Our Legal Services

Set Up a Company in Peru

Peru welcomes foreign investment with 100% ownership rights and no local partner requirement. We handle the full incorporation, from bylaws to RUC, so you can operate without setting foot in the country.

Most foreign-owned companies incorporate as a Sociedad Anónima Cerrada (S.A.C.), the structure designed for subsidiaries and closely held companies. It requires no board of directors and can be set up entirely remotely through a Consular Power of Attorney.

From the first document review to the moment your company is registered and tax-active, we manage the process end to end. A typical incorporation closes in 3 to 6 weeks.

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Lima financial district, Peru
100%
Foreign ownership permitted in virtually every sector
100%
Remotely managed, start to finish
0
Trips to Peru required
~3 wks
Typical incorporation timeline once documents are in hand

The Process

How Incorporation Works, Step by Step

A straightforward incorporation, once all documents are in hand and powers are registered, typically closes within 3 weeks. We tell every client upfront which steps are on their side of the clock and which are on ours.

  • 1

    Grant a power of attorney (if signing from abroad)

    Natural person shareholders sign before a Peruvian Consulate in their country. We coordinate directly with them so the document arrives in the right form. Corporate shareholders issue a resolution and along with a good standing certificate and a certificate of incumbency.

  • 2

    Reserve the company name

    We check availability and reserve your preferred name with SUNARP (the public corporate registry).

  • 3

    Draft bylaws and incorporation minutes

    We define the corporate purpose, share capital, and powers of the company officers tailored to your business.

  • 4

    Sign the public deed of incorporation

    The deed is executed before a notary in Lima, using your power of attorney if you are signing remotely.

  • 5

    Register with SUNARP

    Registration typically takes up to 7 business days and formally brings the company into legal existence.

  • 6

    Obtain your RUC (Tax ID) from SUNAT and legalize corporate books

    Your Tax ID is required to issue invoices, pay taxes, and sign contracts in Peru. In parallel, we open and legalize the company's corporate books (share register and minutes book) before a notary, a step required under Peruvian law.

  • 7

    Open a corporate bank account

    Required to deposit share capital and begin operating. We guide you through bank options and requirements.

How company incorporation works in Peru

Legal Structure

Choosing the Right Legal Structure

Most foreign investors opening a subsidiary or first operating entity in Peru choose the S.A.C. It has simpler governance, no board requirement, and is faster to set up. If you are a sole individual entrepreneur, an E.I.R.L. is worth considering. An S.A. is reserved for larger companies with many shareholders or capital-raising plans.

S.A.C. (Closely Held Corporation) * S.A. (Corporation) E.I.R.L. (Sole-Owner Company)
Owners 2 to 20 shareholders 2 or more, no upper limit 1 natural person only
Board of directors Not required Required Not required
Ownership transfer Right of first refusal among shareholders by default Always freely transferable Transfer of the entire company to another natural person only
Best suited for Subsidiaries, joint ventures, small to mid-size operating companies Larger companies or those planning to raise capital from multiple outside investors Individual entrepreneurs who want limited liability without partners

* = Most common

What You'll Need

Documents Required

Requirements vary slightly depending on whether shareholders are natural persons or corporate entities, and whether any of them will be in Lima to sign in person.

  • Passport copy of each shareholder and of the designated general manager. All may be foreign nationals.
  • Consular Power of Attorney, for any natural person shareholder signing from abroad.
  • Corporate resolution, Certificate of Good Standing, and Certificate of Incumbency for any corporate shareholder signing from abroad.
  • Proof of a registered address in Peru for the company's tax domicile.
  • ID copy of a Peruvian resident tax representative (required if all shareholders are non-resident foreigners).

We send you a detailed checklist at the start of the engagement, so nothing gets missed or has to be re-done.

Share Capital

No Minimum Capital Required

Peru does not impose a minimum share capital to incorporate a company. You can set the initial capital at any nominal amount that reflects your business needs.

There is no legal minimum capital to incorporate a company in Peru.

However, it is recommended to allocate at least S/ 500, as banks will usually require a temporary S/ 500 deposit to open a corporate bank account.

Share capital can be increased at any time after incorporation through a simple shareholders' resolution and a public deed amendment.

You do not need to travel to Peru to incorporate your company

100% Remote

You Do Not Need to Travel to Peru

This is the part most guides skip, and it is usually the first question we get from a foreign shareholder.

If the founding shareholders are natural persons and will not be signing the incorporation documents in person in Lima, they will need to grant a Consular Power of Attorney signed before the Peruvian Consulate in their country. The Consulate legalizes the document, so it can go directly to registration in Peru.

Corporate shareholders need to provide an apostilled Certificate of Good Standing and a Certificate of Incumbency. We manage this directly with you, so the documents you sign abroad arrive in a form Peruvian registries will accept the first time.

Each document must carry its own apostille.

A single apostille covering a bundle of documents will only be recognized by SUNARP for the first document in the bundle. The rest will be treated as unlegalized. This is one of the most common mistakes we help foreign clients avoid.

