# Legal Landscape in Iran

← Research overview

> Related: the product requirement Tax, Invoicing & Legal and the schema Partner Centers & Future build on the framework described here.

**Short answer: there is no law against the idea — but it is a regulated healthcare activity that requires Ministry of Health licensing. Operating without a permit is what's illegal, and penalties escalate to permanent revocation and judicial referral. ✅ verified**

## 4.1 The governing framework ✅ verified #

- Licensing flows through the MoH Treatment Deputy (معاونت درمان), after approval by the Article-20 medical-affairs commission (کمیسیون قانونی تشخیص امور پزشکی موضوع ماده ۲۰), under the Medical Affairs Law of 1334 (amended 1367) and the home-care bylaw approved 1378/7/17 (9 Oct 1999) — 21 articles, 6 notes.
- Each center receives one establishment permit (پروانه تأسیس) and one technical-director license (پروانه مسئول فنی).
- Sources: arakmu.ac.ir bylaw, mcls.gov.ir/fa/law/61, qavanin.ir (Article-20).

## 4.2 The two tracks — pick the nursing track ✅ verified #

| Home Nursing Services Center (your vehicle) | Home Clinical Care Center
--- | --- | ---
Persian name | مرکز مشاوره و ارائه مراقبت‌های پرستاری در منزل | مرکز خدمات و مراقبت‌های بالینی در منزل
Governed via | Iranian Nursing Organization (نظام پرستاری) | MoH directly
Who can found / direct | A nurse — BSc nursing + ≥5 years clinical experience (can be both founder & technical director) | Both founder & technical director must be physicians
Fit for your idea | ✅ Elderly / post-surgery / infant / chronic home nursing | Only if you bring a physician partner

> ⚠️ A claim that "founder/director must be physicians for all home care" was disproven — that rule applies only to the clinical-care track. The nursing-services track allows a qualified nurse. Sources: mcls.gov.ir/fa/law/61, irannurse.ir, vct.iums.ac.ir.

## 4.3 How the model must operate ✅ verified #

- Care must be delivered in the patient's home; performing services (injections, dressing, vaccination, visits) at the center's HQ is prohibited. The licensed center is therefore a dispatch/coordination entity, not a walk-in clinic — which structurally fits a matchmaking/dispatch platform.
- After principal approval (موافقت اصولی), the founder has up to one year to ready the center for final inspection before operating.

## 4.4 Online-commerce requirement — e-namad ✅ verified #

- An e-namad (نماد اعتماد الکترونیکی, electronic trust symbol) is required for an Iranian site providing online services/sales — which includes your platform. Issued only by the Center for E-Commerce Development (مرکز توسعه تجارت الکترونیکی) under the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade.
- It is de facto mandatory for a monetized site because PSP/Shaparak rules require e-namad to obtain an online payment gateway (IPG). (Note: "mandatory" status has had some regulatory flux.) Sources: ecommerce.gov.ir, netafraz guide.

## 4.5 Labor-law gap & market recognition (⚠️ medium confidence) #

- Home-care nurses fall outside the "arduous/hazardous work" (سخت و زیان‌آور) regime that benefits hospital nurses' insurance/retirement, because the law doesn't specifically name staff of home-care companies. As of 2019, ~700 home-medical-service companies were registered (target ~1,000); the gap reportedly persisted into 1402–1404 with no closing legislation. Source: ILNA interview w/ INO Supreme Council member. (Single 2019 source; figures are a historical floor — confirm current status.)

## 4.6 Other obligations to plan for #

- Taxation & company registration (ثبت شرکت, tax file, VAT where applicable) — standard for any Iranian business. [confirm specifics with an accountant]
- Insurance/social-security (تأمین اجتماعی) treatment of nurses depends on whether you classify them as employees or contractors (see problems & risks §2.2). [get labor-law counsel — this is the highest-stakes structural decision]
- Penalty ladder for non-compliance: verbal/written warning → 1–3 month closure → 3 month–1 year closure → permanent revocation + referral to judicial authorities. Operating unlicensed is the real legal risk. ✅ verified

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