Getting set up legally: the three steps, and what you need

1. Step 1 / 3

   Register as an auto-entrepreneur (ANAE)

   Documents

   Biometric national ID card, both sides Proof of address under three months old ID photo Depending on the activity: a diploma or a criminal record extract

   Information to have ready

   Your NIN An email address and an Algerian phone number Your exact activity, picked from the Decree 23-197 list (about 300 digital service activities)

   Steps

   1. Create an account on anae.dz.
   2. Fill in the form: identity, NIN, address, wilaya and commune.
   3. Pick the activity that really describes your work: your bank and the tax office will see it.
   4. Upload the documents and submit.
   5. Get your number by text and email, then download the card.
   6. Within ten days, register with CASNOS and have your NIF (tax number) confirmed at your tax office.

   Where:

   Online, at anae.dz

   Timing:

   An answer within three working days; 30 days to appeal a refusal

   Cost:

   No known registration fee

   The trap: Don’t pick a “close enough” activity to save time: it has to match the work you invoice.

   Guide 5 · Becoming an auto-entrepreneur: how to register with ANAEGuide 13 · The 0.5% IFU: how much tax an auto-entrepreneur pays, and up to what limit
2. Step 2 / 3

   Open a business account in dinars and foreign currency

   Documents

   Auto-entrepreneur card ID document Proof of address Some banks ask for more (Al Baraka also lists a birth certificate, two photos and two 20 DA stamps)

   Information to have ready

   Your clients’ currency: one account per currency, euro or dollar The questions to ask the branch (guide 24): fees, an international Visa card on the currency account, receiving SWIFT and Payoneer transfers

   Steps

   1. Compare two branches using the eight questions in guide 24.
   2. Hand in the three documents. If the branch asks for a trade register entry, mention Bank of Algeria Circular 2024/01.
   3. Ask for a dinar account and a currency account.
   4. Ask for your full details for an international transfer, on bank letterhead: exact name, DZ IBAN (26 characters), SWIFT code, branch address.

   Where:

   At a branch of the bank you choose

   Timing:

   Depends on the branch: open it before your first foreign client

   Cost:

   Account and card fees, depending on the bank

   The trap: Since Circular 2024/01, an auto-entrepreneur doesn’t need a trade register entry.

   Guide 6 · Opening a foreign currency account as an auto-entrepreneur: what your bank needsGuide 24 · Which bank to choose for payments from foreign clients
3. Step 3 / 3

   Declare each job to your bank (art. 57)

   Documents

   Your bank’s declaration form (there is no national form) The contract or quote for the job, if you have one

   Information to have ready

   The service The client The unit price The go-live or delivery date How the client will pay (wire, Payoneer, PayPal)

   Steps

   1. Ask your branch for its declaration form.
   2. Describe the project: service, client, unit price, go-live date.
   3. Hand it in before you send the invoice, and keep a stamped copy.
   4. Do it again for each new client or new job.

   Where:

   At the branch that holds your currency account

   Timing:

   Before the first payment. After that, the client has at most 120 days after the service to pay, and the money comes home the day they pay.

   Cost:

   No fee set by the regulation; ask your bank

   The trap: An undeclared job is paid in dinars, with no way back to currency.

   Guide 7 · Declaring your projects to your bank: the article 57 declarationGuide 9 · The 120-day rule: when your client must pay, and when the money must come home

Documents asked for can vary by branch or platform: check before you go. General information, not legal advice.