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Relocation · Moving guide

Starting a business in Puerto Rico

Opening a business here means registering with a few island agencies, your town hall and, if you hire, two insurance programs. The order below is the usual one; each step links the office's own page, with the fees and dates it states.

Not advice. This is general information from the agencies' own pages, not legal or tax advice. Fees and deadlines change: confirm with the office linked in each step, and use a Puerto Rico CPA or attorney for your structure and taxes.

Every fee, date and time below checked against the linked page on .

How long it takes

At least 30 days before you can open: Hacienda wants the merchant registration filed 30 days ahead. The Permiso Único can run in the same weeks; the rest depends on your permits.

  1. First

  2. Before you open, side by side

  3. If you hire

  4. Once you are open

Register the business

  1. Form a corporation or LLC with the Department of State

    Department of State, Registry of Corporations and Entities · Departamento de Estado, Registro de Corporaciones y Entidades

    The Department of State keeps the public registry of the companies formed in Puerto Rico and of outside companies authorized to do business here. An LLC is formed by filing a certificate of organization, online through the electronic registry.

    Entities formed since June 2, 2022 must also be inscribed in the Registry of Legal Persons; since June 25, 2024 both inscriptions can be done at once.

    Takes
    No standard time given; an LLC can pay $100 more for service within 24 hours, or $200 for the same day fee table
    Fee
    $250 for an LLC's certificate of organization; $150 for a for-profit corporation
    Name reservation
    $10 for a corporation, $75 for an LLC
    Every year
    A $150 annual report (corporations) or $150 annual fee (LLCs), on or before April 15

    Sources:Department of State: corporations registry Department of State: forms and fees Department of State: Registry of Legal Persons

  2. Get a federal EIN

    Internal Revenue Service

    The Employer Identification Number is the business's federal tax ID. The IRS's online application is open to organizations formed in the United States or a U.S. territory with their main place of business there. Hacienda's own setup page sends employers to the IRS for it first.

    Takes
    Immediately, online, once the IRS approves the application IRS
    Fee
    None: the IRS does not charge for an EIN

    Sources:IRS: get an Employer Identification Number Hacienda: setting up a business

  3. Get a Merchant Registration Certificate in SURI

    Hacienda (Treasury), Merchant Registry · Registro de Comerciantes

    Anyone who does or plans to do business of any kind in Puerto Rico registers each place of business with Hacienda, online in SURI, its tax system. The certificate must hang where the public can see it.

    A provisional certificate is available to a business that will not open for at least 30 days; it lasts six months, with no extension.

    Takes
    The certificate is in your SURI account as soon as Hacienda processes the application CC RI 16-12
    When
    At least 30 days before you start operating

    Sources:Hacienda circular CC RI 16-12: Merchant Registry in SURI Hacienda: setting up a business

  4. Get your Permiso Único through the Single Business Portal

    Permits Management Office (OGPe) · Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos, Permiso Único

    OGPe's Single Business Portal is where businesses file for licenses and permits. A business in a non-residential space needs a Permiso Único, which bundles several licenses and certifications, and depending on the activity, special licenses as well.

    OGPe's pages do not list a fee or what each Permiso Único covers; the portal shows what your activity needs.

    Takes
    By law, up to 30 days after OGPe validates a routine application, or 2 business days if a licensed engineer or architect certifies it; up to 120 days when the case needs OGPe's discretion, 180 with a public hearing Act 161-2009, Art. 8.11

    Sources:Permits Management Office (OGPe) OGPe: the Single Business Portal

Local taxes and filings

  1. Declare your patente with each town you operate in

    Each town's finance department · Patente municipal, Declaración de Volumen de NegociosVaries by town

    The patente is a municipal tax on a business's volume of business, paid to each town where it operates. Each town's municipal legislature sets the rate. A business with a volume of $5,000 or less is exempt.

    A new business asks its town for a provisional patente (form OGP-PA02). Arroyo, for one, asks for it within 30 days of opening; check your town's own window and fee.

    Takes
    No official time given
    Rate
    Set by each town; Arroyo's page lists 0.50% of volume for non-financial businesses and 1.50% for financial ones
    Declaration
    Within five business days after April 15 each year (Act 60 decree holders: after June 15)
    Payment
    Two halves, due July 1 and January 2; 5% off when the whole year is paid with the declaration
    Late
    5% for each 30 days late, up to 25%

    Sources:Budget Office memo MG 001-2026: patente filing Form OGP-PA01 and its instructions Municipality of Arroyo: patente municipal

  2. Collect the IVU and file it every month

    Hacienda (Treasury) · Impuesto sobre Ventas y Uso (IVU)Varies by town

    Every merchant files a monthly IVU (sales and use tax) return in SURI. Since the July 2026 period, the 1% municipal IVU of most towns is filed and paid in the same SURI return.

