Expatries Network
Country profile

Payroll in Jordan: a restricted activity

The network covers Jordan within the Near and Middle East region. Payslips there are drawn up in JOD, and dealings with a local firm are conducted in Arabic.

The business centres where the network is looking for a correspondent as a priority are Amman, Zarqa, Irbid, Aqaba.

The country lies outside the European Union and outside the European Economic Area: the A1 certificate has no standing there. Whether the employee remains in the scheme of origin then depends on the bilateral social security agreement, if any, concluded with the sending country; where no such agreement exists, dual affiliation must be expected and budgeted into the assignment.

Region
Near and Middle East
Payroll currency
JOD
Working languages
Arabic
European status
Outside the European Union and the European Economic Area
Capital
Amman
Dialling code
+962
Country code
JO / JOR

Who may run payroll in Jordan

The answer to this question changes everything: it determines to whom you may entrust your payslips locally, and what you must ask for before signing. It has been verified country by country with the local authorities.

In Jordan, running payroll on behalf of third parties is a regulated activity. It is carried on under the title of محاسب قانوني (muhasib qanuni) — comptable legal / certified public accountant, and a registration in force must be produced to you before any engagement.

Local title
محاسب قانوني (muhasib qanuni) — comptable legal / certified public accountant
Professional body or supervisory authority
جمعية المحاسبين القانونيين الأردنيين — Jordanian Association of Certified Public Accountants (JACPA), sous l'egide de الهيئة العليا لتنظيم مهنة المحاسبة

Consult the official register

What to check on the ground

Partiellement. La Jordanie encadre la profession comptable par une Haute Autorite de reglementation de la profession comptable et par la JACPA, qui organise les examens, tient le registre des membres exercants, non exercants et stagiaires, et conditionne l'exercice a une licence. Cet encadrement vise clairement l'audit et la certification des comptes. Je n'ai pas trouve de texte reservant expressement l'etablissement de la paie pour compte de tiers : des societes de services non membres de la JACPA exercent en pratique cette activite. Le bon critere pour le reseau est donc la presence d'au moins un محاسب قانوني licencie parmi les associes.

Payroll in Jordan in practice

Jordan differs from the Gulf monarchies in that its social scheme does not confine cover to nationals: the المؤسسة العامة للضمان الاجتماعي (Social Security Corporation) affiliates foreign employees lawfully engaged in the country, with particular rules on what benefits they can draw on departure. That is an important difference for a company used to thinking in terms of end-of-service gratuity alone.

The country also operates a policy of controlling foreign employment, with closed occupations and annual authorisations issued by the Ministry of Labour, which shapes whether a given recruitment is feasible at all.

Salaries are paid in Jordanian dinars, a stable currency whose parity is managed. Arabic is the language of the administration and of contractual documents filed with it.

The accountancy profession is overseen by a high regulatory authority and by the جمعية المحاسبين القانونيين الأردنيين (JACPA), but that oversight is directed at audit and the certification of accounts; preparing payroll for third parties is not expressly reserved.

Employing staff in Jordan

Work authorisation is annual and tied to the employer: a change of employer requires a fresh authorisation, and certain occupations are closed to non-Jordanians. That constraint is checked before an offer is made, not afterwards.

The employer must of course exist and be able to trade. Two documents complement each other: the registration certificate issued by the Companies Control Department, which does not expire, and the شهادة لمن يهمه الأمر, which gives the company's current picture. It is the second that should be required. To these is added the رخصة مهن, the municipal activity licence issued by the municipality of the registered office and renewable annually.

Tax registration precedes registration of the employer with the Social Security Corporation, which is itself a precondition for affiliating the employee.

Filed in Arabic, the written contract fixes duration, the probationary period, the organisation of working time and the termination rules, all provisions to be checked before signature.

In day-to-day operation, the employer deducts tax on employment income at source and remits it to the tax administration, while contributions follow the Social Security Corporation's monthly calendar. The payslip is given to the employee and must allow the deductions to be traced.

Work authorisation does not lapse of its own accord on exit: its cancellation, deregistration with the corporation and the final reckoning are prepared together, since a permit left standing can be turned against the employer.

