Foreign investors setting up in Peru usually choose among a handful of standard vehicles. The right one depends on who the owners are, how much capital is involved, and how the business expects to be governed.
The main entity types
Most foreign-owned businesses in Peru take one of three forms. Foreign individuals and foreign companies can generally be shareholders in any of them.
- Sociedad Anónima Cerrada (S.A.C.) — the closely held corporation, and the common default for small and mid-size businesses.
- Sociedad Anónima (S.A.) — the standard corporation, generally chosen for larger or investment-bound businesses.
- Sociedad Comercial de Responsabilidad Limitada (S.R.L.) — the limited-liability company, an alternative for a small ownership group.
The steps
Incorporation in Peru follows a fairly standard sequence. The core steps are:
- Reserve the company name.
- Prepare and execute the incorporation deed (escritura pública) before a notary.
- Register the company with the public registry (SUNARP).
- Obtain the tax ID (RUC) from the tax authority (SUNAT).
- Complete the municipal and sector permits the business needs to operate.
What foreign investors should plan for
When the shareholders are outside Peru, a few additional pieces tend to drive the timeline. Plan for a local representative, and for apostilled and certified-translated copies of foreign corporate documents. Powers of attorney generally need to be executed abroad and authenticated for use in Peru, and the entity will need to work through the usual banking steps. A gap somewhere in the authentication chain — a missing apostille, an untranslated document, a power of attorney that doesn't match local form — is the usual cause of delay.
What we handle
For company formation in Peru, we coordinate the full process through admitted local professionals, and handle the apostille, certified translation, and power-of-attorney work foreign shareholders need. You get one point of contact reporting back as the registrations clear.