Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | PS / PSE |
| Registry | Companies Registration Department, Ministry of National Economy |
| Last updated | 2026-06-10 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Palestine and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | Tax Identification Number (TIN) / رقم التعريف الضريبي | Ministry of Finance — Income Tax and VAT Department |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number / رقم تسجيل الشركة | Companies Registration Department, Ministry of National Economy |
Sector regulators
PMA (Palestine Monetary Authority) — banks, money changers, payment institutions, specialized lending · PCMA (Palestine Capital Market Authority) — securities, insurance, financial leasing, financial mortgage · FFU (Financial Follow-Up Unit) — financial intelligence / AML reporting · MNE (Ministry of National Economy) — company registry, commercial licensing
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Limited Liability Company | LLC / ش.ذ.م.م | Formed under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021; members’ liability limited to their capital contribution; no minimum capital requirement; may have one or more members (single-member OPC variant permitted). The dominant SME vehicle in Palestine. Managed by one or more managers designated in the memorandum of association. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| One Person Company | OPC / شركة شخص واحد | Introduced by Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021; a limited liability company owned entirely by a single natural person or legal entity; member’s liability capped at their capital contribution; no minimum capital requirement. Designed for entrepreneurs and small/home-based businesses. Closest US equivalent: Single-member LLC. |
| Private Shareholding Company | Pvt SC / ش.م.خ | Share-capital company under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021; shares not publicly traded; shareholder liability limited to invested shares; single-shareholder ownership permitted; capital must be sufficient to meet the company’s objectives per bylaws. Governed by a board of directors. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp (private). |
| Public Shareholding Company | PSC / ش.م.ع | Publicly listed share-capital company under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021; minimum two shareholders; shares may be listed on the Palestine Exchange (PEX); subject to Palestine Capital Market Authority (PCMA) oversight; minimum authorized capital of USD 25,000 or 20% paid-in. Closest US equivalent: Public C-Corp. |
| General Partnership | GP / ش.ت.ع | Two or more natural persons (not legal entities) carrying on business jointly with unlimited joint and several personal liability for all partnership debts; registered with the Companies Registration Department under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Limited Partnership | LP / ش.ت.م | One or more general partners with unlimited joint liability and one or more limited partners whose liability is capped at their capital contribution; limited partners may not manage the firm; registered under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Sole Proprietorship / Individual Merchant | — | An individual conducting commercial trade under their own name or a registered trade name; registered with the Ministry of National Economy commercial register as an individual merchant (تاجر فرد); the proprietor bears unlimited personal liability. Separate from the Companies Law — governed by the Commercial Law and requires a Professional Trade Permit. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Foreign Branch | — | A branch of a foreign-incorporated company registered to conduct full commercial activities in Palestine under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021, Article 245; not a separate legal entity — the foreign parent bears full liability for branch obligations; Arabic-translated constitutive documents and audited financials required; must obtain registration from the Companies Registrar. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Foreign Corporation. |
| Representative Office | M.T. / مكتب تمثيل | A non-commercial presence of a foreign company registered under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021, Article 252; limited to marketing activities; cannot enter revenue-generating contracts, form local companies, or act as commercial agent; must include ‘(representative office)’ or ‘(M.T.)’ in its name and display registration number and address on all documents. Closest US equivalent: 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 | Any one of: Certificate of Incorporation · Merchant Registration Certificate |
| Constitutive Documents | Memorandum & Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | Tax Registration Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Professional Trade Permit |
| Ownership Records | Any one of: Shareholders Register · MNE Company Extract |
| Governance Records | MNE Company Extract — Management |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Board Resolution · Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
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 |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Incorporation / شهادة التأسيس | Legal Registration |
| Merchant Registration Certificate / شهادة تسجيل تاجر | Legal Registration |
| Memorandum & Articles of Association / عقد التأسيس والنظام الأساسي | Constitutive Documents |
| Tax Registration Certificate / شهادة التسجيل الضريبي | Tax Registration |
| Professional Trade Permit / إذن ممارسة التجارة المهنية | Operating Permit |
| Shareholders Register / سجل المساهمين | Ownership Records |
| Ministry of National Economy Company Extract / مستخرج من السجل التجاري | Ownership Records |
| MNE Extract showing Managers / Directors / مستخرج المدراء | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution / قرار مجلس الإدارة | Signing Authority |
| Power of Attorney / وكالة قانونية | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement / عقد إيجار | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days) / فاتورة خدمات | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days) / كشف حساب بنكي | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | PMA Banking / Payment Institution License, PCMA Securities / Insurance License |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by the Companies Registration Department, Ministry of National Economy, under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021 (eff. April 2022). Reflects the company name, type, registration number, date of registration, registered capital, and registered address. Available via the PalBusiness e-registration portal. Processing time approximately two weeks with complete documentation. Individual merchants receive a Merchant Registration Certificate (شهادة تسجيل تاجر) from the MNE commercial register.
- Constitutive Documents: Constitutive document submitted to and certified by the Companies Registration Department at incorporation. For LLCs and OPCs: contains name, objects, capital, member details, and governance rules. For shareholding companies: separate Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association (by-laws). Must be prepared in Arabic; standard form templates available through the PalBusiness portal. Foreign companies must submit Arabic-translated and notarised constitutive documents.
