104 Business Types in Nepal — and How Each One Registers

The 14 Groups

These 104 businesses are grouped not by industry, but by what it actually takes to register them. A candle factory and a handicraft workshop are in the same group because the paperwork is identical; a cafe and a mineral water plant are in the same group because both answer to a food licence. Jump to yours:

• 1Food & Food Processing
• 2Tourism & Hospitality
• 3Agriculture & Livestock
• 4Construction & Engineering
• 5IT & Digital
• 6Health & Pharmaceuticals
• 7Beauty, Wellness & Fitness
• 8Education & Training
• 9Trade, Retail & Import-Export
• 10Manufacturing & Small Industry
• 11Transport & Logistics
• 12Manpower & Foreign Employment
• 13Professional & Business Services
• 14Non-Profit / Section 19

Group 1 — Food & Food Processing 10 types

If your business prepares, processes, packages or sells food, you need a food business licence from your local level (municipality or rural municipality) under the Food Hygiene and Quality Act 2081, on top of ordinary registration. The licence is tied to the premises, not the owner, so it must be obtained again if you move. Processing units that make a packaged product — bottled water, milled rice and oil, packed spices — additionally deal with the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) for product standards and lab testing. Serving alcohol requires a separate liquor licence from the local level.

Group 2 — Tourism & Hospitality 7 types

The Department of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation) licenses the tourism trade under the Tourism Act 2035 and the Travel and Trekking Agency Rules 2062. A travel or trekking agency may be a firm or a company, but each must meet a minimum paid-up capital (Rule 5(1): travel agency NPR 5,00,000 as a firm or NPR 10,00,000 as a company; trekking agency NPR 3,00,000 or NPR 6,00,000) and lodge a bank guarantee in the Ministry’s name for the life of the licence (Rule 5(2): NPR 3,00,000 travel, NPR 2,00,000 trekking). The guarantee, not the registration, is what stops most applicants. Hotels and resorts need a Department of Tourism licence and, above a certain size, star classification; smaller lodges and all homestays are handled at the local level instead. Anything serving food in this group also needs the food licence from Group 1.

Group 3 — Agriculture & Livestock 13 types

This is the easiest group to register and the one most often over-complicated by advisers. A farm is normally registered as a firm or company and that is the end of it — there is no agricultural regulator issuing operating licences. What matters instead is registering with your local Agriculture or Veterinary Knowledge Centre, because that is what makes you eligible for subsidy programmes, insurance premium support and concessional agricultural loans. Livestock operations deal with the Department of Livestock Services for animal health, quarantine and movement; anything that processes what it grows (milk into packaged dairy, honey into jarred honey, feed into bagged feed) crosses into food and feed licensing.

Group 4 — Construction, Engineering & Infrastructure 11 types

To take construction contracts you need a construction business licence under the Construction Business Act 2055 and Rules 2056, graded Class A to D. Class ‘D’ is the entry grade and the one most new firms apply for — and unlike A, B and C it requires no prior work experience, which is what makes it the way in. It is issued at the local level (the Rules assign it to the District Development Committee, whose functions passed to local governments after federal restructuring), while the higher classes are issued centrally. Class D asks for running capital of NPR 10,00,000, a certificate-level civil technician, an administrator and a commerce certificate-holder, plus a level, a water pump and a vibrator. Consulting engineers and architects must additionally be registered with the Nepal Engineering Council to sign drawings. Crushers and quarries are licensed by the Department of Mines and Geology; hydropower by the Department of Electricity Development. Pure supply businesses, with no execution of works, need no construction licence at all.

Group 5 — IT & Digital 9 types

There is no IT regulator in Nepal issuing operating licences, which makes this the fastest group to get trading. Two things are specific to it. First, IT companies enjoy a concessional income tax rate and export incentives, and can generally register at a residential address rather than a commercial one. Second, anyone selling to the public online — a webshop, an Instagram or TikTok store, a Daraz seller — now falls under the e-Commerce Act 2081, which requires the business to be registered, to publish its registration and contact details on the platform, and to honour return and refund terms. Businesses touching internet provision or telecom services need Nepal Telecommunications Authority licensing, which is a different and far heavier process.

