Iraq · Guide
Published prices for registering an Iraqi company are not slightly different from one another. They differ by a factor of eleven.
The Iraqi Commercial Attaché puts the total setup for an LLC at around USD 1,500. An international incorporation firm publishes a first year cost of USD 16,500, with USD 8,000 a year thereafter and an average total engagement of USD 31,925 once a bank account is included.
Both figures are real. They are prices for different things, and understanding which one applies to you is the whole exercise.
Iraq Company Cost: the Short Answer
- Minimum capital: IQD 1,000,000, roughly USD 760 at the official rate, deposited in an Iraqi bank.
- Local provider setup, LLC: around USD 1,500.
- International firm, first year: around USD 16,500, then around USD 8,000 annually.
- Kurdistan registry fees are published: 4,500 IQD per million of capital, plus 25,000 and 50,000 IQD.
- Federal registry fees are not consistently published, which is a planning problem in itself.
The spread is not a margin. It is the difference between filing a local company and structuring a foreign entry with banking, legalisation across jurisdictions and ongoing support attached.
The two published prices, side by side
What sits inside the lower figure. Preparing and filing the incorporation pack with the registry, in Iraq, in Arabic, by someone who is already there. It assumes your documents arrive ready.
What sits inside the higher one. The filing, plus international-standard know-your-client on the shareholders, legalisation of corporate documents across the jurisdictions they come from, an introduction to a bank that will actually open the account, and a support relationship that continues after the certificate is issued.
Neither is wrong. If you are an Iraqi entrepreneur with local documents, paying five figures is waste. If you are a foreign group with a corporate shareholder in a third country and no banking relationship in Iraq, the cheaper service will get you a certificate and leave you unable to operate.
Setup prices by entity, as published
| Entity | Published setup, one-time |
|---|---|
| LLC | Around USD 1,500 |
| Branch of a foreign company | Around USD 3,000 |
| Joint stock company | Around USD 3,000 |
| Holding company | Around USD 4,000 |
The step up from an LLC to a branch is not a premium for complexity alone. A branch carries its own eligibility conditions in federal Iraq, including a parent that has existed for at least two years, and that work is in the price.
What the registries charge
The Kurdistan Region publishes its schedule. Federal Iraq does not do so consistently, which is worth knowing before you build a budget from a single quotation.
| Kurdistan registry fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Capital fee | 4,500 IQD per million of capital |
| Inspection fee | 25,000 IQD |
| Company registration fee | 50,000 IQD |
On the minimum capital of IQD 1,000,000, the capital fee is therefore 4,500 IQD. These are small numbers next to provider fees, which tells you where the cost actually sits.
The capital, and what it is not
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Minimum capital of an LLC | IQD 1,000,000, roughly USD 760 at the official rate |
| Where it goes | Deposited in an Iraqi bank, verified at registration |
| Nominal value per share | One Iraqi dinar |
| Is it a fee? | No. It is your money, in your company |
The capital is not a cost, but it is a sequencing constraint: it has to be in an Iraqi bank and verifiable at the point of registration, which means the bank account and the deposit trail cannot be left until after the certificate.
What the published prices leave out
Four lines that no setup quotation includes and every foreign file pays.
- Legalisation abroad. Corporate documents certified in their home jurisdiction, and for the Kurdistan Region certified again through the KRG Department of Foreign Relations and the Ministry of Justice. Paid in your country, on your country's timetable.
- Translation into Arabic, per document, with the registry, the bank and the tax authority each wanting their own certified set.
- An accountant and a lawyer. Both are treated as necessary for every entity type, not as optional extras.
- A resident director or manager. Required for every entity type, and a recurring cost if you do not have someone locally.
The recurring side
| Line | Year one | Year two onward |
|---|---|---|
| Registry fees | Small, one-time | None equivalent |
| Setup service | USD 1,500 to 16,500 | None |
| Legalisation and translation | Substantial | Only on changes |
| Accountant | Required | Required |
| Resident director or manager | Required | Required |
| International firm annual support | Included in year one | Around USD 8,000 |
The shape is familiar from the rest of this cluster: cheap to create, and the running cost is the story. What is unusual about Iraq is how wide the professional services band is, because the market ranges from local filing agents to international firms serving oil and gas clients.
Three profiles, three realistic budgets
| Profile | Realistic budget shape |
|---|---|
| Iraqi founder, local documents, LLC | Registry fees plus a local service around USD 1,500 |
| Foreign individual, single shareholder, Kurdistan | Local service plus legalisation, in the low thousands |
| Foreign group, corporate shareholder, federal Iraq, needs banking | Five figures, and the banking introduction is the reason |
What being foreign actually costs, in time
The clearest measure of the foreign premium is not money, it is the calendar.
The 2026 digitalisation reforms brought straightforward domestic incorporations down to as few as five business days. A foreign-owned federal file still runs six to twelve weeks, because of the Ministry of Interior security clearance that applies to every foreign shareholder.
That gap, five days against six to twelve weeks, is the honest measure of the difference. It is also why the Kurdistan Region, at two to four weeks, is a commercial decision and not only a legal one. Detail in how to register a company in Iraq.
What it does not cost
- No tenancy agreement is required before incorporation, for any entity type.
- No visit to Iraq is required for incorporation, for any entity type.
- No resident shareholder is required, which is separate from the 51% Iraqi ownership rule.
- No annual registry fee of the kind the UK or Hong Kong charge.
Note the distinction in the third line: a resident shareholder is not required, and a resident director or manager is. Residency and nationality are also different questions, and the ownership rule in foreign ownership in Iraq is a fourth thing again.
The bottom line
Budget from your own profile rather than from a headline. An Iraqi founder with local documents pays close to the registry fees plus a modest service. A foreign group with a corporate shareholder and no Iraqi banking relationship pays a multiple of that, and most of the difference buys legalisation, know-your-client work and an account that opens.
The registry itself is cheap in both cases. What you are really pricing is whether the company can operate once it exists.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to register a company in Iraq?
Published prices range from around USD 1,500 for a local LLC setup service to around USD 16,500 for an international firm's first year. Both are real prices for different scopes. Add minimum capital of IQD 1,000,000, roughly USD 760 at the official rate, which is your money rather than a fee.
Why is there an eleven-fold difference?
The lower price is a local filing service that assumes your documents arrive ready. The higher one bundles international know-your-client work, legalisation of corporate documents across jurisdictions, a banking introduction and ongoing support. A foreign group buying the cheaper service can end up with a certificate and no usable bank account.
What is the minimum capital?
IQD 1,000,000, roughly USD 760 at the official rate, deposited in an Iraqi bank and verified at registration. Each share has a nominal value of one Iraqi dinar. It is not a fee, but it does have to be in place and traceable before the certificate is issued.
What does the registry charge?
The Kurdistan Region publishes 4,500 IQD per million of capital, a 25,000 IQD inspection fee and a 50,000 IQD registration fee. Federal fee schedules are not consistently published, which is a reason to confirm rather than assume.
Is a branch more expensive than an LLC?
Published setup for a branch is around USD 3,000 against around USD 1,500 for an LLC. The difference reflects additional eligibility work, including the requirement that the parent company has existed for at least two years before a branch can be established in federal Iraq.
Do I need to travel to Iraq?
No. Published guidance from the Iraqi Commercial Attaché indicates no visit is required for incorporation, for any of the main entity types.
Do I need a local partner to hold shares?
A resident shareholder is not required. A resident director or manager is. Separately, federal Iraq requires Iraqi shareholders to hold at least 51% of an LLC, which is an ownership question rather than a residency one.
What recurs every year?
The accountant, the resident director or manager arrangement, and any ongoing support you buy. There is no annual registry fee equivalent to a UK confirmation statement, and an international firm's ongoing support is published at around USD 8,000 a year.
How long does it take, and does that cost money?
A straightforward domestic incorporation can now be as few as five business days after the 2026 digitalisation reforms. A foreign-owned federal file runs six to twelve weeks because of the Ministry of Interior clearance. In the Kurdistan Region it is two to four weeks. That gap is the real cost of being foreign.
How many shareholders does an LLC need?
Most practitioner sources give a minimum of two and a maximum of twenty-five. Some sources give a minimum of one, which appears to follow CPA Order No. 64 of 2004. Confirm the current position for your structure rather than relying on either figure.
Sources
- Iraqi Commercial Attaché: business registration in Iraq, entity comparison and setup fees
- KRG Business Registration System: registration fee schedule
- Companies Law No. 21 of 1997 as amended: minimum capital and share nominal value
The USD 1,500 to USD 4,000 setup range is published by the Iraqi Commercial Attaché and the USD 16,500 first-year figure by an international incorporation firm; both are provider prices for different scopes of service, not official fees, and neither is a quotation. The KRG fee schedule of 4,500 IQD per million of capital, 25,000 IQD inspection and 50,000 IQD registration is published by the Kurdistan registry. Federal registry fee schedules are not consistently published, which is itself worth knowing. Minimum capital of IQD 1,000,000 and the one dinar share nominal value follow the Companies Law. Sources differ on the minimum number of LLC shareholders, with some giving two and others one following CPA Order No. 64 of 2004; that divergence is reported rather than resolved. All figures should be confirmed with a provider and with the registry before budgeting. This is not tax or legal advice.