Placing on the Market versus Putting into Service in Morocco

1. Key takeaways

Item 12 of Article 1 of Loi n° 84-12 defines placing on the market as the sale, distribution, making available for consideration or free of charge, or transfer under any title whatsoever of new or refurbished devices. Item 13 defines putting into service as the moment when a device is first used by the end user for its designed purpose. The registration obligation under Article 12 attaches to placing on the market, yet item 6 of Article 13 prohibits exhibition samples from being both placed on the market and put into service. The two moments are legally distinct, carry different obligations, and fall on different actors — the licensed establishment for market placement, healthcare institutions for use. Confusing them creates silent compliance gaps that surface only during audits or incidents: a product may be lawfully held but unlawfully used, or lawfully used in a demonstration while unlawfully transferable. The language of the statute is broad, and both definitions are wider than most companies assume, so every transaction touching a device in Morocco should be mapped against both moments before it is approved. In practical terms, the two definitions also interact with the registration dossier under Article 14, since the dossier must describe the device in terms of its intended use and the circumstances in which it will be made available and used. A project that keeps the two moments clearly separated in its documentation will find it far easier to answer authority questions about who may do what, and when, at each stage of the device lifecycle.

2. Legal basis

A single instrument carries this topic, but the provisions cited span the definitions, the registration obligation, the exhibition rule and the dossier article that the obligations attach to.

3. Expert insights

Insight 1: The definition of placing on the market covers free-of-charge transfers. The text expressly includes making available for consideration or free of charge, and transfer under any title whatsoever. Donations, gifts, evaluation units, trial placements and demonstration units delivered to a site all constitute placing on the market, and all therefore require a registration certificate or a specific authorization under Article 13. The common assumption that “if no money changes hands, it is not a sale” does not hold in Morocco. Companies that launch donation programs, loaner fleets or clinical-collaboration placements without checking the registration status of each unit have, under the statutory wording, placed unregistered devices on the market even though nothing was invoiced.

Insight 2: Refurbished devices are written directly into the definition. Item 12 covers the placing on the market of new devices or devices that have been refurbished. Refurbished units clear the same registration threshold as new ones, and they face the additional constraint of the Article 18 list of second-hand devices, which the ministerial order level fills in. The message of the drafters is that refurbishment does not lower the bar; it adds one. Any second-hand business case must therefore begin with the Article 18 scope before the economics are considered.

Insight 3: Putting into service is a genuinely separate second moment. Item 6 of Article 13 requires exhibition samples to carry a visible placard stating that the device may not be placed on the market nor put into service until registration is completed. The drafters deliberately named both actions side by side, which signals that promising not to sell is not enough for compliance: a live, powered demonstration on the exhibition floor can itself constitute putting into service. Event planning must treat the placard and the demonstration decision as two separate compliance deliverables, each with its own owner.

Insight 4: The two moments fall on different responsible parties. The obligations for placing on the market rest mainly on the licensed establishment (Article 12), whereas putting into service typically occurs inside healthcare institutions — and item 17 of Article 1 separately binds the operator of a healthcare institution not to acquire unregistered devices. Article 43 sets penalties for operators who acquire unregistered devices. In practice this means the manufacturer must manage two compliance relationships at once: one with the filer that places the device on the market, and one with the hospital that will use it. The separation also matters commercially: marketing claims, warranty arrangements and service-level agreements should each be drafted with the correct moment in view, because a promise made to the user at the point of service cannot substitute for the registration formalities that govern the earlier moment of market placement, and vice versa.

4. Practical recommendations

1. Bring free-of-charge transfers inside the compliance review. Donations, trials, demonstration units and clinical-collaboration placements are all handled as placing on the market: confirm the registration status or the specific authorization of every unit before it moves.
2. For exhibition samples, do two things: apply for the specific authorization and post the visible placard. The placard must state expressly that the device may not be placed on the market nor put into service until registration is completed.
3. Assess whether a demonstration constitutes putting into service. Any demo requiring power-on or hands-on operation should be checked against the authorization scope before the event opens, not after.
4. Give healthcare customers a written status statement. State the registration certificate number and its status in quotations and tender documents, helping customers discharge their own verification duty under item 17 of Article 1.

5. Verification checklist

• □ All free-of-charge scenarios have been confirmed to be handled as placing on the market
• □ A registration certificate or a specific authorization under Article 13 has been confirmed before any placement
• □ Refurbished devices have been confirmed to fall within the Article 18 list scope
• □ Exhibition samples have a specific authorization and a visible placard in place
• □ Demonstration plans have been assessed for whether they constitute putting into service
• □ Healthcare customers have received a written statement of the registration status
• □ The responsible parties for the two moments are defined in the internal procedures

Regulatory information verified as of October 30, 2026. GRZAN assists companies in Morocco with placing-on-the-market and putting-into-service analysis, exhibition and demonstration compliance, and registration before AMMPS. For project inquiries, contact info@grzanglobal.com.