Your Qatar e-commerce licence needs a website to match it
MOCI's e-commerce licence (QR500, 194 activities) ties your business to one named .qa or .com.qa site. Here's what the licence requires, and the site Ghost builds to go with it.
What changed
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry now issues a dedicated e-commerce licence for running a commercial activity entirely online, under Ministerial Decision No. (25) of 2026. It covers e-commerce activity run entirely online, through the specific website the licence is issued for. The goal, per MOCI, is a faster, fully electronic path to launching a legitimate online business in Qatar.
QR500
Issuance fee
194
Approved activities
1
Website designated per licence
The complete process
5 steps to get licensed
Get your Commercial Register
A Commercial Register (CR) with MOCI is required before you can apply for the e-commerce licence. No CR yet? That’s the first step, before anything e-commerce-specific.
Pick your website and register the domain
The licence is issued for a specific website, which MOCI requires to use a .qa or .com.qa domain registered through one of eight CRA-approved providers. Ghost can buy the domain for you from an accredited registrar.
Check your activity against the approved list
194 business activities are covered. Confirm yours is on MOCI’s current list. Selling regulated products such as food, healthcare, or financial services? Those need extra approval from the relevant sector authority on top of the e-commerce licence.
Apply through Single Window
Apply electronically through MOCI’s Single Window platform. The issuance fee is QR500. Check everything first: MOCI states that once submitted, an application cannot be withdrawn or cancelled, and advises that all information and supporting documents be complete and accurate.
Get licensed, then go live
Once approved, the licence is issued for your designated website. The last piece is having a real, working site there, running what the licence covers.
Requirements at a glance
A Commercial Register first
A Commercial Register with MOCI is required before you can apply for the e-commerce licence.
Get it right the first time
Once submitted through Single Window, an application cannot be withdrawn or cancelled. MOCI advises complete, accurate information and documents.
A .qa or .com.qa domain
Per MOCI: the domain must end in .qa or .com.qa, registered through one of eight CRA-approved providers.
Sector approval, if it applies
Regulated products such as food, healthcare, or financial services need extra approval from that sector’s authority on top of the licence.
Last verified 25 September 2026 against MOCI's announcement and press coverage of it. This page is general information, not legal advice. Requirements and the approved-activity list are set and updated by MOCI, so confirm your specific activity and current terms with MOCI or the Single Window platform before applying.
Once you're licensed, you need the site it names
The licence is issued for a designated website, so the site and its .qa or .com.qa domain need to be real. That's where Ghost fits: we can buy your .qa or .com.qa domain from an accredited registrar on your behalf, and build the store, booking flow, or catalog your licence actually covers, in QAR packages priced before work starts.
See what a Growth or Complete package includes at ghost.qa/pricing, or the fuller picture at ghost.qa/web-design-qatar.
Licence questions
How much does the Qatar e-commerce licence cost?
QR500 issuance fee, per MOCI, applied for electronically through the Single Window platform.
What business activities does it cover?
194 approved activities. MOCI’s examples include fashion design and related products, consulting services, digital design, AI consulting and solutions, photography, and translation. Check your specific activity against MOCI’s current list before applying, since coverage and terms can be updated.
Do I need a website before I apply, or after?
The licence is issued for a designated website on a .qa or .com.qa domain. MOCI’s announcement doesn’t say at what point in the process the domain must exist, so confirm this with MOCI. Registering the domain early is the safer route.
Does Ghost handle the licence application?
No — that's a Ministry of Commerce and Industry process, filed through their Single Window platform, and we're not a licensing consultancy. What we do handle is the website your licence names, and we can buy the .qa or .com.qa domain for you from an accredited registrar (Ghost isn't a domain provider itself).
What happens after I’m licensed?
You need a live site on that domain running the activity your licence names — a store, a booking flow, or a catalog, depending on what you sell. That’s the Growth or Complete package; see ghost.qa/pricing for exact scope and cost.
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