Jordan

The documents required of a partner in Jordan

The network asks 10 documents of any firm wishing to represent it in Jordan. The table gives, for each of them, the exact wording in use locally, the body that issues it and the period during which it remains admissible. These are the terms to use in an application to the local administration.

Of these 10 documents, 8 are required of every applicant and 6 have a limited period of validity, the shortest being 3 months. 2 of these documents exist only in Jordan and have no equivalent in the common core of the network.

Local wordingIssuing bodyValiditySource
شهادة تسجيل الشركة (shahadat tasjil ash-sharika) — le cas echeant السجل التجاريCompany registration certificate / commercial register entry

Delivre par le Companies Control Department sous la loi sur les societes n° 22 de 1997. Les entreprises individuelles et noms commerciaux relevent en revanche du registre des المؤسسات الفردية والأسماء التجارية tenu par le ministere.

دائرة مراقبة الشركات — Companies Control Department (CCD), ministere de l'Industrie, du Commerce et de l'ApprovisionnementNo expiry
Required
Official website
شهادة لمن يهمه الأمر (shahada li-man yahummuhu al-amr)Certificate for whom it may concern / company standing certificate

C'est l'equivalent jordanien du certificat de bonne situation : le CCD la delivre expressement a cote du certificat d'immatriculation. Elle confirme que la societe est active et a jour de ses depots.

دائرة مراقبة الشركات — Companies Control Department (CCD)3 months
Required
Official website
رخصة مهن (rukhsat mihan) — licence d'activite municipaleMunicipal vocational/professional licence

Toute activite exercee en Jordanie suppose une رخصة مهن delivree et renouvelee chaque annee par la municipalite du lieu d'exploitation, distincte de l'immatriculation au CCD. Piece systematiquement oubliee par les candidats.

Municipalite du siege (par ex. أمانة عمان الكبرى, Greater Amman Municipality)12 months
Required
Official website
الرقم الضريبي (ar-raqm ad-daribi) et, le cas echeant, تسجيل ضريبة المبيعات العامةTax number and general sales tax registration

La taxe generale sur les ventes est de 16 % ; un cabinet de services qui depasse le seuil d'enregistrement doit produire son certificat d'assujettissement en plus du numero fiscal.

دائرة ضريبة الدخل والمبيعات — Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD)No expiry
Required
Official website
براءة ذمة ضريبية (bara'at dhimma daribiyya)Tax clearance certificate

La bara'at dhimma est la forme jordanienne du quitus : elle atteste l'absence de dette a la date de delivrance. Se demande via le portail electronique de l'ISTD. Je n'ai pas trouve de page officielle fixant sa duree de validite : exiger une piece de moins de trois mois.

دائرة ضريبة الدخل والمبيعات — Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD)3 months
Required
Official website
براءة ذمة من المؤسسة العامة للضمان الاجتماعيSocial Security Corporation clearance certificate

L'affiliation (شمول منشأة) est obligatoire pour tout etablissement employeur. Les taux sont de 14,25 % a la charge de l'employeur et 7,5 % a celle du salarie. Se demande sur eservices.ssc.gov.jo.

المؤسسة العامة للضمان الاجتماعي — Social Security Corporation (SSC)3 months
Required
Official website
وثيقة تأمين المسؤولية المهنيةProfessional liability insurance policy

Je n'ai pas trouve de disposition jordanienne rendant l'assurance RC professionnelle obligatoire pour un cabinet comptable. A traiter comme exigence contractuelle du reseau.

Assureur agree par la Banque centrale de Jordanie (autorite de supervision des assurances)12 months
Where applicable
Official website
رخصة مزاولة مهنة تدقيق الحسابات — licence d'exercice de la profession de commissaire aux comptesLicence to practise the auditing/accounting profession

La JACPA distingue explicitement membres exercants, membres non exercants et stagiaires, et publie ses listes. La licence est requise pour la pratique de l'audit et de la comptabilite ; pour la seule paie, je n'ai pas trouve de texte reservant l'activite : demander la licence quand le candidat certifie ou tient les comptes.

