A still image of the Digital Egypt E-Platform frontend of the website.
The service, which uses the Digital Treasury system, aims to simplify and accelerate licensing procedures, integrate informal businesses into the formal economy and support shop owners and their investments, the Communications and Information Technology Ministry said on Monday.
It was launched through a partnership between the ministries of local development and environment, communications and information technology, and planning and economic development.
Under the new system, applicants can immediately obtain temporary permits allowing them to begin operating while the relevant authorities complete their reviews.
Authorities must issue the required approvals within three months, after which the final licence will be sent electronically to the applicant. Failure to respond within the stipulated period will be treated as implicit approval, subject to legal regulations.
The government has also standardized fees across the authorities involved in the licensing process, including the Interior Ministry’s Civil Protection Department and the National Food Safety Authority.
The system is also intended to resolve longstanding difficulties facing shop owners and create an integrated national database of Egypt’s public and commercial premises.
Mobile technology-centre vehicles will be deployed more extensively across the governorates to explain the new procedures and help citizens submit applications.
The Local Development and Environment Ministry also called on chambers of commerce to raise awareness among unlicensed shop owners about the new arrangements.
Applications can be submitted through the Digital Egypt platform.
The online service builds on Public Shops Law No. 154 of 2019, which came into force in December 2022 and introduced a unified licensing framework for commercial outlets and businesses providing paid services.
The law sought to replace fragmented procedures, bring unlicensed businesses into the formal economy and establish a nationwide database of commercial premises. Applications were initially handled through 339 designated licensing centres.
The launch also forms part of Egypt’s broader expansion of digital government services.
The Digital Egypt platform currently offers 242 services, with the government targeting more than 270 by the end of 2026 and around 450 by 2030, Communications and Information Technology Minister Raafat Hindi said in July.
The Higher Committee for Public Shop Licensing retains the authority to impose activity- and location-specific restrictions.
In April, it halted new restaurant and café licences in Heliopolis, Maadi, Zamalek and Garden City following complaints about noise, congestion and the conversion of residential properties into commercial premises.
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