Tax Registration Card in Algeria: opening your tax file and getting registered
The carte d'immatriculation fiscale is the document that carries your tax identification number and makes you an identified taxpayer. It is asked for everywhere: at the CNAS, at the bank, by your customers. Here is how to open the tax file that precedes it, which documents the DGI requires, and how to use the online registration portal.
Official online service
Opening a tax file, declaration of existence form G no. 8
Official DGI tax formalities page · Opens in a new tab
Fiscal card, NIF, article number: who is who
Three terms circulate, and they do not mean the same thing. The tax identification number, the NIF, is the unique identifier allocated by the Directorate General of Taxes to census the taxpayer population. The carte d'immatriculation fiscale, commonly called the fiscal card, is the medium that carries that number and the taxpayer's identity. The assessment article number is the internal file number within the managing office.
The DGI recalls that every individual or legal entity must be registered with a tax identifier, intended for the census of the taxpayer population, in accordance with article 110 of the 1992 finance act. That is the basis of the obligation.
The assessment article number, for its part, is allocated when the file is opened at the managing office, whether the large taxpayers directorate, a tax centre, a local tax centre or a tax inspection. It is written on the certificate of existence série C n° 20 issued to the taxpayer, together with the date on which the activity began. The official page is here: https://www.mfdgi.gov.dz/fr/professionnels/nouveau-contribuable-fr/ouvrir-dossier-fiscal
Step 1, open the tax file
The card cannot be obtained before the file. The tax file is opened at the managing office covering the place where the activity is carried on, and it rests on the declaration of existence série G n° 8.
One calendar point not to be missed: the DGI states that the declaration of existence série G n° 8 must be filed within 30 days of the start of the activity, pursuant to article 183 of the direct taxes code. The form can be downloaded from the DGI download area: https://www.mfdgi.gov.dz/fr/espace-telechargements/formulaires-declaration
Documents required from an individual
The list published by the DGI for opening an individual's tax file is as follows:
- The declaration of existence série G n° 8, filed by the taxpayer and downloadable from the DGI website.
- The birth certificate.
- A copy of the national identity card.
- The residence certificate.
- A copy of the document justifying the exercise of the activity: commercial register, craftsman's card, approval, auto-entrepreneur card or equivalent.
- A copy of the lease, the title deed or any equivalent document for the business premises.
Documents required from a legal entity
For a company, the DGI asks for the following:
- The declaration of existence série G n° 8, filed by the taxpayer.
- The manager's birth certificate.
- A copy of the articles of association.
- The manager's residence certificate.
- A copy of the commercial register.
- A copy of the lease or the title deed for the registered office.
- The manager's signature specimen.
Step 2, online tax registration
The NIF is obtained online, through the tax registration and NIF authentication portal. Mind the address: the portal changed domain in 2026 and now sits on the Ministry of Finance domain: https://nifenligne.mf.gov.dz
Through that portal, any individual or legal entity can file the tax registration request online, print the acknowledgement of receipt, track the processing of the request online and print the tax registration certificate.
One point is regularly misunderstood: the certificate printed from the portal is not complete on its own. The DGI states that the NIF certificate must be signed and stamped by the office managing the tax file, after that office has checked that the data entered by the taxpayer matches the tax file. A visit to the managing office therefore remains necessary.
The DGI also notes that a decentralised tax registration procedure has been set up at wilaya tax directorates, tax centres and local tax centres, allowing the NIF to be allocated within a very short time.
The full path, step by step
- First obtain the title that justifies the activity: commercial register, craftsman's card, auto-entrepreneur card or approval as the case may be.
- Gather the civil-status and premises documents required by the DGI, distinguishing the list for individuals from the list for legal entities.
- File the declaration of existence série G n° 8 within 30 days of the start of the activity, at the managing office.
- Collect the certificate of existence série C n° 20, which carries the assessment article number and the date the activity began.
- File the tax registration request on the online portal, then print the acknowledgement and track the processing.
