Guatemala

Starting a Business in

Guatemala

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Sociedad Anónima (SA) - Corporation
  • City: Guatemala City

About This Topic

To see indicator data for all economies, see the Starting a Business page. To see how economies rank, see the Rankings page.

No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Check the proposed company name at the Mercantile Registry of Guatemala

Before initiating the incorporation process, the parties may conduct a company name availibility search in order to avoid submitting a preexisting name. Since June 2006, the Commercial Registry provides the option of carrying out the search via the Internet at no cost. The manual search system at the Registry is still available.
1 day no charge
2 Obtain letter from a Guatemalan notary public to open bank account

The minimum paid capital requirement of GTQ 5,000 must be deposited in a local bank before the articles of incorporation are signed. For this purpose, a notary public must issue a letter confirming that he or she has been requested to draw up and register the company’s deed of constitution. This letter allows for the opening of a temporary bank account while registration is completed. If the company capital is composed of an asset instead of cash, this procedure is not required.
1 day no charge
3 Deposit the subscribed capital in a bank and obtain a receipt

The Registry does not require filing of the deposit slip or the bank statement. The notary public transcribes the deposit of paid in capital in the articles of incorporation.
1 day no charge
4 A notary public draws the deed of constitution

The deed is executed by the founding shareholders and attested by the notary public, and provisional stock certificates are issued. Once the company is duly registered, definitive stock certificates are issued and substituted for the provisional stock certificates.


 3 days GTQ 8,400 average notarial fees + tax
5 The notary buys the fiscal stamps and issues a certified copy of the deed of incorporation for filing with the commercial register

Only a notary public can buy the fiscal stamps at the Superintendency of Tax Administration.
1 day GTQ 250 stamp tax (company deed), GTQ 300 (corporation license), 1 stamp at GTQ 100 (Appointment of legal representative, Certified notarial copy of the deed of incorporation)
6 File notarized unique registration form and documents with the Commercial Register (Registro Mercantil)

A new fast-track system was introduced in May 2006 and fully implemented in September, requiring only a single registration form (which must be legalized either by a lawyer or notary public) for several applications which used to be filed separately: notice of issuance of stock certificates, notice of appointment of legal representative, commercial registration, application for business license (patente), and tax and social security registration (which can be processed, together with the other formalities, through a single registration form).
The fast-track system did not work efficiently and it is not in use any more. The Registro Mercantil now takes approximately 5 business days to analyze the legal documents and providing a provisional registration number.
The same documents as the fast-track system are still required : (1) form of the commercial registry (sold for GTQ 2); and (2) the deed of constitution (original and simple photocopy of the certified notarized copy).The Registry analyzes the documents presented, and if they fulfill legal requirements, it issues the public notice of authorization or edict (edicto) and assigns a provisional registration numbe. Once the provisional registration number is assigned by the Commercial Registry, it allows to register the appointment of the legal representative. The Registry then coordinates the publication of the edict, as well as tax registration, the authorization to print invoices, and social security registration.

A single fee payment is necessary and includes:
- Registration fee: GTQ 275 plus 0.6% of the authorized capital (up to a maximum cost of GTQ 25,000) and plus GTQ 15 (for issuance of the public notice, or edicto).
- Edict publication fee: GTQ 525.62 for publication in the Diario de Centro America.
- Authorization to print invoices: GTQ 0.5/page (assuming 100 pages).

 4 days GTQ 2000
7 Publication of notice in Diario de Centro América

Once the Commercial Register issues the Provisional Registration Notice for Publication, then the applicant must go to the Official Gazette and pay the publication cost. After publication, the applicant must go back to the Official Gazette to pick up a copy of the publication which he needs to submit to the Commercial Register.
8 days GTQ 525.62
8 Registration of the appointment of legal representative of the company

Once the provisional registration number has been assigned, the Commercial Registry calls the applicant or his/her representative (e.g., notary public), in order to record the appointment of the company´s legal representative.
1 day included in previous procedure
9 Obtain the definitive registration, tax and social security numbers, and authorization to print invoices

Provisional registration at the Commercial Registry with the tax and social security authorities can be completed in 2–3 days. Following the publication of the edict, a protest period of 8 days applies before the Commercial Registry can finalize the registration. Once registration is completed, tax and social security identification numbers can be obtained.
14 days included in previous procedure
10 Application for trading license


1 day GTQ 165
* 11 Submit to the Commercial Registry for their authorisation, company accounting books and books of minutes of shareholder and board of directors meetings


1 day, simultaneous with preiovus procedure GTQ 0.15/page, assuming 100 pages
* 12 Application for book of salaries authorisation from the Inspection of the Department of Labour

This requirement to obtain authorization of the book of salaries applies to entities employing more than 10 workers.
1 day, simultaneous with preiovus procedure GTQ 0.5/page, assuming 100 pages
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Explore Economy Data