# Social security after formation: first-hire file in Iraq

Author: Othman Al-Juboori

اقرأ بالعربية

Social security after formation: first-hire file in Iraq

After the incorporation certificate or branch licence, the first covered hire triggers social-security duties. This article builds a first-hire file under the Workers' Retirement and Social Security Law No. 18 of 2023, and cites the Department's official site.

Othman Al-Juboori, Iraqi lawyer, expert in Iraqi labour law, Member of the Iraqi Bar AssociationIraqi lawyer, expert in Iraqi labour law

Detail article: social security for employers Formation and branch: company registration Department: https://rss.gov.iq/
1) Sequence
Finish registration with the Registrar.
Prepare the job description and the contract before advertising the hire.
Open or update the social-security file with the first covered hire, not after the first payroll is delayed.
Keep the tax file and the social-security file coordinated without mixing the two duties.
If the worker is foreign, the permit and the fee are separate from contributions.
2) What goes in the first-hire file?
The entity certificate or branch licence and the Iraq address; the signed contract and the worker's ID; wage and due-date data matching the attendance records; the current Department forms for insured names, birth data and wages (Art. 22/First), taken from https://rss.gov.iq/ rather than an old copy; and an internal nomination of the person responsible for the social-security file.
3) Article 23 duties
Cover eligible workers and pay contributions (Art. 23/First). File annual project, employer and worker data (Art. 23/Second). Keep a file for each worker, and the Department may inspect tax-accounting records (Art. 23/Fifth and Sixth). After the worker leaves, the entity that registered the worker stays liable for contributions until the date it notifies the Department of the end of service (Art. 24/First). The Department issues a social-security document evidencing membership (Art. 26).
4) Rates and clearance
Employer 12%, or 25% for private and mixed-sector employers whose profits come from selling Iraqi oil and hydrocarbons; worker 5%; state 8%. Pay contributions on time under Art. 17. No sale, transfer of ownership, grant, registration, renewal or lease of permits or occupational licences, or other legal act, may be made for an entity employing one or more workers without a Department clearance certificate (Art. 20/First). An employer who entrusts work to a contractor must notify the Department before work starts (Art. 21/First). Details are in the social-security article and at https://rss.gov.iq/
5) If the first hire is foreign
Keep three tracks separate: the employment contract under the Labour Law; the work permit, valid for one year and renewed annually (Instructions 1/2026, Art. 5); and the work fee of IQD 2,000,000 once for each foreign worker entering Iraq (Art. 106/First). The fee is not a contribution and does not repeat on renewal. Permits: work permits for foreign workers.
6) Common mistakes after formation
Deferring social security until cash flow settles. Mixing the work fee with contributions. Starting a contractor without notice to the Department. Failing to notify a worker's exit. Assuming the branch registration licence replaces an operating licence or social security.
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This article is general information, not legal advice.

## Article numbers

- Article 23

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