Opening a service station in Morocco is becoming much more difficult

The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has established a new procedure for reviewing applications to create and commission service stations and filling centers. According to its official statement, the new rules will enter into force on August 31, 2026.

Applications will have to be submitted as a priority through the ministry’s electronic platform. Submission by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt or directly to the administration will nevertheless remain possible.

If the application is inadmissible, the applicant must be informed within 15 days, along with a list of the missing documents or information. When additional materials are required, the investor will have 30 days to submit them. Once the application is complete, the ministry will also have 30 days to issue a decision.

On Bladi.net : Fuel Station Owners Ignite National Strike Over Black Market Crisis

A field inspection will then have to be carried out. The relevant departments will verify the selected location and list the nearby stations, their brands, their distance from the project and, in certain cases, their average monthly sales volume. The report must be submitted within a maximum of five days.

500 meters in cities, up to 20 kilometers elsewhere

The circular does not create new regulatory distances, but it now imposes a uniform method for calculating them. In urban areas, a new station must be located at least 500 meters from an existing service station or filling center.

This distance will be calculated between the midpoint of the future establishment’s frontage and that of the nearest station, following the roads that are actually accessible. Both directions of traffic must be examined, and the shortest distance will be used. Signs, no-entry directions and local traffic regulations must therefore be taken into account.

Outside urban areas, the project must notably comply with a distance of 20 kilometers from a station of the same brand. A minimum distance of two kilometers from the nearest station in a cluster of stations will also be required.

On Bladi.net : article 53188

Obtaining the authorization will not make it possible to retain land indefinitely without carrying out the project. The station must be built and commissioned within a maximum period of 24 months. Once this period has elapsed, the authorization will become void. Delays attributable to an administration may be reported, but they will not automatically extend this period.

An authorization to create a station will also not allow fuel to be sold immediately. Before opening, a second inspection will verify that the installations comply with the approved plans as well as with technical and safety regulations. All irregularities must be corrected before the certificate of compliance is issued.

Project developers will also be encouraged to consider, from the design stage, covering all or part of their electricity needs through renewable energy. This measure may take the form of solar panels installed on roofs, parking areas or canopies, electricity self-generation or the purchase of green electricity. The use of renewables is encouraged, but it is not made mandatory by the circular.

The tightening of the rules comes as the network continues to expand. Morocco had 3 742 service stations at the end of 2025, compared with 3 534 a year earlier, representing 208 additional openings. For future investors, the procedure is becoming more predictable, but it leaves much less room for incomplete applications, approximate locations and construction projects that drag on.