Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Africa |
| ISO 3166-1 | BJ / BEN |
| Registry | RCCM, Tribunal de Commerce de Cotonou |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Benin and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | IFU | DGI (Direction Générale des Impôts) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Numéro RCCM | RCCM, Tribunal de Commerce de Cotonou |
Sector regulators
BCEAO · CIMA · AMF-UMOA · CENTIF · DGI
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Société à Responsabilité Limitée | SARL | The most common SME form in OHADA-member Benin; managed by a gérant; no minimum capital since Decree N° 2014-220; liability limited to contributions. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Société Anonyme | SA | Share-capital company for larger enterprises; minimum capital 10,000,000 XOF (private) or 100,000,000 XOF (public offering); governed by a board or administrateur général. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Société par Actions Simplifiée | SAS | Flexible share-capital company introduced by AUSCGIE rev. 2014 (Arts. 853-1 to 853-23); governance freely defined by statuts; no minimum capital; shares not freely traded on a public market. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Société en Nom Collectif | SNC | General partnership in which all partners have merchant status and bear unlimited joint and several liability for company debts; must register at RCCM. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Société en Commandite Simple | SCS | Limited partnership with two classes of partners: commandités (general partners, unlimited liability) and commanditaires (limited partners, liable only to the extent of their contribution). Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Entreprise Individuelle / Entreprenant | EI | Sole trader or individual entrepreneur (entreprenant under OHADA); no separate legal entity; unlimited personal liability; declared at GUFE for approximately 10,000 XOF. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Groupement d’Intérêt Économique | GIE | Two or more legal persons pooling resources for an auxiliary economic purpose; acquires separate legal personality upon RCCM registration; members retain unlimited joint liability. Closest US equivalent: Statutory/Business Trust. |
| Société Coopérative | SCOOPS | Member-owned cooperative governed by the OHADA Uniform Act on Cooperative Societies (AUSCOOP, 2010); registered at the Registre des Sociétés Coopératives (RSCOOP); profits distributed to members based on activity. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Succursale / Bureau de Représentation | — | Branch or representative office of a foreign legal entity operating in Benin; not a separate legal entity; the parent company bears full liability; must register at RCCM (succursale) or declare presence (bureau de représentation). 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 | Extrait RCCM |
| Constitutive Documents | Statuts |
| Tax Registration | Attestation IFU |
| Operating Permit | Any one of: Patente communale · Autorisation d’exercer |
| Ownership Records | All required: Statuts + Extrait RCCM |
| Governance Records | All required: Extrait RCCM + Statuts |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Procès-verbal d’assemblée · Procuration notariée |
| Address | Any one of: Contrat de bail · Facture de services · Relevé bancaire |
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 |
|---|---|
| Extrait RCCM | Legal Registration, Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Statuts | Constitutive Documents, Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Attestation IFU | Tax Registration |
| Patente communale | Operating Permit |
| Autorisation d’exercer | Operating Permit |
| Procès-verbal d’assemblée | Signing Authority |
| Procuration notariée | Signing Authority |
| Contrat de bail | Address |
| Facture de services (≤90 jours) | Address |
| Relevé bancaire (≤90 jours) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | Agrément sectoriel |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Official extract from Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier; issued by Tribunal de Commerce de Cotonou via APIEx/GUFE; confirms legal existence and registration number.
- Constitutive Documents: Articles of association drafted in French under OHADA AUSCGIE (eff. 2014-05-05); notarized for SA; private deed acceptable for SARL/SAS.
- Tax Registration: IFU certificate issued by DGI; obtained simultaneously with RCCM at APIEx/GUFE; portal: ifu.impots.bj.
- Operating Permit: Patente (annual municipal business tax/license) required in localities outside Cotonou/Parakou/Porto-Novo; Autorisation d’exercer for regulated activities (sector-specific). Cotonou businesses pay Taxe Professionnelle Synthétique instead.
- Sector-Specific License: BCEAO license for banking/fintech (EMIs/PSPs); CIMA approval for insurance; AMF-UMOA authorization for capital markets; required only for regulated sectors.
- Governance Records: Names and powers of gérant (SARL), Président du Conseil d’Administration or Directeur Général (SA), or Président (SAS) appear in the RCCM extract and statutes.
- Signing Authority: Board or shareholders’ resolution (PV d’AG) evidencing signing authority; notarized power of attorney for third-party representatives.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gérant (SARL) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Appointed manager who legally represents the SARL; may be associate or non-associate. |
| Président du Conseil d’Administration (SA) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Chair of the board of directors in a SA with conseil d’administration. |
| Administrateur (SA) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Member of the conseil d’administration; governance role. |
| Directeur Général (SA) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Executive officer with general management authority; represents SA externally. |
| Président-Directeur Général (SA) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Combined board chair and managing director; common in smaller SAs. |
| Administrateur Général (SA) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Single-person governance in SAs with ≤ 3 shareholders; combines board and executive functions. |
| Président (SAS) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Statutory representative of a SAS; powers defined by statutes. |
Notes
- Benin is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (confirmed HCCH status table, last updated 31 Dec 2025). Document authentication requires full legalization chain (notarization → Ministry of Justice → consular legalization).
- The AML/CFT statute in force is Loi 2024-01 du 20 février 2024, which superseded Loi 2018-17 and its 2020 amendment (Loi 2020-25). Do not cite the 2018 or 2020 laws as the operative text.
- SARL minimum capital was abolished for Benin by Decree N° 2014-220 of 26 March 2014 (implementing OHADA AUSCGIE rev. 2014, Art. 311): associates freely determine share capital. The pre-2014 OHADA floor of 1,000,000 XOF no longer applies. SA minimum remains 10,000,000 XOF.
- BCEAO Instruction 001-01-2024 imposed a licensing regime for electronic money institutions and payment service providers across WAEMU, in force 23 January 2024. The final extended compliance deadline was 31 August 2025 (elapsed); only licensed entities may legally offer payment services from 1 September 2025.
- SARL statuts may be by private deed (acte sous seing privé), but notarization is required for SA statuts and for any contribution in kind; request the notarized originals, not copies.