To run a private training centre in Qatar you need approvals from two ministries. Your company’s commercial registration must carry a training activity, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education must license the centre itself. Before it does, it inspects the rooms and approves each trainer. It also holds a QAR 100,000 bank guarantee for one service and charges QAR 5,000 for the licence.
Who licenses training centres
Courses in languages, computers, secretarial work, accounting or administration are “educational services” under Law No. 18 of 2015, and the Minister can add more fields. A 2017 decision did just that, adding remedial lessons, educational training, mental maths, visual arts, and teaching and training for people with disabilities. You need a licence for any of them; it lists the services you are allowed to offer.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education issues it. Look up a training code on the Single Window and the approval is shown against the Ministry’s Educational Services Centers Department; the Ministry also has a separate online portal for centre licences. In-house courses fall outside the law altogether, so a bank training its own tellers needs no licence for that.
The commercial activity and the company
Education licenses a business, not a room. If the applicant is a company, educational services must be among the activities it is authorised to carry on, and a copy of its commercial registration goes in with the application. In practice the CR, with the right training code, is the first thing to sort out.
| Activity on the Single Window | Code | Ministry approval shown |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative training institutes | 854951 | Learning centre licence before the commercial permit; renewal before permit renewal |
| Language instruction and conversational skills | 854910 | Learning centre licence before the commercial permit |
| Computer and software training | 854942 | Learning centre licence before the commercial permit |
| Life skills training institutes | 854952 | Learning centre licence before the commercial permit |
| Other training and development institutes | 854959 | Learning centre licence before the commercial permit; renewal before permit renewal |
Foreign ownership works as it does elsewhere. Up to 100% is possible under Law No. 1 of 2019; above 49% you apply to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. MOCI’s guide shows these training codes as allowed. Driving schools? Only with a Qatari partner. Check the share for your code with a lawyer.
Premises requirements
Expect an inspection before the licence. The Ministry looks at the site and decides if it is suitable.
Building and rooms
Sound building, rooms that fit what you teach. How many trainees per room? The department sets that, so ask before you plan classes.
Safety and utilities
Security, safety and health as the relevant authorities require. Own electricity and water meters, parking, fire-fighting equipment.
Fit-out
Furniture and equipment that suit the courses. Light, ventilation, air conditioning. A landline and an internet line.
Sign
Put up the centre’s name, its activity and the licence number at the front.
One centre per site
Two centres cannot share an address, and the rooms are for the licensed services only. Moving or altering them? Written approval first.
The commercial permit has its own checklist on the Single Window. Bring a title deed or lease and a building completion certificate. Is the site 250 m² or more? Then a Civil Defence certificate as well. A site that is not ready gets the CR only, which means no classes until both checks are passed.
Trainers, managers and programmes
Every appointment waits for the Ministry’s written approval. The person has to be 18 or over, qualified for the job, of good conduct and medically fit, with no final conviction for a crime of honour or trust.
| Role | Qualification | Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Centre manager | A higher qualification suited to the centre’s activities; works full time for the centre | At least five years |
| Trainer | A higher qualification in the subject taught | At least three years in the subject |
The centre sticks to the services on its licence. Courses away from its own premises need approval, and dealing with a college, university or other education body abroad needs a separate licence from the Ministry. Each employee’s contract states the job and the monthly salary.
Getting the Ministry’s approval, in order
- Register the company
Trade name first, then the company, with a training code on its CR. Applying as an individual? You must be 21 or over, and you and your managers cannot be Ministry employees.
- Secure the premises
A lease or title deed, plus the engineering drawing, the floor plan and a certificate that the structure is safe and secure.
- Apply to the Ministry
The file is long. It names the service and the date you hope to start, and it carries CVs, good conduct certificates, IDs and a signature specimen, the proposed name and structure, the CR, lease or deed, drawings and founding papers. Add a signed undertaking to provide the bank guarantee.
- Inspection and decision
An inspector visits. The Ministry then has 60 days to answer; no answer means no, and you have 30 days to appeal to the Minister.
- Bank guarantee
You get ten days from the approval notice to lodge it. Miss that and the approval lapses.
- Licence and commercial permit
Once the licence is out, the commercial permit for the centre’s address can follow. Keep adverts and sign-ups until then.
- Licence issue fee
- QAR 5,000
- Renewal fee
- QAR 3,000
- Bank guarantee, one service
- QAR 100,000
- Bank guarantee, more than one service
- QAR 200,000
From Decision No. 10 of 2017, Articles 7 and 9, checked 21 Oct 2026. The guarantee is a letter from a local bank, without conditions, valid until at least 30 days after the licence ends.
These are the Ministry’s own amounts. The company registration, commercial permit and Chamber fees come on top.
Running the centre and renewal
A licence runs for a year. Renew it for one more year or for two at once, and file the request no later than 30 days before expiry: a licence ending on 31 August needs the request in by 1 August. Inspectors can ask at any time to see the two registers you keep, one for staff and one for courses, and the price list has to be on display.
How we help
Our part is the paperwork and getting the order of steps right. We help you choose the training codes and register the company, and we compare the premises with the Ministry’s list before you sign a lease, since a site that fails the checks holds up both the licence and the commercial permit. We also prepare the licence file, the bank guarantee undertaking and each staff approval request. The decisions are not ours: Education decides the licence, and Commerce decides the CR and the permit.
