Under the Instructions for the Licensing and Registration of Virtual Offices in the Development and Free Zones for 2026, a further practical step has been fixed on the path to carrying on economic activity without physical premises. Entrepreneurs and investors considering establishing a company inside these zones will want to be aware of it.

The platform comes before the office

The path does not begin with the office, but with the digital platform within which the office operates. The platform licence is issued in the name of the zone’s master developer, who either manages it himself or entrusts that to an operator under a written agreement. The operator is the legal person who administers and runs the platform in the zone, and must hold a licence to practise economic activity before commencing. The platform licence fee is JOD 5,000 on first issue and JOD 2,500 a year on renewal.

What the application requires

The office holder applies to the Ministry through the electronic services portal, attaching:

• A letter of coverage from the master developer.

• The contract concluded with the master developer or the operator.

• A copy of the certificate of legal form or the commercial register.

The Directorate of Regulation and Compliance at the Ministry issues its decision within a period not exceeding fifteen working days from receipt of a completed application. The licence is issued once the prescribed fees have been met.

Permitted activities, and the limits on them

The instructions permit ten activities, among them information technology, electronic commerce and marketing, distance education and training, and a regional office for a foreign company that is not operating. The office is prohibited from carrying on any of them before obtaining the licence to practise economic activity. The Ministry may halt unlicensed activities, and may suspend or cancel the licence where there is non-compliance, or where it is not renewed within three months of expiry.

A contractual question before a technical one

In my assessment, the choice of platform here is a contractual decision before it is a technical one. The contract with the master developer or the operator, and the letter of coverage, are both conditions for the acceptance of the office’s application, and the continuation of the licence is then tied to renewal on time.

So if you are building your company on a virtual office: have you reviewed your contract with the platform with the same rigour you apply to your operating plan? And have you considered engaging a full-service legal institution that can assess the risks ahead and put the measures in place to prevent them?

Note: this is general legal information and does not constitute legal advice.