Guatemala Government Services

The Mercantile Registry (RM) is the State public registry where Guatemalan business entities are registered: corporations (S.A.), limited liability companies (S.R.L.), individual merchants, foreign company branches, limited partnerships, general partnerships, commercial agents and representatives, accounting books, mercantile mortgages, movable guarantees, mercantile pledges, etc. It operates under MINECO (Ministry of Economy). Portal: principal.registromercantil.gob.gt; online services at the Sede Virtual (sedevirtual.registromercantil.gob.gt). Phone: PBX +502 2317-3434. Address: 7a Avenida 7-61, Zona 4, Guatemala City. Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

Not exactly. The Mercantile Registry is a SPECIALIZED REGISTRY operating under MINECO (Ministry of Economy). MINECO also administers other registries: Intellectual Property Registry (RPI — trademarks and patents), Movable Guarantees Registry, DIACO (Consumer Protection), Securities Market Registry. To register your company or change its bylaws, you go to RM. To register your trademark, you go to RPI. To authorize adhesion contracts or consumer complaints, you go to DIACO. See general hub: MINECO Guatemala.

Steps: 1) Reserve trade name (through the RM Sede Virtual, Q15-25), 2) Notary drafts constitutive deed (S.A. or S.R.L.) or pre-application (individual merchant), 3) Payment of RM fees by capital (Q300-2,500), 4) Physical or electronic submission (e-Portal in the RM Sede Virtual), 5) 5-15 day review, 6) Issuance of Patente de Comercio + electronic registry inscription. After: SAT NIT (parallel), IGSS employer registration if you will have employees, municipal licenses by activity. Total procedure 7-15 days. See guide: How to Register a Business in Guatemala.

Depends on type: 1) Individual Merchant — Q200: Q100 merchant + Q100 business (cheapest), 2) Sociedad Anonima (S.A. / Corporation) with minimum paid-in capital Q200 (Art. 90 Code of Commerce, reformed by Decree 18-2017) — RM fees Q300-700, notary fees Q1,500-3,000 = total Q2,000-4,000, 3) Limited Liability Company (S.R.L.) with no statutory minimum capital (Art. 81 only requires it be fully paid) — RM fees Q400-800, notary fees Q1,500-3,000 = total Q2,500-5,000. RM fees scale with share capital: 6 per thousand. The Patente de Comercio itself is issued free (Code of Commerce Art. 344) and is not renewed. See: Register an LLC (SRL) in Guatemala.

S.A. (Sociedad Anonima / Corporation): minimum 2 partners, minimum paid-in capital Q200 (Art. 90 Code of Commerce Decree 2-70, reformed by Art. 6 of Decree 18-2017 — the prior Q5,000 figure is outdated), liability limited to contribution, transferable shares, ideal for companies with multiple investors or seeking external capital. S.R.L. (Limited Liability Company): minimum 2 partners maximum 20, no statutory minimum capital (represented in contributions not shares; Art. 81 only requires it be fully paid — the Q200 minimum is the S.A. rule, Art. 90), liability limited to contribution, transfer of contributions requires consent of 50%+ partners, ideal for family or small businesses. The S.R.L. is administratively simpler; the S.A. is more flexible to scale. See guide: Register an LLC (SRL) in Guatemala.

Modifications to corporate bylaws (change of name, capital, purpose, partners, legal representative, fiscal domicile, type transformation) are registered at RM. Steps: 1) Notarial act of modification (assembly or assemblies according to type), 2) RM fee payment (Q300-1,000+ by modification), 3) Submission through the RM Sede Virtual (e-Portal), 4) 5-15 day review, 5) Reason in electronic registry. Tip: if legal representative or domicile changes, also update at SAT, IGSS and municipality. See guide: Modificacion de Escritura.

Cancel company at RM: 1) Partners assembly agrees on dissolution, 2) Notary makes dissolution act, 3) Liquidation of assets and liabilities (can take months), 4) Notarial act of liquidation, 5) RM fee Q100, 6) Prior clearances: SAT (NIT closure), IGSS (employer closure), MINTRAB (labor clearance), Municipality (paz y salvo), 7) Submission at RM with all clearances, 8) Cancellation of inscription and patente. Total time: 3-12 months by complexity. See: Cancelar Empresa Guatemala.

Yes. The Mercantile Registry has a Sede Virtual (e-Portal for filings, ePagos for card payments, eRegistros for searches) where most management can be done online. For signatures, you can grant a power of attorney to a representative in Guatemala (signing before a notary in the USA, apostille from the State Department of the corresponding state, sworn translation to Spanish if in English). Some procedures require physical presence of the Guatemalan notary; your attorney coordinates it. Bank accounts and company movements can also be managed remotely with digital access and authorized signatures. For large operations (real estate purchases, mortgages) it is usually convenient to travel briefly.