Company Incorporation Guide

Company formation Bolivia for owners abroad

Applicable country/region: BO - Bolivia

Published: October 7, 2026Updated: October 7, 2026

Written by our advisory team
Bolivia rules and requirements
Checked against official sources

Guide overview

From the notary's deed to the first tax returns

For every company formation Bolivia will register, partners of any nationality, individuals or companies, sign the company's constitution as a public deed (escritura pública) before a notary (Notario de Fe Pública). The deed is registered with the Servicio Plurinacional de Registro de Comercio (SEPREC), which grants the Matrícula de Comercio, and the company is a legal person from that registration. Along the way come the choice among entity types (an S.R.L., an S.A. or, for a parent, a branch), how partners abroad sign and why their documents carry an apostille, the local representative and address, the tax registration and first monthly returns, then the municipal license, the bank, the central bank record of foreign capital and the yearly renewal.

COMPANY TYPES

Company formation Bolivia: an S.R.L., an S.A. or a branch

A Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S.R.L.), a limited liability company, suits a closed circle of up to 25 partners: quotas (cuotas) never trade publicly, an outsider needs two-thirds of the capital's approval, and existing partners may buy first. A Sociedad Anónima (S.A.) can offer shares publicly but needs a board and a síndico (internal overseer). Instead of incorporation, the Commercial Code (Código de Comercio) lets a foreign business register itself as a branch (sucursal). Ley 516, the investment law in force, allows full foreign ownership outside strategic sectors and sector rules. The trap: an S.R.L. left with one partner dissolves by law and that partner becomes liable without limit, so a parent brings in an affiliate as co-partner.

Reading the company types

Rows cover ownership, shareholder and director rules, capital and notes for each company type.

Bolivia SRL Basic Information

Ownership:

Private Ownership

Limited Liability:

Positive

Publicly Participates In Capital Market:

Negative

Bolivia SRL Shareholder / Director / Secretary Requirements

Requirements For Shareholders:

Requires a minimum of 2 shareholders.

Requirements For Directors:

The Legal Representative is required and can be a local citizen or a foreigner with a valid local Bolivian Residence/ authorized VISA

Legal Representative Not Mandatory:

Negative

Local Directors Not Mandatory:

Negative

Local Secretaries Not Mandatory:

Positive

Bolivia SRL Registered Capital Requirement

Minimum Registered Capital Requirement:

1 BOB

Capital Injection Not Required:

Negative

Capital Injection Requirement:

Contributions in cash and in kind are paid in full when the company is formed, and the deed of constitution must state it expressly; otherwise the partners become jointly and severally liable without limit.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Who the deed identifies, and how documents from abroad qualify

The deed records every partner's identity and nationality, including a partner that is a legal entity, and in an S.R.L. its clauses are the company's rules. Partners abroad may sign through a representative, with a power of attorney made at a Bolivian consulate, or granted abroad, apostilled or legalized and recorded by a Bolivian notary. The Hague Apostille Convention has applied to Bolivia since 7 May 2018, and with mainland China since 7 November 2023; documents from non-member states go through a Bolivian consulate. A corporate partner proves its existence, and the company declares its beneficial owners, the individuals behind that partner, to SEPREC. The deed is published in full in the Gaceta Electrónica del Registro de Comercio.

Reading the documents

Rows are document types grouped by who provides them; each entry ends with its process and format.

Natural Person Shareholders & Directors's Required Documents

Passport:

Must be notarized, Apostilled, and translated into Spanish. Original Apostille documents and translation must be sent to lawyer's office in Bolivia

Process: ApostilleFormat: Physical Copy

REQUIREMENTS AND ESTIMATED COST

Which local conditions come from SEPREC and which from tax law

Every S.R.L. names a legal representative (Representante Legal); residence is SEPREC's rule, as the Commercial Code sets none for managers. Under SEPREC's S.R.L. registration requirements, the representative runs the registration process with Ciudadanía Digital credentials, and a foreigner adds proof of residence or a migration certificate, so a partner abroad cannot serve. Tax law adds the fiscal address (domicilio fiscal), declared to the Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN) with its electricity meter number, where the tax registration document is displayed. The SIN's in-situ inspection was abolished by RND 102600000002 of 22 January 2026, yet an online application ends in person at the SIN. Monthly returns stop only when the activity is suspended in the SIN's register.

