Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry Introduces Single-Window Licensing for Cash Waqf Management

Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry is putting cash waqf management under one licensing channel: the ministry itself. Islamic financial institutions that receive cash waqf and cash waqf administrators must meet set requirements before receiving official recognition.

Waryono Abdul Ghafur, director of zakat and waqf empowerment at the ministry, said applicant institutions must satisfy administrative, institutional, competency and governance standards. Once licensed, he said, their legal status should be made public rather than kept out of view.

“Legal status is not something that needs to be hidden. It should instead be communicated openly so that the public knows the institution is official,” Waryono said. He described legality as a foundation for public confidence in organizations managing zakat and waqf. The ministry expects state authorization, combined with transparent and accountable governance, to strengthen that confidence.

“

Legal status is not something that needs to be hidden. It should instead be communicated openly so that the public knows the institution is official.

Under Religious Affairs Ministry Regulation No. 14 of 2025, an institution seeking designation as an Islamic financial institution receiving cash waqf must be a legally established entity with an operating office in Indonesia. It must operate in Islamic finance and have a function for receiving deposits, or wadiah.

The institution must also have at least two employees holding Indonesian National Work Competency Standards certificates in waqf management. Other requirements include proof of cooperation with a nazir, a cash waqf collection plan, operational readiness and a staffing structure capable of supporting administration. Applicants must also agree to cooperate with the Indonesian Waqf Board and its regional representatives.

“

With authorization from the state, public trust in the institution’s administrators is expected to increase. That trust must be maintained through transparent and accountable governance.