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Algerian commercial register extract: what each colour means and how activity codes work

The seven background colours of the CNRC register extract (blue, green, orange, yellow, violet, grey, white), what a white one means, and how the NAE activity codes work.

By Published Rules checked on 3 min read

Blank cards fanned out in blue, green, orange, yellow, violet, grey and white on a white desk, with a gold pen beside them

The register extract is the document a bank, a supplier, a platform or a customs agent asks for first. It looks like a plain card, but its background colour carries information, and so does the activity code printed on it. Here is what the official texts say, and what we could not check.

The seven colours

The order of the Minister of Commerce of 21 November 2006 (published in the Official Journal no. 23 of 11 April 2007) sets the colour of the extract according to who it concerns and what operation it records. The extract is made of one or two cardboard panels of 15 by 21 cm.

ColourWho or whatOperation
BlueNatural person (sole trader)Main or secondary registration, modification
GreenLegal entity (company)Main or secondary registration, modification
OrangeBranch or other commercial representationRegistration and modification
YellowNon-sedentary trader (market stall, vehicle)Registration and modification
VioletLessor of a business, natural personModification
GreyLessor of a business, legal entityModification
WhiteNatural or legal personRemoval (radiation)

What to do with this

  • Check a supplier. If a wholesaler sends you a white extract, it records a radiation, not an active registration. Ask for a current blue or green one, and compare the name, the address and the activities with what they sell you. The glossary explains NIF, NIS and RC, and the NIF/NIS validator checks the format of the numbers.
  • Know which register you are in. A blue extract is a sole trader, a green one a company. An auto-entrepreneur has no register extract: the status exempts you from commercial registration (Law 22-23, art. 9). See auto-entrepreneur, EURL or SARL.
  • If you lose it. Request a duplicate at your CNRC branch, with a signed request and a declaration of loss or theft (Decree 15-111, art. 19).
  • Electronic extracts. The decree allows registration by electronic means and an extract in electronic format (art. 3). We did not read whether the electronic version keeps the same colour code.

How activity codes work

The activities you may register are listed in the NAE, the nomenclature of economic activities set by Executive Decree 15-249 of 29 September 2015. It groups activities by sector, group and sub-group, and gives each a code and a label. The Ministry of Commerce FAQ describes seven families of codes:

  1. Production of goods
  2. Artisanal production
  3. Wholesale
  4. Import for resale as is
  5. Retail (sedentary and non-sedentary)
  6. Services
  7. Export

Two practical points from the texts:

  • A code includes complementary commercial operations that you carry out alongside the main activity: delivery to customers, installation of equipment, supply of spare parts, advice and training. You do not need a separate code only to deliver what you sell.
  • The CNRC portal says the registration fee applies to one activity code, with 240 DA added for each extra code. Do not register ten codes “just in case”: each one costs money, and some activities are regulated and need an approval or authorisation, a copy of which must be shown at registration.

Selling online? Law 18-05 asks e-suppliers to be registered (art. 8). Read law 18-05: the checklist for online sellers and choose the codes that match what you really do, not what sounds broad.

What we could not confirm

  • Whether the 2006 colours still apply today, including on electronic extracts, and whether Decree 06-222 on the extract model has since been amended. We read the 2006 order only.
  • The exact code for online retail. The CNRC search page for codes was blocked from our connection, so we read no individual code. Use the official search or ask your CNRC branch.
  • Fee amounts by sector: we do not quote the register tariff because we did not read it in full.

To confirm your own case, contact the CNRC or your local branch.

Sources and verification

4 points checked against the texts, 2 still to confirm.

Sources consulted

Show the point-by-point detail
  • Verified The 2006 order sets the background colour of the register extract: blue for natural persons (main or secondary registration, and modification); green for legal entities (same cases); orange for branches and other commercial representations; yellow for non-sedentary traders; violet for lessors of a business who are natural persons (modification); grey for lessors who are legal entities (modification); white for natural and legal persons in case of removal (radiation). The extract is one or two cardboard panels of 15 by 21 cm.
  • To verify Whether these colours are still used today, including on electronic extracts, and whether later texts amended Decree 06-222 on the extract model: not read.
  • Verified Registration and the transmission of documents can be done electronically; the register extract can be issued in electronic format (Decree 15-111, art. 3). A lost or stolen extract is replaced by a duplicate on a signed request, with a declaration of loss or theft where relevant (art. 19).
  • Verified Activity codes: the nomenclature of economic activities (NAE) is set by Decree 15-249; it groups activities by sector, group and sub-group, each with a code and a label, and includes complementary commercial operations such as delivery to customers, installation, spare parts, advice and training. The Ministry of Commerce FAQ lists seven code families: production of goods, artisanal production, wholesale, import for resale as is, retail (sedentary and non-sedentary), services, export.
  • Verified The CNRC portal says registration fees for a natural person depend on the activity sector, apply to one activity code, with 240 DA added for each additional code; fees are lower when paid electronically. For regulated activities you must provide a copy of the approval or authorisation.
  • To verify Which exact code covers online retail, and the live list of codes: the CNRC search page was not reachable from our connection (blocked), so we did not read any individual code.

Corrections log

  • : First published.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change: check the date above.

Confirm with the official source

Contact details as published by the bodies themselves, collected on 28 October 2026. Before you act, call or write to confirm the point that concerns you, and keep the answer in writing.