    Bayamón, Carolina, Guaynabo, Mayagüez and San Juan are outside that arrangement: a business there still files the municipal IVU with the town.

    Takes
    No official time given
    When
    By the 20th of each month

    Sources:Hacienda: the monthly IVU return Hacienda circular CC RI 26-13: municipal IVU in SURI

  3. File a personal property return with CRIM

    Municipal Revenue Collection Center (CRIM) · Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales, planilla de propiedad mueble

    CRIM's page says every person or company in business that owns personal property (equipment, inventory and the like) on January 1 files a return, even if the property is leased. It is filed online on CRIM's portal, which also takes extensions and estimated payments.

    Takes
    No official time given
    When
    On or before May 15, with an automatic three-month extension available
    Estimated payments
    August 15, November 15 and February 15

    Sources:CRIM: personal property return CRIM's online portal

If you hire

  1. Take out a workers' compensation policy with the CFSE

    State Insurance Fund Corporation · Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado (CFSE)

    Every new employer applies for a CFSE policy when it starts operating, permanent for year-round work or temporary for a limited activity, and it must be in force before anyone starts work.

    Takes
    No official time given
    Every year
    The payroll statement, on or before August 15

    Source:State Insurance Fund (CFSE): employer policies

  2. Register as an employer with the Department of Labor

    Department of Labor and Human Resources · Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos

    A new employer registers online for its employer number for unemployment insurance and the disability insurance program (SINOT), then files a contribution return every quarter.

    Takes
    No official time given

    Source:Department of Labor: employer contributions

  3. Open your employer record with Hacienda

    Hacienda (Treasury)

    With the EIN in hand, employers register with Hacienda and withhold income tax from wages. Hacienda's setup page lists the forms and dates; it was last updated years ago, so confirm them there or with your accountant.

    Takes
    No official time given

    Source:Hacienda: setting up a business

Free help

  1. Free advising: the Puerto Rico SBTDC

    Puerto Rico Small Business and Technology Development Center

    An SBA partnership run by Inter American University, it advises new and existing businesses on plans, financing, exporting and more, free of charge. Phone (787) 625-1515.

    Takes
    No official time given
    Cost
    Free

    Source:Puerto Rico SBTDC: free advising

  2. DDEC: one-stop help and the Young Entrepreneur incentive

    Department of Economic Development and Commerce · Departamento de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio (DDEC)

    DDEC's Centro Único de Servicios answers questions on permits, incentives and financing, and its entrepreneurship centers are free.

    Its Young Entrepreneur incentive, for people 16 to 35 opening a new business, exempts the first $500,000 of net taxable income, plus personal property and municipal taxes, for three years from opening.

    Takes
    For the decree, up to 30 days on the Incentives Code's expedited route (an application filed with a certified attorney's or CPA's pre-eligibility report); no time is set otherwise Act 60-2019, Sec. 6020.01

    Sources:DDEC: starting a business in Puerto Rico DDEC: help and incentives

Common questions

Do I need a Merchant Registration Certificate before I start selling?

Yes, and you apply at least 30 days before you open.

Hacienda says anyone who does business of any kind in Puerto Rico registers each place of business in the Merchant Registry, online in SURI, and posts the certificate where the public can see it. More in the merchant certificate step.

What is the patente municipal, and who collects it?

A town tax on your volume of business, paid to each town where you operate.

Each town's municipal legislature sets the rate, so it varies by town; a volume of $5,000 or less is exempt. The yearly declaration is due within five business days after April 15. More in the patente step.

Do I have to file with CRIM if my business has equipment?

Yes. CRIM says every person or company in business that owns personal property on January 1 files a return, even if the property is leased.

It is due on or before May 15. More in the CRIM step.

Does an LLC file an annual report?

No report, but an LLC pays a $150 annual fee to the Department of State on or before April 15.

A corporation files a $150 annual report by the same date. More in the registration step.

What do I need before hiring my first employee?

Three registrations, after a free EIN from the IRS:

  • A State Insurance Fund (CFSE) policy, in force before anyone starts work.
  • An employer number from the Department of Labor for unemployment and disability insurance.
  • An employer record with Hacienda for income tax withholding.

More in the hiring steps.

Is there free help?

Yes, from the SBTDC and DDEC.

The Puerto Rico SBTDC advises new and existing businesses free of charge, and DDEC's Centro Único de Servicios and entrepreneurship centers are free. More in the free help section.

The moving guide Act 60, explained The Spanish on the forms