Group 6 — Health & Pharmaceuticals 6 types

The most tightly controlled group on this page. Any private health institution needs a licence certificate under the Public Health Service Regulations 2077, and Schedule 9 says which tier of government issues it: the Ministry for large and specialised hospitals, the province for dental clinics, specialised clinics, polyclinics and eye care centres, and the local level for health clinics, physiotherapy centres and hospitals up to 15 beds. Licences are checked against the criteria in Schedule 8 and renewed every five years, with the renewal application due three months before expiry (Rule 13). Separately, the practitioner must hold a current registration with the relevant council (Nepal Medical Council, Nepal Health Professional Council, Nepal Pharmacy Council); the business licence does not substitute for it. Pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers are licensed by the Department of Drug Administration under the Drug Act 2035, and a retail pharmacy licence requires a council-registered pharmacist or pharmacy assistant attached to the shop.

Group 7 — Beauty, Wellness & Fitness 5 types

Mostly light — but with one trap worth knowing. Salons and parlours have no sector regulator: register, take a PAN, get a local-level business licence, done. Yoga, meditation and fitness are less settled, because Schedule 9 of the Public Health Service Regulations 2077 lists “Yoga, Meditation and Physical Exercise Centres” among health institutions licensed by local governments. How strictly that is applied to an ordinary gym or yoga studio varies by municipality, so ask your ward rather than assuming. Two caveats. Spas attract extra local-level scrutiny in several municipalities, sometimes including a police clearance and restrictions on operating hours or cabin layout, so ask your ward before signing a lease. And if you plan to teach rather than practise — a beautician academy, a yoga teacher-training course — you leave this group and enter Group 8, where training-institute rules and CTEVT affiliation apply.

Group 8 — Education & Training 9 types

This group changed more than any other in 2083. The Educational Consultancy, Language Teaching and Preparation Classes (Operation and Management) Regulations, 2083, approved by the Council of Ministers in Shrawan 2083 (July 2026), now covers all three of those activities. An education consultancy sending students abroad needs a licence from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and must lodge a NPR 25,00,000 security deposit plus a NPR 50,000 licence fee, with the licence valid one year at a time. Language teaching centres and preparation classes fall under the same regulation but are licensed by provincial or local governments, and no security deposit has been reported for them. The regulation is being actively contested by the industry, so terms may move — see our guide below. Schools and pre-schools are approved by the local level and the District Education unit against classroom, playground and staffing standards. Vocational and skill training that issues a recognised certificate needs CTEVT affiliation; without it you may still train people, but you cannot certify them. A driving school is licensed by the Department of Transport Management, not the education ministry. Plain commercial coaching — language classes, exam preparation, IT courses, music and dance — generally needs only registration and a local-level licence.

Group 9 — Trade, Retail & Import-Export 10 types

Retail and wholesale need no sector licence — but two rules catch people out. First, VAT registration is compulsory from day one, regardless of turnover, for a list of sectors that includes hardware, electronics, cosmetics, furniture and liquor; the usual NPR 50 lakh threshold does not protect you. Second, to import or export anything you need an EXIM code from the Department of Customs, which requires the business to be VAT-registered first — so an importer cannot sidestep VAT. Beyond that, some goods carry their own product rules: drugs, food, cosmetics and fertilisers each have a regulator that must approve the product, and anything sold to consumers is subject to the Consumer Protection Act on labelling and price display.

Group 10 — Manufacturing & Small Industry 7 types

Anything that makes a product carries one step the service businesses do not: industry registration under the Industrial Enterprises Act 2076, in addition to registering the firm or company. Where you register depends on size — micro and cottage industries go to the Department of Cottage and Small Industries or the local level and carry the lightest compliance load, while larger industries register with the Department of Industry. Micro-industry status is worth chasing: it comes with tax concessions that a similarly sized trading firm does not get. Beyond that, expect environmental clearance (IEE or EIA) for anything with emissions, effluent or a kiln, and an NBSM standard mark for products on the mandatory-certification list, such as bricks and cement products.

Group 11 — Transport & Logistics 7 types

The dividing line here is whether you carry passengers or goods on public roads. If you do, the Department of Transport Management is your regulator: vehicles must be registered commercially (black plate), drivers must hold the matching licence category, and passenger services need a route permit for each route — permits are capped per route and are often the real constraint on starting. If you only service or supply vehicles — a workshop, a spare-parts shop — you need nothing beyond ordinary registration and a local-level licence. Cross-border cargo adds one more: clearing goods through customs on a client’s behalf requires a customs agent licence, which is separate from carrying them.

