer's ID and driving licence, the car's condition and the deposit terms;
• a record of the payments and deposits received;
• the expiry dates of each car's insurance, technical inspection and registration;
• invoices showing the company's identifiers (ICE, commercial register, tax identifier, business tax): have the mandatory mentions checked by your accountant.

Rentoth covers these needs in one online tool: bookings and fleet calendar, contracts signed online, deposits, payments and cash journal, invoices with ICE and commercial register numbers, and a booking website in the agency's name. When you enter a car's insurance, technical inspection and registration expiry dates, it refuses a rental that runs past them, unless an agency administrator overrides it.

Its limits, worth knowing before you choose: no self sign-up (we set up the agency with you after a demo), no engine cut-off (GPS tracking, from your own trackers, is read-only), no collection of your customers' payments (you record them), and no app to install from a store, because Rentoth runs in the browser.

The ministry's procedures are free according to its sheets, which give processing times of 30 days at most; the cahier des charges sets no deadline. The process has at least four successive stages: setting up the company, preliminary approval, the decision to open and operate, then putting the cars into service.

Most of the investment comes from the rest: the 500,000 MAD of capital and reserves, buying or financing at least seven new vehicles, the premises, insurance, staff and company set-up costs. We do not give a total, because it depends on your city, your cars and your financing: ask your car dealer, insurer and accountant for real quotes.