Company Formation in Djibouti

Who this applies to

Founders choosing a form. ODPIC runs the Registre de Commerce et des Societes and the guichet unique. Company law is the Djibouti Code de commerce. A notary, lawyer or bailiff may file for you.

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Figure	Conditions	Source
SARL members	1 to 100	Arts. L.313-1, L.313-3. The old skill said 50	https://www.ministere-finances.dj/Code%20DE%20COMMERCE.pdf
Minimum capital	None	"il n existe pas de capital minimum requis"; capital set in the statutes (arts. L.313-2, L.314-2). Funds are blocked and availability attested	https://odpic.dj/creation-dentreprise/
Registration deadline	1 month	From formation, or a fine	https://odpic.dj/presentation-du-registre-de-commerce-et-des-societes-rcs/
Capital contributions duty	10,000 fixed	Art. 488 B, 2017 law art. 5	https://www.journalofficiel.dj/texte-juridique/loi-n190-an-17-7eme-l-portant-modification-du-code-general-des-impots/
Tax start declaration	12 days	Art. 218	https://www.ministere-finances.dj/TVA/CGI%20%202010.pdf
CNSS	48 hours	Employers	https://cnss.dj/affiliation-employeur/
Patente relief	Classes 5 to 8 exempt 3 years	Art. 100, new payers, 2017 law art. 1, later amended (LF 2022 art. 17)	https://www.journalofficiel.dj/texte-juridique/loi-n190-an-17-7eme-l-portant-modification-du-code-general-des-impots/

The base

Forms recognised: sole trader; partnerships (SNC, SCS, societe en participation); capital companies (SA, SARL, SCA). SA and SARL are the commonest. A sole trader answers with personal assets; a company is separate from its members. Branch: not covered by the ODPIC page.

Deadlines and filing

Item	Date or rule	Source
File at the guichet unique	Single form, negative certificate form, IDs, statutes in two copies, criminal record or sworn statement, licence for regulated activity	https://odpic.dj/creation-dentreprise/

Steps:

1. Apply for the negative certificate to clear the name.
2. Draft statutes.
3. Block the funds and obtain proof.
4. File the dossier at the ODPIC guichet unique.
5. Collect the registration receipt.
6. Declare to the DGI within 12 days and join the CNSS within 48 hours if hiring.
7. Each year: accounts, IBP return before 1 April, monthly ITS, CNSS and VAT.

Penalties and interest

Item	Figure	Source
Late registration	Fine; amount not stated on the page	https://odpic.dj/presentation-du-registre-de-commerce-et-des-societes-rcs/

Cross-border points

Foreign founders use the same route; regulated activities need prior approval. Free-zone firms: Code des zones franches in the CGI annexes; insurance SAs headquartered in Djibouti need 100 million capital under the Code de commerce (art. 20-3).

Two worked examples that recompute

Example 1: a society with capital 1,000,000 pays the fixed 10,000 duty on contributions (art. 488 B).

name: Fixed duty on contributions
inputs:
  duty: 10000
  copies: 1
steps:
  - total: duty*copies
expected:
  total: 10000.00

Example 2, the decision: SARL or sole trader for 12,000,000 of fees? Both reach VAT above 10,000,000; a sole trader carries unlimited liability, so a SARL fits when risk is real. Tax on profit 2,000,000 is 25% either way, floor 120,000.

name: Profit tax
inputs:
  profit: 2000000
steps:
  - tax: max(profit*0.25,120000)
expected:
  tax: 500000.00

Ask the client first

• Number of founders.
• Regulated activity?
• Foreign owners?
• Free zone?
• Expected turnover.

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
ODPIC, Creation d entreprise: steps read	https://odpic.dj/creation-dentreprise/	2026-11-01
ODPIC, Registre de commerce et des societes: presentation read	https://odpic.dj/presentation-du-registre-de-commerce-et-des-societes-rcs/	2026-11-01
Code de commerce 2011, Ministry of Finance: arts. L.313-1 to L.313-3 and L.314-2 read	https://www.ministere-finances.dj/Code%20DE%20COMMERCE.pdf	2026-11-01
Code general des impots, edition updated to the 2011 finance law, Ministry of Finance: articles cited read in the PDF text; later changes taken from the finance laws listed here	https://www.ministere-finances.dj/TVA/CGI%20%202010.pdf	2026-11-01
CNSS, Affiliation employeur: full page read	https://cnss.dj/affiliation-employeur/	2026-11-01
Loi 190/AN/17/7eme L amending the CGI: articles 1 to 5 read	https://www.journalofficiel.dj/texte-juridique/loi-n190-an-17-7eme-l-portant-modification-du-code-general-des-impots/	2026-11-01

Not yet confirmed: The CGI on the official site is the 2011 edition. No consolidated 2026 code could be opened (impots.dj, dgi.dj and economie.gouv.dj did not answer), so each rule is the 2011 text plus the finance laws read; the finance laws found in the gazette for 2013 to 2026 were scanned for tax articles, the 2012 law was not, so an amendment made only there or in a law the gazette search missed would not show. The old skill's 3-day timeline, USD 70,000 free-zone capital and 1,000,000 SARL capital came from non-official sites; the capital figure is contradicted by ODPIC and the others were not confirmed. Fees: ODPIC tariff page not read. Guichet-unique.dj did not open.