Before you start

Physical passport, or carte de séjour
For postpaid: carte de séjour and a Moroccan bank account for direct debit
An unlocked handset, or an eSIM-capable one

Step-by-step

1
Buy the SIM in an operator shop, not a kiosk
Registration requires your identity document to be presented and recorded. Official Maroc Telecom, Orange and inwi shops handle it properly; a street kiosk selling a pre-registered card is selling you a line in someone else's name, which will eventually be cut.
In personWho: YouDay 1–2
2
Bring the physical passport
A photocopy is generally not accepted. This trips up people who leave the passport in a hotel safe out of caution and arrive with a scan on their phone.
In personWho: You
3
Start prepaid and switch later
Prepaid data bundles are inexpensive and require nothing but the registered SIM. A postpaid contract needs a residence card and a bank account for direct debit, which you will not have in week one. There is no advantage to rushing it.
In personWho: You
4
Consider an eSIM if your handset supports it
All three Moroccan operators now offer eSIM on compatible devices, activated from the operator app after identity verification. It saves a shop visit for a second line and is useful if you want to keep your home number live.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Check the building before committing to fibre
Fibre coverage in Casablanca is good in Maârif, Gauthier, Racine, Anfa and the newer Sidi Maârouf and Californie developments, and much weaker in older buildings in the centre and the eastern districts. Ask the neighbours or the syndic what is actually installed before signing a lease if your income depends on the connection.
In personWho: You
6
Keep mobile data as your backup, not your primary
Mobile networks in Casablanca are genuinely fast, which tempts remote workers to skip fixed line entirely. That works until a video call in a building with thick 1930s walls. A fibre line plus a data-heavy mobile plan is the combination people settle on.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Physical passport
Carte de séjour, for postpaid
Moroccan bank details, for postpaid direct debit
Proof of address, for fixed-line installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

Anonymous prepaid SIMs no longer exist in Morocco, and the enforcement is real.

The ANRT made identification of every prepaid card mandatory and operators deactivated unregistered stock when the rule came in. A SIM sold ready-activated at a corner shop is registered to someone else, and lines are cut when that is detected — usually at the least convenient moment, and always after you have given the number to your bank and your employer. Buy it in the operator's shop, in your own name.

Source: ANRT

The number is on the critical path for the bank, so do it in week one.

Moroccan banks want a local mobile number for one-time passwords and for their apps, and so do most Moroccan services. Since the SIM only needs a passport and the bank account needs the residence file, the SIM is the one thing you can complete immediately. Doing it on day one removes a dependency from everything that follows.

Source: community-reported

A building's fibre availability is a lease question, not a provider question.

Whether you can get fibre in a given Casablanca flat depends on what has been brought into the building, and central art deco blocks are frequently the worst served precisely because they are the oldest. The operator's coverage map shows the street, not the riser. Ask the syndic or a neighbour which operator is actually installed before you sign, because there is no recourse afterwards.

Source: community-reported

Morocco shifts its clock for Ramadan, and it breaks calendars.

Morocco sits on GMT+1 year-round but reverts to GMT+0 for the month of Ramadan, then returns. Phones handle it; calendar invites created abroad, recurring meetings with European colleagues, and any automation you have set up frequently do not. Anyone working across time zones should expect a month of scheduling confusion each year and re-check standing meetings when the change happens.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a pre-registered SIM from a street vendor.
Arriving at the operator shop with a passport photocopy instead of the passport.
Signing a lease without checking what fibre is installed in the building.
Relying on mobile data alone for professional video calls.
Forgetting that Morocco's clock changes for Ramadan when scheduling with Europe.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.