Jordan Articles of Incorporation Attestation

Corporate Charters for U.S. Corporations in Jordan

Amman is a popular location for regional offices of U.S. corporations covering the Levant, Iraq and beyond, and Jordanian subsidiaries of U.S. groups operate in sectors from pharmaceuticals and technology to energy and logistics. Each of these setups starts with the U.S. corporation’s charter, its articles or certificate of incorporation, which Jordanian authorities accept only with Embassy of Jordan legalization.

Regional offices and branches

Jordan allows foreign companies to register offices that support regional operations without trading locally, as well as branches that carry on business in the Kingdom. Either way, the Companies Control Department asks for the parent corporation’s charter, proof of its current status, a board resolution establishing the Jordanian presence and appointing its manager, and a power of attorney. The charter tells the registry what kind of corporation it is dealing with, where it is incorporated, and how its share capital is structured.

Jordanian subsidiaries and joint ventures

When a U.S. corporation becomes a shareholder in a Jordanian limited liability company or private shareholding company, or partners with Jordanian investors, its charter goes into the founding file of the new company. Investors in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone and other development zones provide similar documents to the zone authorities. For large groups, make sure the charter belongs to the entity actually investing, which is often a subsidiary rather than the listed parent, and add a short group chart if several group companies appear in the file.

The right version of the charter

Jordan needs the charter as it stands today. Corporations that have amended their articles several times should provide restated articles, or the original articles with every amendment, certified by the Secretary of State of the state of incorporation. A former corporate name still used in Jordanian records needs the amendment that changed it, or Jordanian officials may treat the two names as different companies.

Legalization

A certified charter is an official record and needs no notary. It is authenticated by the Secretary of State and the U.S. Department of State and then legalized by the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C., usually within five working days. Jordan does not accept apostilles. Our team opens the embassy file on Jordan’s MFA system, pays the embassy charge there, and sends the spare copy required with each document.