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Doing business
Doing business in Mauritania
The official bodies a foreign company, investor or professional deals with in Mauritania – linked to their own websites – plus the treaties that matter for contracts and disputes, and law firms there that list business work.
Key facts
Key facts for business in Mauritania
The short answer
Company registry in Mauritania: Guichet Unique – Agence de Promotion des Investissements en Mauritanie (APIM). Tax authority: Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI). Requirements, fees and timelines change – confirm them with the body concerned and a lawyer admitted in Mauritania before you act.
| Legal system | Islamic law + civil law |
|---|---|
| Official languages | Arabic |
| Currency | Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU) |
| Regional blocs | Arab Maghreb Union |
| OHADA business law | No |
| AfCFTA (continental free trade) | Ratified (instrument deposited) |
| New York Convention (arbitral awards) | Party – in force since 1997 |
| ICSID Convention (investment disputes) | Contracting state – in force since 1966 |
| Apostille Convention (public documents) | Not a party – documents usually need legalization |
Treaty status from the official depositary records (UNCITRAL, ICSID, HCCH), regional blocs from their own websites, AfCFTA from tralac – checked October 2026. Not legal advice.
Official bodies
Who does what in Mauritania
| What for | Official body | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Registering a company | Guichet Unique – Agence de Promotion des Investissements en Mauritanie (APIM) – One-Stop Shop of the Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania | apim.gov.mr |
| Investment promotion | Agence de Promotion des Investissements en Mauritanie (APIM) – Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania | apim.gov.mr |
| Tax | Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) – Directorate-General of Taxes | impots.gov.mr |
| Central bank, currency and foreign exchange | Banque Centrale de Mauritanie – Central Bank of Mauritania | bcm.mr |
| Official business procedures portal | Portail des Procédures et Formalités Administratives | procedures.gov.mr |
We could not confirm an official website for: work and residence permits, courts and justice. We only link to sites we could open and confirm as the body’s own in October 2026.
Each link was opened and checked as the body’s own website in October 2026. Links to official sites only – never to agents or look-alike sites.
Getting started
What foreign businesses usually sort out first
- Choose how you will operate. A subsidiary, a branch, a representative office, or working through a local partner or distributor. The options and their conditions are set by national company law.
- Register the business. Company registration: Guichet Unique – Agence de Promotion des Investissements en Mauritanie (APIM).
- Register for tax. Tax registration: Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI).
- Check investment rules and incentives. Some sectors have licensing, local-ownership or registration rules, and some investors qualify for incentives. Investment agency: Agence de Promotion des Investissements en Mauritanie (APIM).
- Permits for foreign staff. Work and residence permits: the national immigration authority.
- Banking and foreign exchange. Rules on accounts, moving money in and out and paying dividends abroad come from the central bank (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie) and the banks.
- Contracts and disputes. Agree the governing law, the courts or arbitration seat, and the language. Mauritania is a party to the New York Convention, so arbitral awards made in other member states can be recognized there under it.
A general checklist, not legal advice. What applies to you depends on your sector, structure and nationality.
Law firms
Law firms in Mauritania for business matters
Aliou Sall & Associés (MAA)
Nouakchott
Cabinet d'Avocat Maître Oumar Mohamed Moctar
Nouakchott
MOB Law Firm
Nouakchott
3 firms in Mauritania list corporate, tax, employment or other business work on their own websites. See every firm in Mauritania.
Checking a lawyer in Mauritania
Who admits lawyers: Ordre National des Avocats de Mauritanie (ONA, Hay'at al-Muhamin)
Professional title: Avocat (Muhami)
Official roll: onamauritanie.mr
Check the lawyer's name on the main roll of lawyers ('Liste des avocats') published on the ONA Mauritanie website.
We could not confirm every detail from official sources, so use this as a starting point.
Sources: onamauritanie.mr. Checked October 2026. Not legal advice.
Questions
Doing business in Mauritania: questions
Where do you register a company in Mauritania?
With Guichet Unique – Agence de Promotion des Investissements en Mauritanie (APIM) (apim.gov.mr). Requirements change, so confirm them with the registry and a lawyer admitted in Mauritania.
Is Mauritania a party to the New York Convention?
Yes – in force since 1997 (UNCITRAL status table, checked October 2026).
Does Mauritania accept apostilles?
Mauritania is not a party to the Apostille Convention (HCCH status table, checked October 2026), so foreign public documents usually need legalization – typically through the issuing country’s foreign ministry and Mauritania’s embassy or consulate. Confirm with the authority that will receive the document.
What currency is used in Mauritania?
Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU).