City squares articles

Invest Easy Has a New Name but the Same Job

Search for Invest Easy Oman and you will land on a site that now calls itself the Oman Business Platform. It is the same government portal, run by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, and parts of it still carry the Invest Easy name.

The ministry describes it as a single window for business. It covers the whole life of a company, from the first commercial registration to licences, annual reports and closure. The portal sits at business.gov.om, and the national services site sends you there whenever you start a ministry service.

This guide is for owners who already run a company or are about to open one. It explains who can log in, what each main service does, what the published fees are, and where the portal stops. We checked every fee and rule against official pages in September 2026.

Who Can Log In to the Invest Easy Oman Portal

The login page offers three routes, and the right one depends on your status in Oman.

Omani ID card or resident card with a card reader. Your card must support PKI, which is the digital certificate built into newer ID cards. The Royal Oman Police Civil Status offices activate it, and you set a 6 digit PIN during activation.

Mobile ID on your own phone. You need a PKI enabled card first, then a PKI enabled SIM card from your mobile operator. At login you enter an 8 digit Omani mobile number that starts with 9 or 7, then confirm with your PIN.

Email and one time code for non-residents. Investors with no Omani ID or residency can register with an email address and log in with a code sent by email.

Signing is a separate question from logging in. The service terms say applications signed with ID cards can include at most 5 investors, while Mobile ID signing has no such limit. Digital signing is not available to minors or to foreigners without an Omani ID or resident card, so those files go through a service office instead.

One practical warning: the platform's help pages still point to an older government site for Mobile ID activation. Ask your mobile operator for the current route before you plan around a deadline.

What You Can Do Without Logging In

A good part of the portal is open to anyone, and most of these checks are free. That makes it useful for due diligence on a supplier or partner before you sign anything.

Search the commercial register at no cost. You can see a company's name, registration date, legal form and status. The service page lists it as free and open to the public.

Check a trade name before you commit to it. The name availability search is free and also checks the international ROMARIN trademark database run by WIPO.

Track an application by its reference number. You need the reference number plus the submission date or the applicant's ID number.

Look up a company's unpaid government obligations. This search is free, and records of obligations stay public for 6 years even after they are settled.

Estimate licences before you pick an activity. The free licence simulator shows the documents, approvals, time and cost linked to each activity.

Buy an official business certificate. Each certificate costs OMR 5 and downloads as soon as payment clears. The CR certificate is open to the public, while other certificates need a PKI login.

Starting a Company on the Platform

New registration is the service most people know, and the CR is issued as soon as the application is complete, and the ministry's supervisors can review the data afterwards. If they find a breach and the owners do not fix it, they can suspend the CR across all government systems.

A limited liability company, the most common form. The official LLC registration service lists a request fee of OMR 40.200 plus an administrative fee of OMR 8.100. That brings the ministry share to OMR 48.300, with a listed service time of 30 minutes.

A general partnership costs the same to register. The ministry lists the same two fees for it, with a service time of one working day.

A home business uses a lighter and cheaper format. It costs OMR 3 every 3 years plus an OMR 0.600 admin fee, and you must not hold any other CR.

Name reservation is now built into the new CR service rather than being a separate step. Fees are not refunded if you cancel an application halfway, so check the name and activities first. Our guide to how much it costs to set up a company in Oman covers the charges that sit on top of the ministry fee.

Running the Company Day to Day

Once the company exists, most owners use a handful of services again and again, and these are the ones listed under managing a business on the portal.

Update Commercial Registration. This changes contact details, capital, activities, auditors and similar data. Adding an investor also means raising capital, and every current investor must sign the agreement digitally.

Business activities and the licences behind them. Activities follow the ISIC4 list, and adding one to the CR does not grant a licence by itself. Where a licence is needed, the activity shows as licence pending until the other authority approves it.

My CR Delegation Rights. Investors and authorised signatories can let a trusted person or agent act on the CR. The service is free, and it is how most owners let an office handle routine work.

My CR Calendar for upcoming due dates. This free tool lists due dates and sends reminders, which helps stop renewals from slipping.

Annual reports have a fixed deadline. The service terms say a company must submit its annual report within 6 months of the financial year end. A late report can lead to fines and a public obligation record.

Renewing, Transferring and Closing

Renewal is where Invest Easy Oman users save the most time. The official CR renewal service needs no documents and lists a service time of 15 minutes. The fee varies with the legal form, so the exact amount appears only when you apply.

Ownership transfer has changed the most in the past year. In September 2025 the ministry launched a trial service to transfer a CR online using PKI and a one time code, starting with sole proprietorships and single person companies. The seller signs first, then the buyer, then the seller pays and a ministry officer approves.

In September 2026 the ministry announced new Oman Business Platform services. They include CR transfer by video verification in the app, a data correction service, and a merger option with a 30 day objection period.

Closing is the last step, and the cancel CR service itself is free of charge. Most company types must be liquidated before they can be cancelled, while sole proprietors, home businesses, representative offices and foreign branches close without liquidation.

When the Portal Is Not Enough

Some jobs still need a person at a desk, and not every owner can use Invest Easy Oman services online. The platform lists 10 offices, including Muscat in the Al Wadi Al Kabeer commercial area, Dhofar, Sohar, Nizwa and Sur. Sanad service centres can also file on your behalf.

The contact line shown on the portal is +968 80000070, open Sunday to Thursday from 8am to 4pm. The mobile app covers many services, but the ministry notes that some work only on the web portal.

Remember that the CR is only one layer. Municipal licences, labour clearances and tax registration run through other bodies. Many new owners let our post company formation services in Oman handle that follow-up work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Invest Easy the same as the Oman Business Platform?

Yes, it is the same ministry portal under a newer name, and some pages still say Invest Easy. The address, the login methods and your CR records stay the same.

Can I use the platform if I live outside Oman?

You can register with an email and a one time code. Digital signing, however, needs an Omani ID or resident card with PKI, so many foreign founders work through an authorised agent. Our company formation services in the Sultanate of Oman cover that route.

How much does it cost to renew a CR?

The renewal fee depends on the legal form, and the portal shows it when you apply. Our guide on how to get and renew a commercial registration in Oman explains renewal periods and late penalties.

How do I check if a company is real?

Use the free commercial register search on the portal. It shows whether the company is active, when it was registered and its legal form, with no login needed.

City Squares is an authorised agent of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, based in Muscat. We handle company registration, CR updates, renewals and transfers on the Oman Business Platform for owners who prefer not to do it themselves. Fees and portal services change by ministerial decision, so confirm the current figures on the official pages before you commit.