How to open an online store in Jordan:
requirements step by step

To open an online store in Jordan legally, you register a business, get the licences your activity needs, open a tax file, issue invoices through JoFotara where required, and publish clear store policies. Building the store is the easy part: Saree3 builds online stores from 500 JOD on Shopify or WooCommerce, and custom stores from 1,200 JOD, in 3 to 6 weeks.

This guide goes through the requirements to open an online store in Jordan step by step, and marks which steps are legal requirements and which are good practice. It also answers two common questions: do you need a special online store licence, and do you need a licence for the website itself.

Note: this is general guidance based on public sources as of October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. Rules change and depend on your activity, so confirm your case with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, the Income and Sales Tax Department, your municipality, or a lawyer.

Requirements to open an online store in Jordan at a glance

Step 1: Register the business

Your store needs a legal owner. Most small sellers start with one of two forms:

• Individual establishment. Registered with the Commercial Registration Directorate at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. The owner is personally responsible for the business's debts. The Ministry registered 12,449 individual establishments in the first half of 2026.
• Company. Registered with the Companies Control Department. Limited liability companies are the most common choice and made up 76.3% of new company registrations in the first half of 2026. The company is a separate legal person from its owners.

Payment gateways, banks and delivery companies ask for this registration before they open an account for you, so do it first.

Step 2: Register a trade name

Your store name should match a registered trade name, so others cannot register it after you. Trade names are handled by the Central Trade and Industrial Registration Directorate at the Ministry. If the name and logo matter, consider registering a trademark too.

Step 3: Get the vocational licence

A vocational licence comes from the Greater Amman Municipality inside Amman, under the Professions Licences Law No. 11 of 2022, or from your local municipality elsewhere. If you rent a shop, office or warehouse, the licence is tied to that place.

If you work from home, Greater Amman Municipality and other municipalities have licensed home-based businesses since new instructions in 2017. According to the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation, the main conditions are: practise only the licensed activity, use up to 15% of the home or 25 square metres at most, make no structural changes, employ one person in the home, and sign a pledge that allows inspections. Food businesses have extra hygiene conditions.

Whether a store that only sells online needs a vocational licence depends on where you keep and pack the goods. Ask your municipality before you register, and check whether your products need approval from another authority, such as the Jordan Food and Drug Administration for food and medicines.

Step 4: Open a tax file

Register with the Income and Sales Tax Department to get a tax number. You need it to file income tax and to issue invoices.

Step 5: Register for sales tax when you reach the threshold

Under the sales tax registration threshold regulation, you must register for general sales tax when your taxable sales reach these amounts in the period set by the law:

• 75,000 JOD for a person who sells goods.
• 30,000 JOD for a service provider.
• 10,000 JOD for a manufacturer of goods subject to special tax.

If you do more than one activity, the lowest threshold applies. You can usually register voluntarily below the threshold, which lets you reclaim sales tax on your purchases. Ask an accountant whether that makes sense for you.

Step 6: Issue invoices through JoFotara

Jordan's national e-invoicing system, JoFotara, is run by the Income and Sales Tax Department. Since 1 April 2025, invoices covered by the invoicing rules must be issued through JoFotara or a system connected to it, whether or not you are registered for sales tax. Under the Income Tax Law, not issuing a proper invoice can cost 200 to 500 JOD per violation, doubled if repeated.

In January 2025 the Department said that some licensed activities with annual sales under 75,000 JOD are excluded from issuing invoices, including groceries, bookshops, household goods shops and home businesses. Online stores are not named on that list, so confirm your status with the Department before you launch. If you need JoFotara, choose a store platform or accounting tool that connects to it.

Step 7: Open a business bank account

Open the account in the name of the individual establishment or the company. Payment gateways settle money only to an account in the business name, and CliQ transfers on business accounts are treated differently from personal ones. Since 1 October 2025, banks charge business accounts a fixed fee per CliQ transfer band.

Step 8: Choose payment methods

Most Jordanian stores launch with cash on delivery, add CliQ to a business account, and then add a card gateway. Gateways ask for your registration, bank account and a live website with clear policies. Our guide to payment gateways in Jordan compares HyperPay, PayTabs, Network International, MEPS, eFAWATEERcom and instalment options.

Step 9: Pick a delivery partner

Aramex offers a cash on delivery service where it collects the value of the goods at delivery and pays it back to you on an agreed schedule, and local delivery companies offer similar services. Before you sign, get in writing: the delivery fee inside Amman and to other governorates, the cash collection fee, how often they pay you, and what happens when a customer refuses an order.

Step 10: Choose your domain

A .com domain is quick to register anywhere. A .jo domain is open to organisations registered in Jordan, and the name must reflect your company name or a trademark you own, so you register the business first and provide your documents. Many stores use both and point one to the other.

Step 11: Publish your store policies

The Consumer Protection Law No. 7 of 2017 applies to online sales too. It gives buyers the right to clear and accurate information about the product and the seller and to a receipt, and it gives them a right to redress: where a claim is valid, the supplier must take back the product and refund it, or pay compensation. Any clause that limits these rights is void.

The Personal Data Protection Law No. 24 of 2023 came into force on 17 March 2024. It requires clear consent for processing personal data, for a stated purpose, with some exceptions. A store collects names, phone numbers and addresses on every order, so it applies to you.

Publish these pages before launch:

• Return and refund policy: how many days, which items, who pays delivery, and how the refund is paid.
• Delivery policy: areas, fees and times.
• Privacy policy: what data you collect, why, who receives it (for example the courier) and how customers can ask you to delete it.
• Terms of sale and your business name, registration number, address and phone number.
• Prices in JOD, with any tax and delivery fees shown before checkout.

Do you need a special licence for an online store or a website?

In the sources we checked, we did not find a separate licence for an online store or for a company website itself. What needs registration and licensing is the business behind it, as in the steps above. Websites that publish news are a different case: since the 2012 amendments to the Press and Publications Law, news websites must register with the Media Commission. If your store publishes news or a magazine section, ask the Commission.

What it costs to build the store

Government fees vary by business type and change over time, so check them with each authority. For the store itself, see our breakdown of how much an online store costs in Jordan. Saree3 builds Shopify and WooCommerce stores from 500 JOD and custom stores from 1,200 JOD, with payment and delivery set up and tested. Details are on our e-commerce service page.

Launch checklist

1. Registration certificate and trade name in hand.
2. Vocational or home-based licence confirmed with the municipality.
3. Tax number, and JoFotara set up if it applies to you.
4. Business bank account open.
5. Cash on delivery and CliQ working; card gateway approved or in review.
6. Courier contract signed and rates loaded into the store.
7. Return, delivery and privacy pages published.
8. Test orders placed, paid, delivered and refunded once each.