Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Latin America |
| ISO 3166-1 | EC / ECU |
| Registry | SCVS (Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros) + SRI (tax authority) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-13 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Ecuador and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | RUC | SRI (Servicio de Rentas Internas) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Número de Expediente / Inscripción RM | Superintendencia de Compañías (SCVS) + Registro Mercantil |
Sector regulators
SCVS · SB
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada | Cía. Ltda. | Closely-held company with quota-based capital; partners’ liability is limited to their contributions. Up to 15 partners; the standard SME vehicle in Ecuador. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Sociedad Anónima | S.A. | Share-capital corporation with freely transferable registered shares and separate legal personality; no cap on shareholders. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada | S.A.S. | Simplified share-capital company introduced in 2020; can be formed by one or more shareholders via private instrument with reduced formalities. Share-based, not quota-based. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Compañía en Nombre Colectivo | C.N.C. | General partnership in which all partners trade under a collective name and bear unlimited, joint and several liability for company obligations. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Compañía en Comandita Simple | C. en C. | Limited partnership with one or more general partners (unlimited liability) and one or more limited partners (liability capped at contribution); capital represented by non-transferable participations. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Compañía en Comandita por Acciones | C. en C. por A. | Limited partnership whose limited-partner capital is divided into freely transferable shares; general partners retain unlimited liability. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Compañía de Economía Mixta | — | Public-private hybrid company in which the State (central government, municipalities, or public entities) holds equity alongside private shareholders; governed by the Ley de Compañías. No direct US equivalent; closest analogy is a Public Benefit Corporation. |
| Sucursal de Compañía Extranjera | — | Branch of a foreign legal entity domiciled in Ecuador under SCVS authorization; not a separate legal person — the parent company bears full liability. Closest US equivalent: Foreign Branch/Rep Office. |
| Persona Natural | — | Individual trading under their own name; no separate legal entity. Those exceeding SRI income/asset thresholds must maintain double-entry books. Regulated by the Código de Comercio and SRI. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | All required: Resolución Aprobatoria + Inscripción RM + Publicación en Prensa |
| Constitutive Documents | All required: Escritura Pública + Estatutos |
| Tax Registration | RUC |
| Operating Permit | Permiso Municipal de Funcionamiento |
| Ownership Records | Any one of: Escritura Pública · Libro de Acciones |
| Governance Records | All required: Escritura Pública + Nombramiento del Rep. Legal |
| Signing Authority | All required: Nombramiento del Rep. Legal + Acta de Junta General |
| Address | Any one of: Contrato de Arrendamiento · Planilla de Servicios Básicos · Estado de Cuenta Bancario |
| Good Standing | Certificado de Cumplimiento de Obligaciones |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Resolución Aprobatoria (SCVS) | Legal Registration |
| Inscripción RM | Legal Registration |
| Publicación en Prensa | Legal Registration |
| Escritura Pública de Constitución o Reforma | Constitutive Documents |
| Estatutos | Constitutive Documents |
| RUC (SRI) | Tax Registration |
| Permiso Municipal de Funcionamiento | Operating Permit |
| Escritura Pública de Constitución o Reforma | Ownership Records |
| Libro de Acciones / Nómina de Socios | Ownership Records |
| Escritura Pública de Constitución o Reforma | Governance Records |
| Nombramiento del Rep. Legal | Governance Records, Signing Authority |
| Acta de Junta General | Signing Authority |
| Contrato de Arrendamiento | Address |
| Planilla de Servicios Básicos (≤90 días) | Address |
| Estado de Cuenta Bancario (≤90 días) | Address |
| Certificado de Cumplimiento de Obligaciones (CCO) | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | SCVS, SB |
Collection notes
- Ownership Records: The Anexo APS filing was superseded by REBEFICS as the SRI’s corporate-composition reporting mechanism.
- Address: Lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
- Good Standing: Electronic certificate issued by the SCVS (Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros) confirming the company is current on its statutory obligations. Downloadable from supercias.gob.ec; issued with current date. Banks typically require issuance within 30 days.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gerente General | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Legal representative and CEO. |
| Presidente | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board chair. |
| Representante Legal | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Legal representative. |
Notes
- Both SCVS approval and newspaper publication are required formation steps.