Egypt runs its business registration through two institutions. The السجل التجاري (Commercial Register) is the national register of record, administered by the جهاز تنمية التجارة الداخلية — ITDA (Internal Trade Development Authority) under the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade through more than a hundred register offices. Company incorporation itself is handled by the الهيئة العامة للاستثمار والمناطق الحرة — GAFI (General Authority for Investment and Free Zones) through its one-stop مركز خدمات المستثمرين (Investor Service Center). Every certificate of incorporation issued by GAFI must then be entered in the Commercial Register.

The company registry in Egypt

The register is governed by قانون السجل التجاري رقم 34 لسنة 1976 (Commercial Register Law No. 34 of 1976), with executive regulations issued by ministerial decree in 2018 and amendments made by Law No. 198 of 2020, alongside the قانون الأسماء التجارية رقم 55 لسنة 1951 (Trade Names Law No. 55 of 1951). Article 2 of Law 34/1976 requires registration of individuals trading through a commercial establishment, of partnerships and of joint-stock companies, partnerships limited by shares and limited liability companies whatever their object, of public juridical persons carrying on commerce, of cooperative societies carrying on commercial activity, and of persons acting as commercial agents for foreign establishments. Separate entries are made for the head office, branches, agencies and the general centre.

GAFI describes itself as the sole administrative body providing all incorporation and post-incorporation services to companies and establishments whatever their governing legal structure, subject only to the capital market law and the law on economic zones of a special nature. Its Investor Service Center physically hosts the other bodies involved — including a Commercial Register office, the tax authority, the real estate publicity department, the bar association and the federation of chambers of commerce — so that incorporation, commercial registration, the tax number and the social insurance number can be obtained together.

Investment frameworks and zones

Under قانون الاستثمار رقم 72 لسنة 2017 (Investment Law No. 72 of 2017) GAFI administers several frameworks: internal investment, public and private free zones, investment zones and technological zones. Special economic zones fall outside GAFI, under the separate law on economic zones of a special nature.

Sole traders

The المنشأة الفردية / التاجر الفرد (sole proprietorship or individual merchant) is registered directly in the Commercial Register, or incorporated through GAFI where investment-law status is sought. Before commercial registration a sole trader must obtain a tax card and a certificate of practising the activity from the competent chamber of commerce.

Legal forms that can be registered in Egypt

Corporate forms come from قانون شركات المساهمة وشركات التوصية بالأسهم والشركات ذات المسؤولية المحدودة رقم 159 لسنة 1981 (Law No. 159 of 1981 on Joint Stock Companies, Partnerships Limited by Shares and Limited Liability Companies) and from the Investment Law of 2017:

  • شركة المساهمة (Joint stock company) — liability is limited to the value of the shares subscribed; a minimum number of founders applies and part of the issued capital must be paid on incorporation. The form used for larger businesses and for listing.
  • شركة التوصية بالأسهم (Partnership limited by shares) — the joint partners bear unlimited liability while the shareholders are liable only up to their shares.
  • الشركة ذات المسؤولية المحدودة (Limited liability company) — requires at least two partners and must have an Egyptian manager; the quotas are not publicly tradable and partners are liable only up to their contributions.
  • شركة الشخص الواحد (One person company) — a company with a single founder, natural or legal, whose liability is confined to the company’s capital.
  • شركة التضامن (General partnership) — all partners are jointly and severally liable for the partnership’s obligations.
  • شركة التوصية البسيطة (Simple limited partnership) — the joint partners are unlimitedly liable while the sleeping partners answer only up to their contribution.
  • المنشأة الفردية / التاجر الفرد (Sole proprietorship / individual merchant) — no separate legal personality and unlimited personal liability.
  • فرع شركة أجنبية (Branch of a foreign company) — no separate legal personality; GAFI approves the branch and it is then entered in the Commercial Register.
  • مكتب تمثيل (Representation office) — established to conduct market studies and liaison work only; it may not carry on commercial activity and has no separate legal personality.
  • الجمعيات التعاونية (Cooperative societies) — separate legal persons which are entered in the Commercial Register when they carry on commercial activity, although they are incorporated under their own sectoral regime rather than by GAFI.