Reading the requirements

Base cost is the service and government fees; each requirement shows if it is included and what solving it costs; the estimate adds them up.

Base Cost

Service Fee:

USD 4,250

Requirements

Nominee Director: Local legal representative is required

Incorporating a Bolivian company requires a local legal representative (Bolivian national or resident permit/visa holder). If you do not have a local to be the legal representative, you can choose TKEG Expat ™ (Canada)'s Nominee Legal Representative service.

Included: No · Solution availableEstimated Cost: USD 9,800

Registered Address: Commercial address in Bolivia is required

To register a company in Bolivia, a commercial address in Bolivia is required. If you do not have a commercial address in Bolivia, you can choose TKEG Expat ™ (Canada)'s Registered Address service.

Included: No · Solution availableEstimated Cost: USD 4,800

Accounting: Monthly accounting is required

Monthly tax filings are required once your company is created, even if your company does not have any operations/activities. If you do not have an accountant or accounting agency doing this for you, you can choose TKEG Expat ™ (Canada)'s accounting service.

Included: No · Solution availableEstimated Cost: USD 4,800

Estimated Cost

Estimated Cost:

USD 4,250 – 23,650

Check Eligibility And Calculate Price

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TAX

What starts once the company has a tax number

Tax registration follows SEPREC: the company joins the SIN's Registro Nacional de Contribuyentes and receives its Número de Identificación Tributaria (NIT), the same number as its Matrícula, through SIAT en Línea or an SIN office. Value-added tax (IVA) and the transactions tax (IT) are then declared monthly. The IT is often misread: Ley 843 charges 3% on gross income whatever the profit, and the profit tax (IUE) paid for a year counts toward the next months' IT until used up. The declared main activity fixes the fiscal year-end. Annual financial statements go in with the IUE return, even after a loss, and above an income threshold an external audit opinion and a tax opinion join them.

Reading the tax data

Rows cover corporate income, withholding, value-added and capital gains tax, plus effective rates, for each jurisdiction.

PwC World Tax Summary OECD Statistics

Corporate Income Tax (CIT)

General CIT Rate:

25%（except for mining, financial institutions, and insurance/reinsurance companies, which have an additional income tax rate)

CIT Return Due Date:

120 days after the fiscal year-end.

CIT Payment Due Date:

120 days after the fiscal year-end.

Withholding Tax (WHT)

Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):

0/0/0

Non-Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):

12.5/12.5/12.5

Value-Added Tax (VAT)

General VAT Rate:

13%

Learn More Value-Added Tax (VAT)

Capital Gain Tax (CGT)

General Capital Gain Tax Rate:

Capital gains are subject to the normal CIT rate：25%.

Effective Tax Rate (ETR)

Composite Effective Average Tax Rate:

27%

Composite Effective Marginal Tax Rate:

25%–26%

Conclusion

Life after registration, and what to do first

The municipality where the company operates issues the municipal operating license (Licencia de Funcionamiento) under its own rules; in La Paz it comes after the Matrícula and the NIT, and only the license authorizes operating. A corporate bank account is a separate approval, on the bank's own file. The Matrícula de Comercio is renewed yearly, on the calendar SEPREC sets for the fiscal year-end. Foreign capital enters through the Bolivian financial system, and the company, not its foreign investors, reports each contribution to the Banco Central de Bolivia (BCB) in its RIOF foreign-investment register. That record is the step to take first: only registered investment can later send capital and net profits abroad, after tax.

Bolivia

Jurisdiction Overview

About Bolivia

Centrally located in South America and rich in lithium, natural gas and minerals, Bolivia is a high-potential frontier market for companies entering Latin America.

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