الهيئة العليا لتنظيم مهنة المحاسبة (Haute Autorite de reglementation de la profession comptable) ; جمعية المحاسبين القانونيين الأردنيين — JACPA12 months
Required
Official website
البطاقة الشخصية (carte d'identite nationale) ou جواز السفر (passeport)National identity card or passport

La carte nationale est reservee aux ressortissants jordaniens ; les dirigeants etrangers presentent leur passeport et, s'ils resident en Jordanie, leur carte de sejour.

دائرة الأحوال المدنية والجوازات — Civil Status and Passports DepartmentNo expiry
Required
Official website
الامتثال لقانون حماية البيانات الشخصية رقم 24 لسنة 2023Compliance with the Personal Data Protection Law No. 24 of 2023

La Jordanie s'est dotee en 2023 d'une premiere loi de protection des donnees personnelles, entree en application progressivement. Aucun registre public d'enregistrement des responsables de traitement n'etait accessible lors de mes recherches : demander plutot une politique de confidentialite et le registre interne des traitements.

مجلس حماية البيانات الشخصية — Personal Data Protection Council, ministere de l'Economie numerique et de l'EntrepreneuriatNo expiry
Where applicable
Official website

What sets Jordan apart

Proving that a company exists happens in two stages, and confusing the two documents is the most common error. The registration certificate evidences that the company was formed; the شهادة لمن يهمه الأمر evidences its current position, officers and capital included. Only the second says anything about the present state of affairs.

براءة ذمة means clearance, issued in a tax version and a social security version: that is the term to use when requesting a compliance certificate, and framing the request in other words invites correspondence with the administration.

Two points remain open and we treat them as such: the exact validity period of these two clearance certificates is not established by any accessible official source, and the existence of a register of data controllers under the 2023 personal data statute is not confirmed. We deal with both file by file rather than laying down a general rule.

Points to watch in Jordan

En Jordanie la preuve d'existence se joue en deux temps : le certificat d'immatriculation du Companies Control Department, qui ne se perime pas, et la شهادة لمن يهمه الأمر, qui est la photographie a jour de la societe — c'est cette derniere qu'il faut exiger. S'y ajoute la رخصة مهن municipale, renouvelable chaque annee, que beaucoup de candidats confondent avec l'immatriculation nationale. Le mot cle a connaitre pour les deux attestations de regularite est براءة ذمة (quitus) : la formuler autrement expose a des allers-retours inutiles avec l'administration. Points non tranches par des sources officielles accessibles : la duree exacte de validite des deux براءة ذمة et l'existence d'un registre des responsables de traitement au titre de la loi de 2023 sur les donnees personnelles.

The network in Jordan

The network opens 3 partner slots in Jordan, not one more. No firm is listed there yet: all 3 slots therefore remain open to applications.

Listed firms in Jordan

No listed partner in Jordan has asked to appear in the public directory. The contact details of a firm are passed on to the client only when an assignment is awarded.

Filing an application does not amount to admission: every request is reviewed one by one. There is no minimum turnover requirement, and the partner selected invoices its fees directly.

You run payroll in Jordan

Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.

Because payroll is not expressly reserved in Jordan, we look for a firm in which at least one partner is a محاسب قانوني holding a current practising licence, whose JACPA registration we can verify ourselves. The file brings together the Companies Control Department certificate with a recent شهادة لمن يهمه الأمر, the current municipal رخصة مهن, the tax identification number, both براءة ذمة certificates, tax and social security, professional indemnity cover, and the undertakings given under the 2023 personal data protection statute.

Submit an application

You employ staff in Jordan

Describe your requirement. No firm is listed in Jordan yet: we review the request, then entrust it to a local firm that the network identifies and vets, or to the partner of a neighbouring country covering this territory. Your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.

Request a provider in Jordan

The other countries in the Near and Middle East region

Mobility is rarely arranged one country at a time. The neighbouring profiles follow the same outline.

The twenty leading countries of the network

These countries account for most of the requests received: each one has, in addition to its profile, six pages devoted to a single aspect of local payroll.

See the 120 countries of the network

Sources of this profile

The information gathered on this page comes from the registers, administrations and bodies listed below, consulted when the reference base was compiled. It is given for guidance and does not replace the advice of a professional established in Jordan.