- Print the tax registration certificate, then have it signed and stamped by the managing office after the conformity check.
- Keep the document and its number: it will be asked for at every account opening, every social security affiliation and on every invoice.
Where your fiscal card will be requested
The NIF and its medium are not just for the tax administration. They circulate in almost every business file, which is why obtaining them at start-up is urgent.
A concrete and verifiable example: the CNAS expressly includes "la copie de la carte de l'immatriculation fiscale" in the affiliation file every employer must lodge at the agency covering its place of establishment, alongside the statistical identification number and the bank or postal account details. The list appears on the fund's employer page: https://cnas.dz/fr/employeur/
| Who asks for it | In which file | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CNAS | Employer affiliation file | Document expressly listed by the fund |
| Banks | Business account opening and credit files | Tax identification of the account holder |
| Customers and suppliers | Invoicing and vendor onboarding | The NIF must appear on commercial documents |
| Tax offices | Any request for a nominative document | Identification of the file and article number |
| Public contracting authorities | Bid files | Identification of the economic operator |
Loss, change, replacement
The NIF is a durable identifier attached to the taxpayer. Losing the medium does not mean losing the number. What you do need, though, is a valid and enforceable document, that is one signed and stamped.
The route follows directly from the registration procedure: reprint the tax registration certificate from the online portal, then have it signed and stamped by the office managing the tax file, the only office authorised to do so after checking the conformity of the data.
Where the elements of the file change, whether the business address, the activity, the manager or the legal form, it is again the managing office that updates the file. The useful habit is to handle the tax update at the same time as the commercial register amendment, rather than months later, so that your documents do not contradict each other from one counter to the next.
To check that a number is valid, the DGI provides a NIF authentication service on the same portal. That is the reflex to have before granting payment terms to a new customer.
The mistakes that cost weeks
- Using the old NIF portal address. The service moved to the Ministry of Finance domain, and the former address no longer responds.
- Waiting more than 30 days after the start of activity to file the G n° 8 declaration of existence, when the DGI expressly refers to that deadline under article 183 of the direct taxes code.
- Believing that the certificate printed online is enough. It must be signed and stamped by the managing office after the conformity check.
- Turning up without the title justifying the activity. Without a commercial register, craftsman's card, approval or auto-entrepreneur card, the document list is incomplete.
- Forgetting the residence certificate or the manager's signature specimen for a company: two documents that send you back to the counter.
- Postponing the tax update after a commercial register amendment, which produces inconsistent documents across administrations.
Official resources
DGI page on how to open a tax file, with the document lists and the 30-day reminder: https://www.mfdgi.gov.dz/fr/professionnels/nouveau-contribuable-fr/ouvrir-dossier-fiscal
Online tax registration and NIF authentication portal: https://nifenligne.mf.gov.dz
Download area for tax return forms, including série G n° 8: https://www.mfdgi.gov.dz/fr/espace-telechargements/formulaires-declaration
Tax procedures and nominative documents page, including the certificate of existence C n° 20: https://www.mfdgi.gov.dz/fr/professionnels/demarches-fiscales
FAQ · Tax Registration Card in Algeria: opening your tax file and getting registered
Related articles and procedures
- NIF, numéro d'identification fiscaleObtenir le numéro qui figure sur la carte fiscale et sur tous vos imprimés.
- Vérifier un NIF en ligneAuthentifier le numéro d'identification fiscale d'un client ou d'un fournisseur.
- Registre du commerceImmatriculation, modification et radiation au CNRC.
- Guide création d'entrepriseDu certificat négatif au premier calendrier fiscal et social.
- Déclaration G50La première échéance mensuelle qui suit l'ouverture du dossier fiscal.
- Attestation CNASLa caisse exige une copie de la carte d'immatriculation fiscale dans le dossier d'affiliation.
- Extrait de rôleLe document qui suit, une fois le dossier fiscal ouvert et les échéances lancées.
- DGI, administration fiscaleServices, portails en ligne et interlocuteurs de la Direction Générale des Impôts.
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