Opening a medical practice in Algeria: conditions, file and steps (2026)

Opening a medical practice in Algeria takes four stages: registration with the Ordre, a file lodged with the wilaya's Direction de la santé et de la population (DSP), a conformity visit of the premises, then the opening authorisation. Tax and social-security formalities follow. This guide gathers what the texts say and the procedure the DSPs apply today, with sources, and flags what is written nowhere.

One thing to know from the start: law no. 18-11 of 2 July 2018 on health leaves the conditions for opening "individual or group practice structures" to a regulatory text (art. 309) which, as far as we know, has not yet been published for practices. Executive decree no. 21-136 of 2021 covers only private care establishments and clinics. Meanwhile the instructions issued under the former law 85-05 still apply (art. 449), and the DSP handles the files. The exact list of documents can therefore vary from one wilaya to another: ask your DSP for it before building the file.

Conditions for private practice

Article 166 of law 18-11 sets the conditions: Algerian nationality, an Algerian or recognised equivalent diploma, civic rights, no incompatible conviction, and physical and mental fitness. Registration with the Ordre — the regional council of medical deontology, separate for doctors and for dentists (art. 346 and 349) — is compulsory.

For specialists there is one more condition: the service civil must be completed before any private practice (art. 196-197). It lasts 1 to 4 years depending on the posting zone (executive decree no. 18-256). Since June 2018, every request to open a specialist practice also goes through a national commission that rules on the location, based on the health map.

Opening without authorisation carries 2 to 5 years' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 DA (art. 414).

Step 1: registering with the Ordre

The regional council for your place of practice issues the registration certificate and, after review, an opinion on the installation conditions — for dentists in Algiers, a full conformity certificate after a visit by its practice-and-qualification commission (Ordre régional des médecins dentistes d'Alger). These documents are required in the DSP file. Ordre certificates are valid for three months.

Step 2: the DSP file

The procedure published by the Syndicat national des médecins libéraux distinguishes a preliminary step for specialists only (a form lodged with the DSP of the chosen wilaya, which notifies its opinion on the requested commune) and then the file itself. The documents found in every source:

• a request to the director of health and population, dated and signed, with address and phone number;
• copies of diplomas (originals shown on filing);
• the Ordre registration certificate and the ordinal section's opinion or conformity certificate;
• a valid criminal record extract no. 3 and, depending on the wilaya, a certificate of nationality;
• proof of status regarding national service;
• the notarised lease or property deed, in the practitioner's name;
• for specialists, the service civil discharge or exemption;
• as applicable: the resignation or pay-stop decision, a CNAS, CASNOS or CNR certificate of non-activity, the closure decision of a previous practice;
• one or two medical certificates and ID photos.

Some DSPs also ask for a plan or sketch of the premises, or a hygiene opinion from the SEMEP. Again, the official list is your DSP's.

Step 3: the conformity visit

The DSP sets an appointment and visits the premises with the practitioner present. A conformity report is drawn up on a model in force since 1997: it describes the consultation room, the treatment room, the waiting room — with separate areas for men and women —, toilets and washbasins, heating, ventilation, lighting and general condition. If the premises conform, the DSP director issues the opening authorisation; otherwise the shortcomings are notified and must be fixed.

No text, as far as we know, sets a minimum surface area for a medical practice. The figures circulating on some websites ("35 to 50 m²", "60 to 100 m²") cite no source. The code of deontology (decree 92-276, art. 14) only requires "suitable premises and sufficient technical means". For dental practices in Algiers, the regional Ordre publishes specifications: ground, first or second floor unless there is a lift, total surface of at least 50 m², a ventilated 12 m² treatment room, an adjoining sterilisation room of at least 6 m² with an autoclave, a waiting room of at least 12 m², one chair per practitioner. Check with your regional Ordre whether these rules apply in your wilaya.

After the authorisation: tax, CASNOS, CNAS, insurance

Tax. The declaration of existence (series G no. 8) is filed within 30 days of starting activity with the tax inspection or the CPI; late filing costs a 30,000 DA fine. Liberal professions whose annual receipts do not exceed 8,000,000 DA fall under the IFU, at 12% of non-commercial receipts, with a minimum tax of 30,000 DA; the provisional return G no. 12 is due by 30 June and the final G no. 12 bis by 20 January of the following year. Above the threshold, or by an irrevocable option made on the G no. 8, the real or simplified regime applies (DGI, IFU regime, updated for the 2026 finance law). Clinics and laboratories are excluded from the IFU; practices are not. The NIF is issued by the tax administration, the NIS by the ONS on presentation of the tax card.

CASNOS. The self-employed practitioner contributes to the non-salaried fund: 15% (7.5% social insurance, 7.5% pension) of an annual base declared by 31 January, between one and twenty times the annual SNMG; in the first year the provisional base is the SNMG (executive decree no. 15-289). The SNMG has been 24,000 DA per month since 1 January 2026. A doctor who is both salaried and self-employed also contributes to CASNOS.

CNAS. From the first employee (secretary, assistant), the practice registers with the CNAS for its staff. The agreement with the CNAS (third-party payment, Chifa card) is governed by executive decree no. 09-116: it requires the opening authorisation, up-to-date CASNOS and CNAS certificates and Ordre registration. Check the current tariff conditions with the CNAS.

Insurance. Civil and professional liability insurance is compulsory for every professional in private practice (law 18-11, art. 296).

Public-sector doctors: can you open your own practice?

The civil-service statute forbids civil servants any paid private activity, with an exception for medical specialists. Executive decree no. 26-202 of 16 May 2026 now frames that activity: at least five years' seniority (except in some wilayas of the South and High Plateaux), for a single public or private organisation, in one's own or a neighbouring wilaya, outside working hours, under a yearly authorisation from the head of the establishment — and practising on one's own account is excluded. A public-sector specialist therefore cannot run their own practice under this regime; to set up privately, they leave the civil service, which is why the file asks for the resignation or pay-stop decision.

How much does opening a practice cost?

There is no official figure, and the estimates on commercial websites contradict each other — for a dental practice, the chair alone on one site exceeds the total budget announced by another. The main item is equipment (chair, X-ray and sterilisation for a dentist; ultrasound or examination equipment depending on the specialty), then fitting out the premises and rent. Get local quotes rather than trusting a range read online.

Opening day: your first patients

A practice that opens has no patients yet. That is when online visibility matters: a public page with your hours and consultation reasons, online booking and, if you work without appointments, a queue your patients follow from their phone. Yadoct Pro provides all of it, with the practice software — calendar, patient records, prescriptions — free; only the appointments and tickets your patients take through Yadoct are billed, after a 30-day trial, and a no-show is never charged. Every specialty has its page under /logiciel.