According to the U.S. State Department's Investment Climate Statement 2024 (data as of April 2024), online registration at eportal.registromercantil.gob.gt takes about 2 business days for an empresa mercantil (single-owner trading business) and 4–6 business days for a limited liability company (sociedad de responsabilidad limitada, SRL). The estimated cost is US$26 for a new empresa mercantil and US$29 for a new SRL, in both cases with authorized capital of up to US$63,857. The reforms to the Commercial Code in force since January 2018 cut the time and cost of online registration. The Commercial Registry's official fee schedule in quetzales (a table by procedure) is not published on the main page consulted and remains to be verified.

Figures

Tiempo estimado, empresa mercantil (en línea)2 días hábilesabr 2024

Tiempo estimado, SRL (en línea)4–6 días hábilesabr 2024

Costo estimado, empresa mercantil nuevaUS$26abr 2024

Costo estimado, SRL nuevaUS$29abr 2024

Umbral de capital autorizado para esos costoshasta US$63,857abr 2024

ICS 2024 estimates (a reputable secondary source); the Commercial Registry's official fee schedule in quetzales is still pending

The Commercial Registry (Registro Mercantil) is defined as "the state entity responsible for carrying out the registration and certification of, and for providing legal certainty to, all commercial acts"; it registers domestic and foreign companies, sole traders and empresas mercantiles, and runs a virtual office at sedevirtual.registromercantil.gob.gt. After incorporation, the ICS 2024 lists the tax authority (SAT), the social security institute (IGSS) and the Ministry of Labor as mandatory registrations. Foreign companies not incorporated locally still cannot use the online window (ICS 2024). Where licenses from MARN, MAGA or the Ministry of Health apply, the ICS warns that they add considerable time.

the restriction on foreign companies not incorporated locally comes from the ICS 2024 (Apr 2024); not verified in the audit

No. In direct checks on 2026-08-19, minegocio.gt (the domain cited in older guides) 301-redirects to an unofficial betting site (multibet88-gt.com) and should not be used; asisehace.gt 301-redirects to pronacom.org. The portal currently in force for online registration is eportal.registromercantil.gob.gt, per the ICS 2024, and the catalog of procedures of PRONACOM's Single Window for Trade and Investment (VUC) sits at vuc.pronacom.org/tramites. Whether the government formally abandoned the minegocio.gt domain, and whether eportal officially replaces it, remains to be confirmed.

redirects verified directly on 2026-08-19; formal abandonment of the minegocio.gt domain still to be confirmed

The dominant vehicle is the Sociedad Anónima, incorporated by public deed before a Guatemalan notary and requiring at least 2 founding shareholders at incorporation. Minimum initial capital is Q200 (art. 90 of the Commercial Code, as amended by art. 6 of Decree 18-2017, published 27 Oct 2017); a bank deposit of cash contributions is compulsory only when they exceed Q2,000 (art. 92, as amended by art. 7 of the same decree). The Q2,000 figure cited by adviser guides is that deposit threshold, not a minimum capital — corrected in the 2026-08-22 audit; only the cross-check against the official gazette (Diario de Centro América) is outstanding. The lighter alternative, the Sociedad de Emprendimiento (Decree 20-2018: no public deed, single shareholder possible), is capped at Q5 M of annual revenue and is unsuitable for an export factory.

Figures

Capital inicial mínimo S.A.Q200art. 90 CCom, Dec. 18-2017 (27-oct-2017)

Umbral de depósito bancario obligatorio> Q2,000art. 92 CCom, Dec. 18-2017

Socios fundadores mínimos2vigente

Tope de ingresos Sociedad de EmprendimientoQ5 M / añoDecreto 20-2018

Cross-check of Decree 18-2017 against the official gazette (Diario de Centro América) pending

Advisers cite 2–3 weeks for the Mercantile Registry to authorize registration of the S.A. The fees, per the Registry's official procedure sheet: with authorized capital of ≤Q499,999.99 you pay Q30 to issue the edict and Q200 to publish it, with no company-registration fee; with capital of ≥Q500,000 you pay 8.5‰ of authorized capital (capped at Q40,000) plus Q100 to register the first business establishment and Q150 for the first commercial auxiliary; in both cases, stamp duty of Q200 on the company license and Q50 on the business license (corrected in the 2026-08-22 audit, having previously been attributed to a commercial guide). FEL electronic invoicing is universally mandatory, through an authorized certifier or the tax authority's app.

Figures

Plazo de inscripción mercantil2–3 semanasguías de asesores, 2026

Arancel capital ≤Q499,999.99Q30 edicto + Q200 publicación, sin arancel de inscripciónhoja oficial vigente

Arancel capital ≥Q500,0008.5‰ del capital autorizado, tope Q40,000, + Q100 + Q150hoja oficial vigente

Timbres fiscalesQ200 patente de sociedad, Q50 patente de empresahoja oficial vigente

The 2–3 week timeline comes from advisers, not from law

According to the ICS 2024, the Foreign Investment Act and CAFTA-DR commitments protect the right to remit profits and repatriate capital; there are no restrictions on converting or transferring funds associated with an investment into a freely usable currency at the market exchange rate, and capital may be transferred to any jurisdiction without restriction. The exchange rate responds to market conditions and the central bank intervenes only to prevent sharp movements. The practical friction is the 2010 rule on foreign-currency cash deposits above US$3,000 a month, which require a sworn statement. The Foreign Investment Act is Decree 9-98; its specific article on free repatriation could not be downloaded (an SSL failure at SICE/OAS) and remains pending.

the text of Decree 9-98 and the specific free-repatriation article are unverified