> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://v2.docs.conduit.financial/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # São Tomé and Príncipe > How to collect KYB documents from business customers in São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) when onboarding through the Conduit API. ## Overview | Field | Value | | ------------ | ---------- | | Region | Africa | | ISO 3166-1 | ST / STP | | Registry | DGRN / GUE | | Last updated | 2026-05-06 | ## Identifiers Collect two identifiers from each business customer in São Tomé and Príncipe and submit them as strings on the application body. | API field | Local name | Issuer | | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ---------- | | `businessInfo.taxId` | **NIF** | DGI | | `businessInfo.businessEntityId` | **Número de Registo Comercial** | DGRN / GUE | *Tax ID:* 9-digit number; issued simultaneously with commercial registration via GUE; serves as both income-tax and VAT identifier. *Registration number:* Assigned at incorporation; appears on the Certidão de Registo Comercial. ## Sector regulators `BCSTP` · `UIF-STP` · `DGI` ## Legal structures | Local name | Abbreviation | Description | | --------------------------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Sociedade por Quotas | Lda | Limited-liability company whose capital is divided into quotas; managed by one or more gerentes. The dominant SME vehicle in São Tomé and Príncipe. Equivalent to a US LLC. | | Sociedade Unipessoal por Quotas | — | Single-member variant of the Sociedade por Quotas; allows one natural person or legal entity to hold 100% of the quotas with limited liability. Equivalent to a US single-member LLC (SMLLC). | | Sociedade Anónima | SA | Share-capital company with separate legal personality; requires a board of directors (Conselho de Administração) and fiscal council; used for larger enterprises and potential public offerings. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. | | Empresário em Nome Individual | — | Sole trader registered under their own name; no separate legal personality and unlimited personal liability for business debts. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. | | Sociedade em Nome Coletivo | — | General partnership in which all partners bear joint and unlimited personal liability for the entity's obligations. Equivalent to a US General Partnership (GP). | | Sociedade em Comandita | — | Limited partnership with at least one general partner bearing unlimited liability and one or more limited partners whose liability is capped at their contribution. Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership (LP). | | Cooperativa | — | Member-owned cooperative formed by individuals or entities for a shared economic, social, or cultural purpose; governed by cooperative principles. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. | | Sucursal de Sociedade Estrangeira | — | Registered branch of a foreign company operating in São Tomé and Príncipe; no separate legal personality — the parent entity bears full liability. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep 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 | Certidão de Registo Comercial | | Constitutive Documents | *Any one of:* Pacto Social · Estatutos | | Tax Registration | Cartão de Identificação Fiscal | | Operating Permit | Alvará Comercial | | Ownership Records | *Any one of:* Lista de Sócios · Registo de Accionistas | | Governance Records | *Any one of:* Certidão de Registo Comercial — gerentes · Estatutos — secção administradores | | Signing Authority | *Any one of:* Procuração Notarial · Deliberação de Gerentes | | Address | *Any one of:* Contrato de Arrendamento · Recibo de Serviços · Extrato Bancário | | Good Standing | Certidão de Registo Comercial | ## 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 | | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | **Certidão de Registo Comercial (DGRN/GUE)** | Legal Registration, Governance Records, Good Standing | | **Pacto Social (Lda)** | Constitutive Documents | | **Estatutos (SA)** | Constitutive Documents, Governance Records | | **Cartão de Identificação Fiscal (NIF)** | Tax Registration | | **Alvará Comercial** | Operating Permit | | **Lista de Sócios (Lda)** | Ownership Records | | **Registo de Accionistas (SA)** | Ownership Records | | **Procuração Notarial** | Signing Authority | | **Deliberação de Gerentes** | Signing Authority | | **Contrato de Arrendamento** | Address | | **Recibo de Serviços (≤90 dias)** | Address | | **Extrato Bancário (≤90 dias)** | Address | | **Sector-Specific License** | Licença BCSTP (sector-specific) | ### Collection notes * **Legal Registration:** Issued within 1–4 working days of GUE submission; contains registration number, legal form, and corporate officers. * **Constitutive Documents:** Single constitutive document drafted by the founding partners and notarised; filed with GUE at incorporation. * **Tax Registration:** Issued by DGI; co-issued via GUE at incorporation. 9-digit NIF; dual income-tax/VAT identifier. * **Operating Permit:** Issued by Direção de Comércio (Ministry of Commerce); required before commencing operations; obtained post-registration. * **Sector-Specific License:** Required for banking, insurance, payment services, microfinance, and currency exchange; issued by BCSTP. * **Ownership Records:** Lista de sócios/quotas incorporada no Pacto Social ou no registo anual. * **Governance Records:** Current directors/managers listed on the Certidão; SA must also maintain Conselho de Administração minutes. * **Signing Authority:** Notarised power of attorney or formal managers' resolution; required for agents who are not registered gerentes/administradores. * **Address:** Conduit universal policy: 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:** São Tomé and Príncipe's DGRN does not issue a separate Certificate of Good Standing. The Certidão de Registo Comercial issued via GUE is dated and carries the entity's current legal status, registered officers and capital, and serves the same live-status function under the Portuguese-tradition registo comercial model. Request a Certidão dated within 30 days for banking use. ## Person roles When you submit a person on the application body, set their `role` 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 (Lda) | `CONTROLLING_PERSON` | Appointed manager of an Lda; day-to-day executive authority; registered at DGRN. | | Administrador / Conselho de Administração (SA) | `CONTROLLING_PERSON` | Board member of an SA; governance function. | | Presidente do Conselho de Administração (SA) | `CONTROLLING_PERSON` | Chair of the SA board; governance, not operations. | | Sócio-Gerente (Lda) | `LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE` | Partner who also serves as manager; legally binds the company. | | Procurador / Mandatário | `LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE` | Holder of a notarised power of attorney; authorised to act on the company's behalf. | ## Notes * São Tomé and Príncipe is not OHADA; the foundational companies law is the 1888 Código Comercial as amended by Law 14/2009 — do not apply OHADA AUSCGIE templates. * The GUE co-issues the NIF and Certidão de Registo Comercial simultaneously; however, the Alvará Comercial is a separate post-registration step from the Direção de Comércio and is commonly overlooked by foreign operators. * São Tomé and Príncipe has acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention (accession 19-XII-2007; in force 13-IX-2008) — apostille is accepted for foreign public documents instead of full consular legalisation chain. * All registration documents must be in Portuguese or formally translated by a certified translator; no other language is accepted by GUE or DGRN.