Timeline & Fees

Timeline and Cost to Incorporate a Company in Peru

⏱

How Long It Takes

The process has two main stages that run in parallel: registering the power of attorney typically takes up to 3 weeks, and registering the incorporation deed with SUNARP takes another 3 weeks. The variable that most affects total timing is how quickly the foreign shareholder can complete the consular or apostille process in their own country.

If you prefer a faster path, we can act as founding shareholders and incorporate the company on your behalf, then transfer the shares to you once it is registered. This eliminates the need to register a power of attorney entirely and can shorten the overall timeline significantly.

If you need to be operational immediately, ask about our shelf company option, which can transfer ownership in 1 business day.

💼

What It Costs

Company incorporation starts at USD 2,300 in professional fees, plus approximately USD 500 in notary and registry charges.

18% IGV (Peru's value-added tax) applies if paid locally. If paid by wire transfer from abroad, IGV will not apply.

We provide a fixed quote before you commit to anything, no surprise charges once the process is underway.

Ask us about our pricing packages for ongoing services, including legal representation and fiscal domicile.

Avoid These

Common Mistakes We Help Foreign Investors Avoid

⚠️

An overly broad corporate purpose

Catch-all language describing "any type of activity" tends to trigger observations from SUNARP and slows down registration. A precise, well-drafted corporate purpose avoids this at the cost of requiring a formal amendment later if you add a genuinely new line of business.

⚠️

Confusing a temporary permanence card with a resident foreigner ID

A foreign national holding only a temporary permanence document cannot appear as the mandatory company tax representative; the correct foreign resident ID (Carné de extranjería) must be obtained first.

⚠️

Each document must carry its own apostille

A single apostille covering a bundle of documents will only be recognized by SUNARP for the first document in the bundle, and the rest will be treated as unlegalized.

Miraflores, Lima, Peru

Why Peru

Why Foreign Investors Choose Peru to Incorporate

Peru is a founding member of the Pacific Alliance and holds trade agreements that give access to a combined market of hundreds of millions of consumers. Its macroeconomic fundamentals have remained comparatively stable within the region, which is part of why Lima has become a base for international consulting, trading, and services companies.

  • 100% foreign ownership no local partner requirement, full rights to repatriate capital and profits.
  • Pacific Alliance member trade agreements give access to a combined market of hundreds of millions of consumers.
  • No minimum capital there is no legal minimum to incorporate. You can set share capital at a nominal amount.
  • Equal treatment for foreign investors Peruvian law guarantees the same rights as domestic investors.
Peru is key. Check our Doing Business in Peru Guide →

Complete Your Setup

Related Services

Most clients combine company incorporation with one or more of these services to be fully operational from day one.

Shelf Company

Need to be operational immediately? Acquire a ready-made company with a clean history and begin operating the same week.

Learn more →

Legal & Tax Representation

Every non-resident foreign company needs a local representative before SUNAT. We act as your legal representative in Peru.

Learn more →

Fiscal Domicile

Every company registered in Peru must have a real physical address. We provide a domicile address at our Lima office.

Learn more →

Data Privacy Policy

Peruvian law requires companies handling personal data to have a registered privacy policy. We draft and register it.

Learn more →

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Typically 3 to 6 weeks in total: about 3 weeks for a foreign shareholder to complete the consular power of attorney process abroad, plus roughly 3 weeks for the incorporation itself once those documents are in hand. The Peruvian registry side is predictable; the variable is the shareholder's own country's consular processing time.
Yes. Peruvian law guarantees equal treatment to foreign and domestic investors, and there is no requirement for a local partner or minimum local ownership. Keep in mind that incorporating an S.A.C. or an S.A. always requires two or more shareholders so a single-person company is not possible under these structures.
No. You can grant a power of attorney before a Peruvian Consulate in your country and complete the entire process remotely. We coordinate the execution of documents on your behalf in Lima. Our legal representation service covers this.
There is no legal minimum. It is recommended to allocate at least S/ 500, as banks will typically require a S/ 500 deposit for the opening of the corporate bank account. The PEN 500,000 figure you may have read online refers to the Investor Visa immigration threshold not a general incorporation requirement.
An S.A.C. is simpler to govern and does not require a board of directors, making it the more common choice for subsidiaries and small to mid-size companies. An S.A. is better suited to larger companies with more shareholders or plans to raise outside capital broadly. An S.A.C. can be converted into an S.A. later.
Corporate income tax on the general regime is 29.5% on worldwide income for a Peru-domiciled company. Dividends distributed to shareholders abroad carry a 5% withholding tax. There are other tax regimes that may apply depending on your revenue and activity. We recommend consulting with a local accountant we can refer you to one.
Banks generally require the legal representative to complete part of the account-opening process in person. However, the bank account can be fully operated remotely once opened online banking, wire transfers, and card payments are available from abroad. We guide you through which banks are most practical for foreign-owned companies.

Get Started

Book a Free Consultation

45-minute call. No commitment. We'll tell you exactly what your incorporation process looks like.