Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | BH / BHR |
| Registry | MOIC / Sijilat |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Bahrain and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Tax Registration Number (TRN) | National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Commercial Registration Number (CR No.) | MOIC / Sijilat |
Sector regulators
CBB · MOIC · NBR · NFCU/FIU
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| With Limited Liability Company | WLL | Standard SME vehicle; one or more partners permitted; liability limited to capital contribution; managed by appointed manager(s). Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Bahraini Shareholding Company — Closed | BSC(c) | Private joint-stock company; minimum BD 250,000 capital; shares not publicly traded; single shareholder permitted under Decree-Law 38/2025; board of 3–15 directors. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp (private). |
| Bahraini Shareholding Company — Public | BSC(p) | Public joint-stock company; minimum BD 1,000,000 capital; minimum five directors; shares listed on Bahrain Bourse. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp (public). |
| General Partnership | — | Two or more partners trading under a collective name; all partners bear joint and unlimited personal liability; governed by CCL Part II. Equivalent to a US General Partnership (GP). |
| Limited Partnership | — | One or more general partners with unlimited liability plus one or more limited partners whose liability is capped at capital contribution; also known as Simple Commandite Company under the CCL. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Partnership Limited by Shares | — | Hybrid form under CCL Part VI; one or more general partners with unlimited liability plus shareholding partners whose liability is limited to their negotiable, transferable shares. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Individual Establishment | — | Single natural person (Bahraini or GCC national) operating under a commercial registration; no separate legal personality from the owner; owner bears unlimited personal liability for all business debts. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Branch of Foreign Company | — | Registered extension of a foreign parent entity; requires an authorised local representative; the foreign parent bears full liability for the branch’s obligations. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Commercial Registration (CR) Certificate |
| Constitutive Documents | Any one of: Memorandum of Association · Company Constitution |
| Tax Registration | VAT Registration Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Municipal Licence |
| Ownership Records | CR Extract |
| Governance Records | Any one of: CR Extract · Memorandum of Association |
| Signing Authority | All required: Board Resolution + Notarised Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: RERA-Registered Tenancy Contract · EWA Bill · كشف حساب بنكي |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Commercial Registration (CR) Certificate | Legal Registration |
| Memorandum of Association (MoA) | Constitutive Documents |
| Company Constitution | Constitutive Documents |
| VAT Registration Certificate (TRN) | Tax Registration |
| Municipal Licence (Baladiya) | Operating Permit |
| CR Extract | Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Memorandum of Association (MoA) | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution | Signing Authority |
| Notarised Power of Attorney | Signing Authority |
| RERA-Registered Tenancy Contract | Address |
| EWA Bill (خلال 90 يومًا) | Address |
| كشف حساب بنكي (خلال 90 يومًا) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | CBB Licence (banking, insurance, investment, capital markets, payment services) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by MOIC via Sijilat; renewed annually; CR Number is primary entity identifier.
- Constitutive Documents: Arabic original required; notarised. English translation accepted.
- Tax Registration: Issued by NBR. No CIT — CR Number serves as entity ID for non-VAT entities.
- Operating Permit: Issued by Manama, Muharraq, or other local municipality; required for physical premises.
- Sector-Specific License: Collect only for regulated-sector entities; CBB is single integrated regulator.
- Governance Records: Lists managers (WLL) or board members (BSC); publicly accessible via Sijilat CR search.
- Signing Authority: Notarised by Bahrain Notary Public; foreign documents: apostille accepted (Bahrain is a Hague Convention party).
- Address: Conduit universal policy: lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Manager (WLL) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Day-to-day operational authority; appointed by partners; named in MoA and CR Extract. |
| Board Member / Director (BSC) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Governance role on BSC board; elected by shareholders; 3-year term. |
| Chairman of the Board (BSC) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board chair elected by directors; cannot simultaneously hold CEO role. |
| Managing Director / CEO (BSC) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Most senior executive of a BSC; distinct from board chair. |
| Authorised Signatory / POA Holder | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Empowered to bind entity; named in board resolution or notarised POA. |
Notes
- No CR number ≠ no tax ID. Bahrain has no corporate income tax; the CR Number is the primary entity identifier for non-VAT-registered entities. Only VAT-registered businesses receive a TRN from NBR.
- Bahrain IS a Hague Apostille party (in force 2013-12-31) — unlike UAE. Foreign public documents with apostille are accepted; full legalisation chain not required.
- WLL manager vs. BSC director are legally distinct tracks. WLLs are managed by appointed managers (not a board); only BSCs have a formal board of directors. Collect the correct document type (MoA for WLL managers; CR extract + board resolution for BSC directors).