How to become a real estate agent in Morocco

Morocco is one of the few big property markets with no licence for real estate agents. There is no exam, no professional card and no regulator that approves you. That makes it easy to start, but it does not mean there are no rules: you still need a proper business set-up, you are covered by anti-money laundering law, and foreigners need the right work papers. Here is the full picture in October 2026.

The short version

1. No law defines the job of real estate agent, so no licence is required today.
2. A draft law, bill 36.17, would create a regulated status. It has been pending since 2014 and was still not adopted as of October 2026.
3. To work legally on your own account, you need a registered business: trade register (RC), company identifier (ICE) and taxe professionnelle.
4. Agents are reporting entities under Law 43-05: know your client, report suspicious deals to the ANRF, and file an annual report.
5. Foreigners can found an agency, or work as employees with a work contract visaed by the Ministry of Employment.
6. Most agency jobs pay a small fixed salary plus commission.

No licence today, and the draft law 36.17

Rabat agents told Le Brief in November 2025 that their trade still has no legal framework: no licence, no professional card, no entry requirement. Le Brief describes the market as mostly informal, dominated by intermediaries known as samsars, who pay neither VAT nor business tax.

A bill on the status of real estate agents, 36.17, was filed in February 2014 and sent to the Secretariat General of the Government in 2017. According to Le360, it has 37 articles and would require a clean criminal record plus either a two-year post-baccalaureate degree or five years of experience. The Housing Minister promised in October 2023 to relaunch it. Bladi reported in March 2025 that it was still not adopted, and we found no adoption since. A voluntary national register listed about 1,312 agents in 2023 (Le360).

What this means for you: if the law passes, the entry conditions above are the ones to expect. Keep proof of your experience and your diplomas from day one.

What you still need to work legally

No licence does not mean no paperwork. A formal agency is an ordinary business, often a company such as a SARL, and it needs:

• RC (registre du commerce): the trade register number.
• ICE (identifiant commun de l’entreprise): the company identifier that appears on invoices.
• Taxe professionnelle: the local business tax, formerly called the patente. Since Law 14-25 of July 2025, it is collected by the tax authority (DGI).
• A business bank account, so that fees are paid by transfer and leave a trace.

The auto-entrepreneur question. Morocco has a simplified auto-entrepreneur status, with turnover caps of MAD 500,000 for trade and MAD 200,000 for services, and a tax of 0.5% or 1% of turnover. Upsilon Consulting says it is open to residents, including foreign residents. What we could not confirm is whether real estate intermediation is on the list of eligible activities. Check on the official portal (rn.ae.gov.ma) or with an accountant before you rely on it.

Working as a salaried agent inside an agency needs none of this on your side: the agency holds the RC and ICE, and you sign an employment contract.

Your anti-money laundering duties

Even without a licence, real estate agents are covered by Law 43-05 on money laundering, as amended (notably by Law 12-18). The financial intelligence unit is the National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF), which replaced the former UTRF.

A Housing Ministry order, 133.23, in force since January 2023, spells out what agents must do, as reported by Le360:

• Run a risk-based vigilance and internal control system.
• Identify clients and beneficial owners, and refuse to deal with unidentified people or shell companies.
• Send suspicious transaction reports to the ANRF.
• Screen clients against sanctions lists.
• Train staff and send an annual report to the Housing Ministry, which has named 45 controllers.

Cash is now expensive too. Since 1 July 2026, under the 2026 Finance Law, a property sale above MAD 300,000 carries an extra 2% registration duty on any part of the price not paid by traceable means (transfer, crossed cheque, card) and referenced in the deed (Medias24). A client who suggests “part in cash” is now a cost problem as well as a compliance one.

Foreigners: founding a company or working as an employee

Because the activity is not regulated, nationality is not a bar to being an agent. The questions are about your business and your work papers.

Founding your own agency. A foreigner can found or co-own a company and run it. Upsilon lists managers, partners and shareholders among the people exempt from the ANAPEC certificate described below.

Working as a salaried agent. A foreign employee needs a work contract on the Ministry of Employment’s official model, visaed through the TAECHIR platform (Labour Code Articles 516 to 520). The contract only takes effect from the date of the visa, so do not start work before it.

Before the visa, the employer normally needs an ANAPEC certificate showing that no suitable Moroccan candidate applied. Upsilon describes a 15-day job posting and about 60 days in total. Exemptions include:

• Company managers, partners and shareholders.
• Spouses of Moroccan nationals, and foreigners born in Morocco.
• Foreigners who have lived in Morocco as employees for more than 10 years.
• Staff of Casablanca Finance City companies.
• Nationals covered by bilateral agreements, such as Algeria, Tunisia and Senegal, and young French professionals under a 2001 agreement.

Residence. A foreigner staying more than 90 days needs a registration card (carte d’immatriculation), valid 1 to 10 years and renewable, under Law 02-03. A resident card is possible after four years of continuous legal residence, and it can lapse after two years spent abroad.

How agents are paid

Most agency jobs combine a small fixed salary with a share of the commission. The figures below are estimates from the job board Jobsquare, not official data. Treat them as a rough guide and negotiate your own.

Profile	Fixed pay (MAD per month)	Total with commission (MAD per month)
Junior negotiator	3,500 to 5,000 net	4,000 to 8,000
Confirmed agent (2 to 5 years)	4,000 to 6,000	8,000 to 18,000
Senior agent	Not given	15,000 to 30,000
Top independents	None	20,000 to 50,000 or more

Source: Jobsquare, 28 May 2026.

Jobsquare puts the agent’s share of the agency commission at around 30% to 50%. Its city estimates for a confirmed agent’s total monthly pay are Casablanca MAD 9,000 to 20,000, Marrakech 9,000 to 25,000, Tangier 8,500 to 19,000 and Rabat 8,500 to 18,000. In Marrakech, it reported in March 2026 junior fixed pay of MAD 4,000 to 6,000, developer programme managers on 12,000 to 22,000, and agency sales directors on 18,000 to 35,000.

See Real estate agent commission in Morocco for rates and worked examples.

Skills and languages

• Darija and Arabic for local clients and most transactions.
• French for French-speaking buyers, notaries’ offices and much of the business paperwork. Jobsquare calls it indispensable for francophone clients in Marrakech.
• English, increasingly useful with British, American and Gulf buyers.
• Sales drive, resilience and reliability, which Jobsquare lists as the core of the job.
• Enough knowledge of the deal process to guide clients: titled property versus melkia, notary or adouls, registration duties, and the rules for foreign buyers.

How to choose an agency

With no licence to check, you have to check the business itself.

• Ask for the agency’s RC and ICE numbers, and check that they appear on its invoices.
• Ask whether it uses written mandates with sellers and buyers. Le Brief notes that signed mandates and visit slips are often missing in the market. An agency without them leaves you exposed when a client goes around you.
• Ask how it handles AML: client ID checks, a named compliance person, the annual report.
• Get your fixed pay, commission split, targets and payout date in the contract, including what happens to deals that close after you leave.
• If you are a foreigner, make sure the agency will file your contract on TAECHIR and handle ANAPEC before you start.

Red flags

• An agency that wants you to work “as a samsar” for cash, with no contract.
• Commission collected in cash or to a personal account.
• No written mandates at all, or a refusal to put your split in writing.
• A foreign hire asked to start work before the contract is visaed.
• A promise of “guaranteed” earnings far above the ranges in this guide.

The rules for agents in Morocco may change if bill 36.17 is adopted. This guide was checked on the date shown above. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with any Moroccan authority.

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