Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Africa |
| ISO 3166-1 | BF / BFA |
| Registry | RCCM — Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce, Ouagadougou |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Burkina Faso 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 — Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce, Ouagadougou |
Sector regulators
BCEAO · WAEMU Banking Commission · CIMA/CRCA · AMF-UMOA · CENTIF
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Société à Responsabilité Limitée | SARL | 1+ associés; liability limited to contribution; min. capital FCFA 5,000 (Décret 2016-314). Most common SME vehicle under AUSCGIE 2014. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Société Anonyme | SA | Share-capital company with separate legal personality; min. capital FCFA 10,000,000 (FCFA 100,000,000 if publicly listed); governed by a board of 3–12 administrateurs. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Société par Actions Simplifiée | SAS | Simplified joint-stock company; share-based capital with flexible governance freely defined in bylaws; no min. capital; single-shareholder variant SASU under AUSCGIE 2014. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Société en Nom Collectif | SNC | General partnership; all associés are merchants bearing joint and unlimited liability for company debts; registered at RCCM under AUSCGIE 2014. Equivalent to a US General Partnership. |
| Société en Commandite Simple | SCS | Limited partnership combining commandité (general) partners with unlimited joint liability and commanditaire (silent) partners liable only to contributions; capital divided into parts sociales under AUSCGIE 2014. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership. |
| Entreprise Individuelle | EI | Individual merchant registered at RCCM as a natural person exercising a commercial activity; no separate legal personality; full personal liability. Standard sole-trader track under OHADA distinct from Entreprenant. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Entreprenant | — | Individual micro-entrepreneur making a simple declaration at RCCM without full registration; subject to turnover thresholds under AUSCGIE 2014 arts. 30 et seq.; no separate legal personality. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship (informal/micro track). |
| Groupement d’Intérêt Économique | GIE | Economic interest grouping auxiliary to members’ existing commercial activities; registered at RCCM under AUSCGIE 2014; members bear joint and unlimited liability. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Société Coopérative | — | Cooperative society governed by OHADA Uniform Act on Cooperative Societies (AUSCOOP 2010); member-owned, purpose is to serve members’ mutual interests rather than generate investor returns; registered at RCCM. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
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 notariés |
| Tax Registration | Certificat IFU |
| Operating Permit | Any one of: Patente municipale · Autorisation d’exercer |
| Ownership Records | Any one of: Statuts · Registre des Associés · Registre des Actionnaires |
| Governance Records | All required: Statuts + PV d’AG |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: PV d’Assemblée Générale · 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 |
| Statuts notariés | Constitutive Documents |
| Certificat IFU | Tax Registration |
| Patente municipale | Operating Permit |
| Autorisation d’exercer | Operating Permit |
| Statuts | Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Registre des Associés (SARL) | Ownership Records |
| Registre des Actionnaires (SA) | Ownership Records |
| PV d’AG | Governance Records |
| PV d’Assemblée Générale | 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 BCEAO, Agrément CIMA, Agrément AMF-UMOA |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce via CEFORE/MEBF; eFN RCCM digital extract available since 2023-12-28.
- Constitutive Documents: Notarised constitutive act required for SARL and SA (AUSCGIE 2014); SAS bylaws also notarised in practice.
- Tax Registration: Alphanumeric identifier (8 digits + 1 letter) issued by DGI; obtained concurrently with RCCM at CEFORE.
- Operating Permit: Municipal trade licence; obtained from local mairie; separate health/safety permits for regulated activities.
- Sector-Specific License: Banking: WAEMU Banking Commission agrément. Insurance: CIMA Code Art. 326 licence (Direction des Assurances). Capital markets: AMF-UMOA (formerly CREPMF).
- Governance Records: Directors/gérants named in statuts; changes filed with RCCM.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution (PV d’AG) or notarised power of attorney for signatories.
- 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 | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Manages and legally represents the SARL. |
| Président (SAS) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Sole mandatory officer of the SAS; broad operational authority. |
| Administrateur Général | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Sole-director variant for smaller SA under AUSCGIE 2014. |
| Directeur Général | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Operational CEO of an SA under board governance. |
| Président du Conseil d’Administration | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Chairs the SA board; governance role. |
| Administrateur | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Member of the SA Conseil d’Administration. |
| Mandataire | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of notarised power of attorney to act on behalf of the company. |
Additional fields
Country-specific fields you’ll need to collect during onboarding, beyond the document uploads.| Field | Applies to | Reason |
|---|---|---|
marital_status | founder | OHADA Statuts require marital status, matrimonial regime, and spouse name for associés/actionnaires due to community-property (régime matrimonial) considerations under AUSCGIE 2014. |
Notes
- Burkina Faso is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (confirmed HCCH status table, 31 décembre 2025); foreign public documents require full legalisation chain (Ministry of Foreign Affairs + embassy).
- ECOWAS withdrawal (effective 29 janvier 2025) does not affect OHADA membership or AUSCGIE applicability; WAEMU/UEMOA monetary and AML frameworks (BCEAO, AMF-UMOA) also remain in effect.
- AES common-currency discussions (replacing CFA franc) are ongoing as of 2026-05-06 but no currency transition has taken effect; FCFA remains legal tender. Monitor for impact on financial regulatory alignment.