Companies in Oman are entered in the Commercial Register kept by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (وزارة التجارة والصناعة وترويج الاستثمار). Registration and almost all subsequent filings are carried out electronically on the Oman Business Platform, formerly Invest Easy, at business.gov.om, which also provides a free public search of commercial registrations.

The company registry in Oman

Company law is set by the Commercial Companies Law promulgated by Royal Decree No. 18/2019, which replaced the 1974 law and governs the forms of company, their capital and their governance. Commercial registration itself is administered by the Ministry, which describes the Commercial Register as one of its core functions alongside licensing, intellectual property and investment promotion.

Oman uses a single register for incorporated and unincorporated business: a sole establishment, a partnership and a joint stock company all obtain a commercial registration in the same system and receive a commercial registration number. The registration is the identity of the business; separate licences are required for regulated activities, and the platform includes a licence simulator to identify them.

Filings are lodged online with a PKI-enabled national ID card, or in person at the Invest Easy service offices, which the Ministry operates in Muscat, Dhofar, Sohar, Al Buraimi, Sur, Al Rustaq, Nizwa, Ibra, Ibri and Musandam, and through SANAD service centres. Company names are checked first through the Commercial Name Availability service, and trademark availability can be checked against the WIPO ROMARIN database from the same portal. In September 2025 the Ministry launched a commercial registry transfer service on the platform, continuing the move of registry transactions online.

Legal forms that can be registered in Oman

The forms below are those named on the Omani government service catalogue and the Oman Business Platform. The enumeration article of the Commercial Companies Law could not be read directly, because the official PDF copies of Royal Decree 18/2019 on the ministry, capital market and legal affairs portals were unreachable at the time of writing, so this list is confirmed rather than exhaustive.

  • General Partnership (شركة التضامن) — a company of two or more partners who are jointly liable for its obligations; registered through the dedicated commercial register service, with articles of association and proof of identity of the partners.
  • Limited Partnership (شركة التوصية) — combines partners liable without limit with partners liable only up to their contributions.
  • Limited Liability Company (شركة ذات مسؤولية محدودة) — the most widely used vehicle for private business in Oman, in which the liability of each partner is limited to the share of capital subscribed.
  • Joint Stock Company, public or closed (شركة مساهمة عامة أو مقفلة) — capital divided into shares. The public form may offer shares to the public and be listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange, while the closed form may not; both are registered with the Ministry.
  • Holding Company (الشركة القابضة) — a joint stock or limited liability company whose purpose is to control subsidiaries; the government service catalogue provides for the registration of a public or closed Omani joint stock holding company.
  • One-person company (شركة الشخص الواحد) — a company owned by a single person. It is also the vehicle through which a foreign company registers a commercial representation office in Oman.
  • House Trade Business — a commercial registration for an individual who wants to trade without a commercial licence. Only one owner is permitted, the owner must be an Omani citizen with a PKI-enabled ID card, there is no capital requirement, and a person may not hold one while already registered as an investor or holder of another House Trade Business.
  • Commercial representation office — a foreign company dealing in trade, industry or services may open a representative office by applying for a commercial register as a one-person company; the parent company must have completed at least three years of activity.

Information available from the Omani registry

Oman publishes an unusually broad set of registry services free of charge on the Oman Business Platform. The core is Search Commercial Registrations, which lets any user look up a registered business, alongside Find Business Information and View Application Status. A commercial registration record identifies the business name, its commercial registration number, its legal form, its registered address, its authorised activities under the ISIC classification and its status.

Around that core sit several further public services. Search Public Announcements gives access to the statutory notices companies must publish, and the platform hosts the Official Gazette. Search Obligations List shows outstanding obligations recorded against a business, which is the practical equivalent of a good-standing check. The Business Activities List (ISIC) publishes the activity classification, and Download Document Templates supplies the standard forms. A separate service allows a Certificate of Origin to be verified.

What the register does not publish is the financial and ownership layer. Annual accounts are not deposited for public inspection through the commercial register; listed companies disclose through the Muscat Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Authority instead. No public beneficial-ownership register for Oman could be confirmed on an official source: ownership information beyond the partners recorded in the commercial registration is not offered as a public search.

Documents that can be obtained from the registry

  • Commercial Registration Certificate — the certificate evidencing that a business is registered, with its commercial registration number, legal form, address and authorised activities. The standard proof of existence for banks, tenders and counterparties, and itself a required document when a foreign parent registers a representation office.
  • Business Certificates — the certificates issued through the platform Request Business Certificates service, retrievable later from My Requested Business Certificates.
  • Articles of association — the constitutional document filed on registration, which the register holds for partnerships and companies.
  • Obligations statement — the output of the Search Obligations List service, showing recorded obligations of a business.
  • Public announcements — the statutory notices published in respect of a company, searchable through the platform.
  • Official Gazette issues — the official publication in which decrees and notices appear, hosted on the platform.
  • Certificate of Origin verification — confirmation of an issued certificate of origin, used in cross-border trade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who keeps the commercial register in Oman?

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, through the Oman Business Platform at business.gov.om.

Which law governs Omani companies?

The Commercial Companies Law promulgated by Royal Decree No. 18/2019.

Can I look up an Omani company for free?

Yes. The Oman Business Platform provides Search Commercial Registrations, Find Business Information, Search Public Announcements and Search Obligations List without charge.

Are sole traders in the same register as companies?

Yes. Individual businesses, including the House Trade Business type, receive a commercial registration in the same register as companies.

Are Omani company accounts public?

No. Annual accounts are not deposited in the commercial register for public inspection; listed companies disclose through the Muscat Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Authority.

Sources

  • Oman Business Platform, e-Services — business.gov.om
  • Oman Business Platform, Legal Types — business.gov.om
  • Oman Business Platform, Commercial Registry — business.gov.om
  • Gov.om, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion — gov.om
  • Gov.om, Create New Commercial Register for General Partnership — gov.om
  • Gov.om, Register Commercial Representation Office — gov.om
  • Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, Royal Decree 18/2019 Commercial Companies Law — mjla.gov.om
  • Financial Services Authority, Commercial Companies Law text — fsa.gov.om

Keywords

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