Information available from the Egyptian business register

Public verification runs mainly through inquiry services rather than through an open company database. The Commercial Register offers an استعلام عن سجل تجاري (commercial register inquiry) to verify that a register entry exists and to obtain basic establishment data by name or tax number, and an استدلال عن سجل (establishment status inquiry), both delivered through the national digital services portal.

Two official gazettes carry corporate publicity. The جريدة الأسماء التجارية (Commercial Names Gazette) is published monthly by register office and is free to browse, although republication requires the authority’s written permission. The جريدة الاستثمار (Investment Gazette), published by GAFI, carries incorporation decisions and the articles of incorporation and association together with their amendments. For companies regulated by the الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية (Financial Regulatory Authority) — listed issuers and non-banking financial institutions — public registers, prospectuses and disclosures are published separately by that authority.

What is restricted

Egypt does have a beneficial ownership regime, and it is not public. A 2020 decree of the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade inserted provisions into the executive regulations of the Commercial Register Law requiring every registrant to keep its own سجل المستفيدين الحقيقيين (register of beneficial owners), recording those who actually own or control the establishment, whether natural or legal persons; to update it and notify the Commercial Register immediately; and to retain it throughout the activity and for five years after cessation or deletion. The beneficial owner’s name, nationality and identity or passport number are recorded as a substantive item in the commercial register file. Access is granted to judicial law-enforcement officers on request; no public access channel is provided.

Shareholder and partner lists are filed with GAFI for ratification but no public disclosure route is provided, and the financial statements of private companies are not published by GAFI or by the Commercial Register. Only entities regulated by the Financial Regulatory Authority publish financial information. A practical note for researchers: several Egyptian government portals are heavy on client-side scripting or restrict automated access, so verification often has to be done through the digital services portal rather than by direct database queries.

Documents that can be obtained from the register

  • مستخرج سجل تجاري (Commercial register extract) — the certified official copy of the register entry, showing the registrant, the register number and office, the activity, the address, the capital and the managers. It is the core proof of existence for Egyptian entities. A variant is prepared specifically for legalisation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for use abroad.
  • شهادة ببيانات المنشأة (Establishment data certificate) — an attested statement of the entity’s registered particulars.
  • شهادة سلبية (Negative certificate) — certifies that a given person or entity is not registered.
  • صورة إلكترونية من السجل التجاري أو من العقد (Electronic copy of the register entry or of the constitutive contract) — an electronic reproduction of the entry or of the founding contract.
  • صورة طبق الأصل من العقود (Certified true copies of the contracts) — certified copies of the عقد التأسيس والنظام الأساسي (articles of incorporation and articles of association), with or without authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for use with banks, in tenders, before courts and in cross-border filings.
  • حجز اسم تجاري ومد أو إلغاء الحجز (Trade name reservation, extension and cancellation) — reserves a proposed trading name before registration.
  • شهادة عدم الالتباس (Certificate of non-confusion of name) — issued by the Commercial Register for capital companies and required by GAFI as the first document in every incorporation file.
  • جريدة الاستثمار (Investment Gazette issue) — the issue containing the company’s incorporation decision and its articles, obtainable from GAFI, including copies ratified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the business register in Egypt called?

The السجل التجاري (Commercial Register), administered by the Internal Trade Development Authority under the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade. Company incorporation is handled separately by GAFI.

What is the difference between ITDA and GAFI?

GAFI incorporates companies and provides post-incorporation services through its Investor Service Center; the Commercial Register kept by ITDA is the register of record in which every incorporation must be entered.

Are sole traders registered in Egypt?

Yes. The sole proprietorship is registered directly in the Commercial Register, after obtaining a tax card and a certificate of practising the activity from the competent chamber of commerce, or through GAFI where investment-law status is sought.

Is there a public company search in Egypt?

There is no open company database. Verification is done through the commercial register inquiry services on the national digital services portal, and through the Commercial Names Gazette and the Investment Gazette.

Is beneficial ownership information public?

No. Each registrant must keep a register of beneficial owners and notify the Commercial Register, and the data are recorded in the register file, but access is provided to judicial law-enforcement officers rather than to the public.

Are financial statements of Egyptian companies published?

Not for private companies. Only entities regulated by the Financial Regulatory Authority, such as listed issuers, publish financial information.

Sources

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