The Centre cinématographique marocain (CCM) is the single authority that authorises shoots on Moroccan territory, whatever the format: feature film, documentary, series, music video or commercial. Applications are filed on its digital platform.
The rule that shapes everything else fits into one sentence: the shooting authorisation is only issued to production companies holding an approval. A foreign production therefore cannot file its own application.
Who files the application
The application is carried by a Moroccan production company holding the operating licence for a production activity (autorisation d'exercice) and the production approval (agrément de production). The foreign production accredits it to execute the shoot on its behalf: it is that accreditation, attached to the file, that legally links the two entities.
The operating licence and the approval
Both titles are applied for from the CCM as well, upstream and independently of any project. The operating licence requires, among other things:
- Articles of association listing film production in the corporate purpose.
- A bank certificate confirming that the share capital has been paid up in full.
- A tax certificate less than one year old.
- A CNSS social security certificate less than one year old.
- A copy of the manager's national identity card (CNIE), or of their residence permit if they are a foreign national.
The production approval adds a requirement of professional references and a minimum share capital: 500,000 dirhams for a public limited company (société anonyme), 300,000 dirhams for a limited liability company (SARL). The company must show one of the following two track records:
- One feature film, deposited in DCP format,
- or three short films in DCP format, each at least fifteen minutes long and made by different directors.
The directors concerned must hold the professional identity card, or be first assistant directors holding that card, or be graduates of a film or audiovisual school.
The international approval, the one that allows a company to work for foreign producers, applies the same reference requirements and calls for executive production contracts rather than production contracts.
The documents common to every application
Whatever the format, the shooting authorisation application includes a common core:
- The shooting authorisation application form, completed, signed and stamped.
- The contracts entered into with crew members.
- Insurance covering workplace accidents.
- Public liability insurance.
- The provisional shooting schedule.
- Two sworn declarations: to report any change, and to submit the daily call sheets through the digital platform.
The documents specific to the format
On top of that core come documents that vary with the nature of the project.
| Format | Additional documents |
|---|---|
| Feature film, feature documentary | Copy of the script in the language of the shoot, synopsis, co-production contract where applicable |
| Music video | Illustrated version, song lyrics, co-production contract where applicable |
| Commercial | Copy of the purchase order, storyboard, synopsis |
What foreign productions add
Where the shoot is executed on behalf of a foreign company, two further documents are added to the file:
- The accreditation of the Moroccan company by the foreign company, entrusting it with executing the production on its behalf.
- An undertaking by both companies to send the CCM a bank certificate stating the amounts of the financial transfers made to Morocco by the foreign company, before the end of the month following the last day of shooting.
That second document deserves careful reading: it creates an obligation that outlives the shoot. It is also consistent with the logic of the support scheme, which verifies that the spend declared was genuinely located in Morocco.
The deadlines
The CCM applies different notification deadlines depending on the format. A refusal must be notified within two working days for short films and commercials, and within five working days for feature films. Authorisations intended for the online press are issued by the director of the Centre within eight working days.
These deadlines relate to processing, not to assembling the file. In practice, it is the contractual documents and the insurance certificates that determine the real filing date.
During the shoot
The authorisation is not a document you file away once obtained. The two sworn declarations signed at the time of filing bind the production for the whole duration of the shoot: report changes to the shooting schedule, and upload the daily call sheets to the CCM platform.
This is an organisational point to assign explicitly to someone in the production team. A shoot that moves days or changes location without declaring it exposes itself to an administrative problem at the moment it can least afford one.
In practice
The procedure is legible and centralised, which is a real advantage compared with territories where authorisations are negotiated with several administrations. Its difficulty is not regulatory but operational: it presupposes an approved local partner, able to assemble contractual and insurance documents before filing, and then to hold to the reporting obligations during the shoot.
A legal framework that has just changed
Law No. 18.23 on the film industry and the reorganisation of the CCM came into force on 1 September 2025, supplemented by four implementing decrees published in the Official Bulletin (Bulletin officiel) of 21 August 2025.
Production, distribution and exhibition companies authorised under the previous regime had one year, until 31 August 2026, to bring themselves into compliance. Holders of the professional card have five years, until 31 August 2030. Shooting authorisations already issued remain valid until their original expiry date.
