Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Latin America |
| ISO 3166-1 | PA / PAN |
| Registry | Registro Público de Panamá |
| Last updated | 2026-05-04 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Panama and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | RUC | DGI (Dirección General de Ingresos) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Folio / Ficha | Registro Público de Panamá |
Sector regulators
SBP · SMV · SSRP
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sociedad Anónima | S.A. | Share-capital company with limited shareholder liability; no minimum capital, no nationality restrictions, requires 3+ directors. Equivalent to a US C-Corp. |
| Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones | S.C.A. | Limited partnership with shares; one or more general partners bear unlimited liability while limited partners are liable only to their subscribed shares. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada | S.R.L. | Quota-based closely-held company; members’ liability limited to their quota contribution, interests not freely transferable. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Sociedad en Nombre Colectivo | S.N.C. | General partnership with all partners trading under a collective name and bearing joint and unlimited personal liability. Equivalent to a US General Partnership. |
| Sociedad en Comandita Simple | S. en C. | Limited partnership with at least one general partner bearing unlimited liability and one or more limited partners liable only to their capital contribution. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership. |
| Persona Natural Comerciante | — | Individual merchant registered with the Registro Público and RUC; trades in own name with unlimited personal liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Empresa Individual de Responsabilidad Limitada | E.I.R.L. | Single-owner entity conferring limited liability on the sole proprietor; personal assets shielded from business debts. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Sociedad Civil | — | Civil-law partnership used primarily by professionals; governed by civil law with partners bearing unlimited liability. Equivalent to a US General Partnership. |
| Fundación de Interés Privado | F.I.P. | Asset-holding foundation under Law 25 of 1995; separate legal personality with no shareholders, used for estate planning and wealth management. Equivalent to a US Statutory Trust or Private Foundation. |
| Cooperativa | — | Member-owned cooperative society organized under Law 17 of 1997; profits distributed as patronage refunds rather than dividends. Equivalent to a US Cooperative. |
| Sucursal de Sociedad Extranjera | — | Branch of a foreign company registered to conduct business in Panama; no separate legal personality from parent entity. Equivalent to a US Foreign Branch or Representative Office. |
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 | Cert. del Registro Público |
| Constitutive Documents | Pacto Social |
| Tax Registration | Certificado RUC |
| Operating Permit | Aviso de Operación |
| Ownership Records | All required: Pacto Social + Registro de Acciones |
| Governance Records | Cert. del Registro Público |
| Signing Authority | All required: Cert. del Registro Público + Acta de Junta Directiva |
| Address | Any one of: Contrato de Arrendamiento · Recibo de Servicios · Estado de Cuenta Bancario |
| Good Standing | Certificado de Vigencia |
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 |
|---|---|
| Cert. del Registro Público (Folio/Ficha) | Legal Registration, Governance Records, Signing Authority |
| Pacto Social | Constitutive Documents, Ownership Records |
| Certificado RUC (DGI) | Tax Registration |
| Aviso de Operación (MICI / Panama Emprende) | Operating Permit |
| Registro de Acciones | Ownership Records |
| Acta de Junta Directiva | Signing Authority |
| Contrato de Arrendamiento | Address |
| Recibo de Servicios (≤90 días) | Address |
| Estado de Cuenta Bancario (≤90 días) | Address |
| Certificado de Vigencia (Registro Público de Panamá) | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | SBP, SMV, SSRP |
Collection notes
- Address: Lease has no time bound; utility bill and bank statement must be dated within 90 days. The same document satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
- Good Standing: Issued by the Sección de Certificaciones of the Registro Público de Panamá; confirms the company is Vigente (active), has paid its Tasa Única annual franchise tax and certifies the current Board of Directors. Available digitally with QR verification via the Registro Público e-services platform. Validity 30 calendar days from issue for banking and commercial use; request a certificate dated within 30 days of submission.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board member. Minimum 3. No residency requirement. |
| Presidente | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board chair. |
| Representante Legal | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Legal representative. |
| Agente Residente | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Mandatory. Local law firm or attorney. Required for all companies. Holds BO records. |
Notes
- A Panama-based resident agent (always a local attorney or law firm) is mandatory for all companies.