Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | LB / LBN |
| Registry | Ministry of Justice — Commercial Register |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Lebanon and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | NIF | Ministry of Finance |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Commercial Register Number (Raqm al-Sijill al-Tijari) | Ministry of Justice — Commercial Register |
Sector regulators
BDL · BCC/BCCL · CMA · ICC
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Établissement individuel | — | Sole proprietorship; a natural person registered as a merchant in the Commercial Register; full personal unlimited liability for all business debts. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Société à Responsabilité Limitée | SARL | Civil-law limited-liability company; 1–20 partners; minimum capital LL 5 million; quota transfers require 75% partner consent; governed by Decree-Law 35/1967 as amended by Law 126/2019. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Société en Nom Collectif | SNC | General partnership; all partners bear joint and unlimited personal liability for company debts; governed by Code of Commerce Arts. 39–73. Equivalent to a US General Partnership. |
| Société en Commandite Simple | SCS | Limited partnership; general partners bear unlimited liability while limited (silent) partners are liable only to the extent of their contribution; governed by Code of Commerce Arts. 74–98. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership. |
| Société en Commandite par Actions | SCA | Limited partnership with share capital; one or more general partners bear unlimited liability while limited partners hold freely transferable shares; governed by Lebanese Code of Commerce Arts. 99–143. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Société Anonyme Libanaise | SAL | Joint-stock company with transferable shares; minimum 3 shareholders; minimum authorized capital LL 30 million; board of 3–12 directors; at least one-third of board must be Lebanese nationals (Law 126/2019). Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Société Anonyme Libanaise — Holding | SAL (Holding) | SAL incorporated under the holding-company regime (Decree-Law 45/1983); object strictly limited to acquiring and managing shares in Lebanese or foreign companies; exempt from income tax on profits and dividends. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp (holding company). |
| Société Anonyme Libanaise — Offshore | SAL (Offshore) | SAL incorporated under the offshore-company regime (Decree-Law 46/1983 as amended); operates exclusively outside Lebanese territory; subject to a flat annual tax rather than CIT; prohibited from banking, insurance, or generating Lebanese-source income. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Succursale de Société Étrangère | — | Branch of a foreign company registered with the Lebanese Commercial Register; not a separate legal entity — the foreign parent bears full liability; may conduct commercial operations in Lebanon. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office (foreign corporation). |
| Bureau de Liaison | — | Representative office of a foreign company; registered with the Commercial Register but restricted to marketing and promotional activities; may not generate revenue or conclude contracts in Lebanon. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office (foreign corporation). |
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 Register Extract |
| Constitutive Documents | Any one of: Articles of Association · Acte constitutif |
| Tax Registration | Tax Registration Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Municipal Establishment Permit |
| Ownership Records | Commercial Register Extract |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution (Procès-verbal) |
| Address | Any one of: عقد إيجار · فاتورة خدمات · 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 Register Extract (Extrait du Registre de Commerce) | Legal Registration, Ownership Records |
| Articles of Association | Constitutive Documents |
| Acte constitutif (notarized) | Constitutive Documents |
| Tax Registration Certificate (Shihada al-Tasrih al-Darabi) | Tax Registration |
| Municipal Establishment Permit (Ruhsat al-Mahall / Permis d’exploitation) | Operating Permit |
| Board Resolution (Procès-verbal) | Signing Authority |
| عقد إيجار | Address |
| فاتورة خدمات (خلال 90 يومًا) | Address |
| كشف حساب بنكي (خلال 90 يومًا) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | BDL — Banque du Liban (banking/finance), CMA Lebanon (capital markets), ICC — Insurance Control Commission |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by the court-based Commercial Register; Arabic-language portal at http://cr.justice.gov.lb; request certified extract in person or via Liban Post in some jurisdictions.
- Constitutive Documents: Single notarized document filed with the Commercial Register; for SAL, also includes incorporation minutes and bank deposit certificate.
- Tax Registration: Issued by MoF; reflects NIF/TIN; VAT registration certificate is separate if applicable.
- Operating Permit: Issued by municipality (Beirut or provincial); sector-neutral; required for physical establishment.
- Sector-Specific License: Required only for regulated-sector entities.
- Signing Authority: For SARL, gérant authority derives from articles or assembly resolution; for SAL, board resolution or notarized POA required for non-board signatories. Notarization by Lebanese notary; no apostille available (see callouts).
- 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) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Manager appointed in articles or by assembly; day-to-day operational authority. |
| Administrateur (SAL board member) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Elected member of the Conseil d’Administration; governance role. |
| Président du Conseil d’Administration (SAL) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board chairman; governance, not operations (unless also DG). |
| Directeur Général / DG (SAL) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Executive appointed by board; operational authority. |
| Mandataire / Fondé de Pouvoir | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of notarized POA; authorized to legally bind the company. |
Additional fields
Country-specific fields you’ll need to collect during onboarding, beyond the document uploads.| Field | Applies to | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Nationality of board members | shareholder | SAL requires at least 1/3 of board members to be Lebanese nationals (Code of Commerce Art. 144 as amended by Law 126/2019); nationality must be verified for compliance. |
Notes
- Banking sector operational constraints: Since 2019, Lebanese commercial banks operate under informal capital controls; bank-issued statements and certificates may be unobtainable or unreliable. Use non-bank proof-of-address alternatives and verify banking relationships with extreme caution.
- No Hague Apostille: Lebanon is not a party to the Apostille Convention; document legalization requires the full embassy/MoFAF chain. Foreign-issued documents must be legalized via the originating country’s MFA and then the Lebanese embassy.
- Commercial Register portal is Arabic-only: http://cr.justice.gov.lb is accessible but requires Arabic queries; certified extracts must be requested in person at the relevant court’s Commercial Register office. Operational delays are common given institutional strain.