Company Formation

Timelines vary by country and entity type, but most of Corpiya’s priority markets run one to three months from engagement to a fully registered, tax-ID-issued entity — name reservation and notarial filing typically take the first two to four weeks, with registration at the local commercial registry (Registro Público de Comercio in Mexico, Junta Comercial in Brazil, Cámara de Comercio in Colombia) and tax-ID issuance (RFC, CNPJ, RUT, RUC) following once the entity is on file. Bank account opening can add several more weeks depending on the bank’s own compliance review. Corpiya manages every step in parallel where the local process allows it, rather than waiting on each stage sequentially.

Most foreign companies expanding into Latin America use a limited liability structure — a Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S. de R.L.) in Mexico, a Sociedad Limitada (Ltda.) in Brazil, a Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (S.A.S.) in Colombia, or their local equivalents — because they require fewer governance formalities than a full corporation (S.A.) while still limiting liability. A corporation-type entity generally makes more sense when you plan to raise outside investment, issue multiple share classes, or eventually list the entity. Corpiya’s team recommends the structure based on your actual operating plan — hiring volume, investment plans, and how the entity fits into your broader corporate structure — rather than defaulting to one entity type across every market.

In each of Corpiya’s seven priority markets — Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina — foreign investors can own 100% of a locally formed entity in the large majority of industries, with no local co-owner required. A small number of regulated sectors (media, certain financial services, land near borders or coastlines in some countries) carry ownership restrictions or require additional approval. Corpiya flags any sector-specific restriction during the initial scoping call, before formation begins.

Most of these jurisdictions require a locally domiciled legal representative on file with the registry, even when 100% of the equity is foreign-owned — this is a compliance and service-of-process role, not an ownership or governance role. Corpiya provides legal representative and registered agent services as part of formation, so this requirement doesn’t require you to relocate staff or find independent local counsel before you can register the entity.

It depends on the country. Colombia, Mexico, and Peru generally accept a registered/fiscal address without requiring a full operating office from day one, which is useful for companies that want the entity in place before committing to real estate. Other markets are stricter about a verifiable physical address at formation. Corpiya confirms the specific requirement for your target market during scoping, and can provide a compliant registered address where the local rules allow it.

Banks in Latin America typically require the entity’s incorporation documents, tax ID (RFC, CNPJ, RUT, or RUC depending on the country), proof of legal representative identity, and a description of the business activity, and most conduct their own compliance review before approving the account — this is usually the least predictable step in the timeline, since it runs on the bank’s schedule rather than the registry’s. Corpiya’s bank account opening support includes preparing the documentation package and working directly with banking contacts in each market to keep this step from becoming the bottleneck.

Formation is the starting point, not the finish line: every entity then carries ongoing obligations — annual returns, tax filings, statutory register maintenance, and (once you have local payroll) labor and social security filings — on that country’s own calendar. Companies that treat formation as a one-time project often miss the first compliance deadline because no one owns it afterward. Corpiya pairs formation with annual compliance and, through Corpiya Counsel, ongoing legal support, so the entity has a coordinated owner for its compliance calendar from day one rather than a formation agent that disappears after registration.

A local agent in a single country can register an entity, but if you’re building out more than one market, coordinating a different agent, timeline, and document format per country becomes its own project. Corpiya forms entities across all seven priority markets through one team and one point of contact, with a consistent process and a shared view of where each entity stands — which matters most once you’re managing three or four entities at once rather than a single formation.