The auto-entrepreneur status for couriers in Morocco: tax, VAT, CNSS and registration (2026)

01What is the auto-entrepreneur status?

Created by law 114-13, it's for an individual working alone, in their own name. You register with the national auto-entrepreneur register, receive a company identifier (the ICE), a tax identifier and a business-tax number, and pay a tax calculated on what you take in, with no complicated bookkeeping.

Two limits to know: someone already registered for the business tax (taxe professionnelle) must first close that activity, and about forty professions are excluded (lawyers, doctors, driving schools, importers and exporters, for example).

02Can a courier be an auto-entrepreneur?

The official list of eligible activities (decree 2-15-303) includes, among services, "road freight transport", "auxiliary transport services", "handling" and "removal services". The words "courier" and "delivery" don't appear as such: when you register, pick the activity that best matches what you do, and check it on the auto-entrepreneur portal. In practice, many app-based delivery riders already work under this status.

On the trade side, the list also includes "online selling": if you sell online as well as deliver, that's a separate activity with its own rate.

03How much tax does a self-employed courier pay?

• 1% of turnover for a service activity, 0.5% for trade, industry and crafts. It's the final tax on that income.
• No VAT below 500,000 DH (details just below), and no business tax for the first 5 years.
• Declaration and payment every month or every quarter, at Barid Al-Maghrib (the post).

Example: 60,000 DH of fees in a year means 600 DH of tax.

04Does an auto-entrepreneur pay VAT?

No. The Finance Ministry's tax guide puts it plainly: the auto-entrepreneur is outside the scope of VAT, because their turnover stays under the 500,000 DH threshold. For a courier, the services ceiling is 200,000 DH, so you always stay below it.

What that means for you:

• You don't charge VAT: the price you quote is the price you collect.
• You have no VAT returns to file.
• You don't get back the VAT on what you buy (fuel, parts, phone): it's part of your costs. The tax code calls it an exemption "without the right to deduct" (article 91-II-3°).

If your business grows to the point of leaving the status, ask an accountant how VAT will apply under your new regime before you switch.

05What counts as turnover, and what doesn't

Your turnover is your fees: the amounts you receive for your delivery service. The cash you collect from the recipient on a sender's behalf belongs to the sender: you hand it over; it isn't your income. So, in principle, it doesn't count towards your turnover.

Two tips to keep this clear if anyone asks:

• keep a record of every handover to the sender (on Delivery Center, the "I handed over" and the sender's confirmation are there for that);
• have this point confirmed by an accountant or by the DGI for your own situation.

06The ceiling: 200,000 DH a year for services

The status applies as long as your yearly turnover stays under 200,000 DH for services (500,000 DH for trade, industry and crafts). If you go over it two years in a row, you lose the status and move to another tax regime.

07The 80,000 DH rule with one client

Since the 2023 finance law, when your service turnover with one single client goes over 80,000 DH in a year, that client withholds 30% of the part above at source and pays it to the tax office.

Example: if a shop gives you 100,000 DH of delivery jobs in a year, the 20,000 DH above 80,000 are subject to the 30% withholding, which is 6,000 DH. For a courier working mostly for one sender, this is worth planning for: spreading your work across several clients changes the bill a lot.

08The CNSS and health insurance (AMO)

Joining the CNSS (Morocco's social security fund) is part of the status: auto-entrepreneurs pay into the compulsory health insurance (AMO) for the self-employed, open to them since 1 March 2022. The contribution depends on the tax you pay in the year:

With the 200,000 DH ceiling and a 1% tax, a courier's tax doesn't go above 2,000 DH a year: only these three bands apply. Remember to build it into your prices: our guide to pricing a delivery explains how to spread your yearly costs.

What the CNSS sets out on its pages:

• A three-month waityour cover opens after three months of paid contributions, not on the day you register. Sign up before you need it.
• Your familycover extends to your spouse and dependent children.
• Your pensionthis table only covers health insurance. The CNSS runs a pension scheme for the self-employed, paying from age 65: ask them, on 3939, whether and how your status gives you access.
• AMO Tadamonif you get this state-funded health cover today, ask the CNSS what registering as an auto-entrepreneur would change for you, before you register.

09Registering, step by step

1. 1Online, on the national auto-entrepreneur register portal (rn.ae.gov.ma): fill in the form and choose your activity.
2. 2Within 30 days, hand in the signed form, a photo and a copy of your ID card at the counters of Barid Al-Maghrib's partner banks.
3. 3You receive your ICE, your tax identifier and your business-tax number, and your auto-entrepreneur card.

Registration is free. A foreign resident can register with their residence card.

10Keeping your books without the headache

• A simple table: date, sender, fee received, amount handed back to the sender.
• Two pockets, two envelopes: senders' cash on one side, your fees on the other.
• A reminder for every declaration, monthly or quarterly.
• Handover records kept for at least as long as a tax check could go back.

For how to hand collected cash back and keep proof of it, read our guide to handing collected cash back to the sender.

12Frequently asked questions