Group 12 — Manpower & Foreign Employment 2 types

The highest barrier to entry of any group on this page. A foreign employment (manpower) agency is licensed by the Department of Foreign Employment under the Foreign Employment Act 2064. Section 11(2) requires a deposit of NPR 30,00,000 in cash, or NPR 7,00,000 cash plus a NPR 23,00,000 bank guarantee, before the licence issues. That deposit is the fund the government spends to bring stranded workers home — and when it does, the licensee must reimburse it within fifteen days. The licence runs for one financial year at a time (s.12). Note that domestic recruitment is an entirely different and much lighter animal: placing workers within Nepal, or supplying security guards and housekeeping staff to local clients, does not require a DoFE foreign-employment licence — security services instead answer to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the District Administration Office for guard vetting and uniform approval.

Group 13 — Professional & Business Services 6 types

Mostly an unlicensed group, with two important exceptions. Audit is a reserved profession: you may register an accounting firm and do bookkeeping, payroll and tax filing with nothing more than ordinary registration, but signing a statutory audit report requires a Certificate of Practice from ICAN held by the practising member — a company cannot buy its way around that. And advertising carries a double requirement: a local-level advertisement licence to place ads, plus enlistment with the advertising regulator under the Advertisement (Regulation) Act 2076. Real estate is the one to watch: brokerage has moved from unregulated towards a licensed activity, so confirm the current position with your local level before you take commissions.

Group 14 — Non-Profit / Section 19 Company 2 types

A profit-not-distributing company is registered at the OCR under Chapter 19 of the Companies Act 2063 and is a genuinely different animal from an ordinary company: it needs at least five promoters and five continuing members (s.166(3)), has no share capital, and its membership cannot be transferred (s.166(4)), and may never distribute dividends, bonuses or surplus to its members — everything earned goes back into the stated objectives. Membership is personal and non-transferable. It may accept donations and grants but cannot run commercial trading as its purpose. The alternative route is registering an association at the District Administration Office under the Association Registration Act 2034, which most traditional NGOs use. Whichever you pick, Social Welfare Council affiliation is required only if you receive foreign funding; a domestically funded organisation does not need it. Tax exemption is not automatic — it is applied for at the IRD after you have a PAN.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every business in Nepal need a special licence?

No. Most businesses need only two things: registration as a firm (DoCSCP/DCSI) or a company (OCR via CAMIS), plus a PAN from the IRD and a local-level business licence from your ward or municipality. A sector licence is required only where a specific regulator exists — food, tourism, health, pharmacy, education consultancy, construction and foreign employment. Beauty parlours, gyms, most IT businesses, retail shops and consulting firms have no sector regulator at all.

Should I register my business as a firm or a Pvt. Ltd. company?

Register as a firm if you want the cheapest, fastest route and accept unlimited personal liability — typical for a small shop, a salon, or a single-owner service business. Register as a Pvt. Ltd. if you want limited liability, plan to bring in shareholders, or want to bid for contracts and tenders. Some licences decide it for you: travel and trekking agencies, foreign employment agencies and most construction licences are issued to companies, not sole proprietorships. Our company registration guide compares the two in full.

Which businesses in Nepal need a food licence?

Any business that prepares, processes, packages or sells food, under the Food Hygiene and Quality Act 2081 — cafes, restaurants, bars, bakeries, catering, canteens, tea shops, party palaces and hotel kitchens, and also grocery and general stores, which is the one people most often miss. The licence comes from your local level and is tied to the premises. Processing units that make a packaged product deal with DFTQC as well.

Which business is the hardest to register in Nepal?

Foreign employment (manpower) agencies, because the DoFE requires substantial paid-up capital and a bank guarantee before issuing a licence. Health institutions are next — a polyclinic or dental clinic needs a Health Institution Operation Licence with premises inspection, commonly 60–90 days. Education consultancies, travel and trekking agencies and Class ‘D’ construction companies also carry capital, deposit or qualified-staff conditions beyond ordinary registration.

Can I run more than one type of business under one registration?

Yes — if the objectives are written into your MOA (company) or registration application (firm) at the outset, and no sector licence conflicts. Adding an unrelated activity later means amending the objectives at the OCR or DoCSCP, which costs time and a fee. Where one activity is licensed and another is not, the licensed activity still needs its own licence even though the registration is shared. List the objectives you plausibly want on day one; it is much cheaper than amending later.

What if my business is not on this list?

The list covers the categories we register most often, not every possible business. If yours is not here it almost certainly still fits one of the 14 groups — the question is only which regulator, if any, claims it. Send us the description and we will tell you which route applies.