- Tax Registration: Issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Finance upon registration under Income Tax Law No. 17 of 2004 (as amended by Amendment No. 8 of 2011). The same registration covers both income tax and VAT. VAT is now governed by Decree Law No. 26 of 2024 at a base rate of 16%; registration is mandatory for all taxable persons conducting business or investment activity. Tax registration may be processed through the MNE commercial register in a unified one-stop procedure. TIN is a 9-digit numeric identifier (PS-TIN scheme).
- Operating Permit: Issued by the Ministry of National Economy (and/or relevant municipality) to authorize commercial activity. The Professional Trade Permit (رخصة مزاولة المهنة / إذن ممارسة التجارة المهنية) is required for individual merchants and certain regulated trades. Companies generally obtain their operating authorization through the certificate of incorporation plus tax registration; however, certain commercial activities and regulated sectors additionally require municipal or sector-specific permits. Chamber of Commerce or Chamber of Industry membership is typically required for conducting commercial trade.
- Sector-Specific License: Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA, established under PMA Law No. 2 of 1997; Banking Law No. 9 of 2010) licenses banks, specialized lending institutions, money changers, and payment service providers. Palestine Capital Market Authority (PCMA, established under Capital Market Authority Law No. 13 of 2004) licenses securities brokers, investment advisors, insurance companies (under Insurance Law No. 20 of 2005), financial leasing, and financial mortgage companies. The Palestine Exchange (PEX) is the supervised stock exchange. Financial Follow-Up Unit (FFU) is the financial intelligence unit under AML/CFT Decree Law No. 39 of 2022.
- Governance Records: LLCs designate one or more managers in the memorandum of association; the MNE registration extract reflects current manager details. Private and public shareholding companies have a board of directors (مجلس الإدارة) whose members are listed in the MNE records. Changes in management must be notified to the Companies Registrar. The MNE company extract is the primary document evidencing current directors/managers.
- Signing Authority: Board resolution authorizing a named signatory to act on behalf of the company, or a notarized power of attorney (وكالة). For LLCs, a manager resolution suffices. No statutory form prescribed; company letterhead resolution is standard practice. Palestine is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention — documents executed abroad for use in Palestine require full consular legalization (foreign notary → foreign MFA → Palestinian representative mission); similarly, Palestinian documents for use abroad require Palestinian MFA authentication followed by the receiving country’s consular legalization.
- Address: Lease agreement (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Lease agreement is also required as part of the MNE commercial registration process (proof of premises). Accepted for both registered-address and operating-address verification.
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 / مدير (LLC/OPC) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Day-to-day executive authority in an LLC or OPC; designated in the memorandum of association; binds the company toward third parties under Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021. |
| Board Member / عضو مجلس الإدارة (Private/Public SC) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Member of the board of directors of a private or public shareholding company; elected by the general assembly; exercises collective management authority. |
| Authorized Signatory / مفوض بالتوقيع | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Person holding a board/manager resolution or notarized power of attorney to legally bind the company in transactions; the authorized representative in dealings with third parties. |
Notes
- Palestine is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Documents from Palestine executed for use abroad require Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication followed by the receiving country’s consular legalization. Documents executed abroad for use in Palestine require the full foreign-notary → foreign-MFA → Palestinian diplomatic mission legalization chain. This materially increases onboarding friction for cross-border entities.
- The Companies Law by Decree No. 42 of 2021 came into force in April 2022, replacing the Companies Law No. 12 of 1964. It introduced significant modernizations including the One Person Company (OPC), simplified deregistration, and updated foreign-company rules. References to the 1964 law in older documents are superseded.
- The Palestinian financial system operates without a central bank; the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) acts as the quasi-central banking authority under PMA Law No. 2 of 1997 and Banking Law No. 9 of 2010. The Palestinian economy primarily uses Israeli New Shekel (ILS), Jordanian Dinar (JOD), and US Dollar (USD) — there is no Palestinian currency.
- AML/CFT framework was substantially updated by Decree Law No. 39 of 2022, replacing Decree Law No. 20 of 2015. The Financial Follow-Up Unit (FFU / وحدة المتابعة المالية) is the financial intelligence unit, housed at the PMA. The National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing was established under Article 29 of Law No. 39/2022.
- The Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank; the Gaza Strip is under separate governance by Hamas and has been subject to severe restrictions since 2007, with full blockade conditions since October 2023. Most Palestinian Authority institutions, including MNE, PMA, and PCMA, operate from Ramallah in the West Bank. Entities registered in or operating from Gaza face additional compliance considerations.
- The Palestine Exchange (PEX) is based in Nablus and regulated by the PCMA. Shares trade in Jordanian Dinars (JOD) and US Dollars (USD). As of 2026, PEX is classified as a Frontier Market by FTSE Russell.
- Foreign companies seeking to operate in Palestine must register a branch (Article 245) or representative office (Article 252) with the Companies Registrar, submitting Arabic-translated and notarised constitutive documents and the most recent audited financial statements from the parent’s home jurisdiction.
- Company registration can be initiated online via the PalBusiness e-registration portal (palbusiness.gov.ps), developed with UNCTAD/UNITAR technical assistance and World Bank financing. Tax registration may be completed through a unified one-stop process at the MNE.