Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
| ISO 3166-1 | TL / TLS |
| Registry | SERVE I.P. |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Timor-Leste and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | NIF | ATTL (Autoridade Tributária de Timor-Leste) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Número de Registo Comercial | SERVE I.P. |
Sector regulators
BCTL
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Empresário em Nome Individual | ENIN | Registered sole trader operating under their own name; no separate legal personality and the owner bears unlimited personal liability for all business debts. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Sociedade por Quotas | Lda. | Portuguese-tradition private limited company with capital divided into quotas; minimum USD 1; the default SME vehicle. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Sociedade Unipessoal por Quotas | Unipessoal Lda. | Single-member variant of the Sociedade por Quotas; same USD 1 capital floor and limited-liability protection. Equivalent to a US single-member LLC. |
| Sociedade Anónima | S.A. | Joint-stock company with share capital; minimum 3 shareholders and minimum USD 50,000 capital; required for certain regulated sectors and capable of public listing. Equivalent to a US C-Corp. |
| Cooperativa | — | Member-owned cooperative enterprise registered under Decree-Law 07/2006; surplus distributed to members based on participation rather than capital. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Representação Permanente | R.P. | Registered branch or permanent establishment of a foreign company operating in Timor-Leste; minimum assigned capital USD 5,000; not a separate legal entity. Equivalent to a US Branch/Rep Office. |
| Empresa Pública | E.P. | State-owned enterprise established by government decree; not available to private investors. Closest US equivalent: government-owned corporation. |
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: Estatutos · Acta de Constituição |
| Tax Registration | Certificado de NIF |
| Operating Permit | Licença de Exercício de Actividade |
| Ownership Records | Any one of: Lista de Sócios · Registo de Accionistas |
| Governance Records | Any one of: Registo de Gerentes · Registo do Conselho de Administração |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Deliberação dos Sócios · Deliberação do Conselho de Administração |
| Address | Any one of: Contrato de Arrendamento · Recibo de Serviços · Extrato Bancário |
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 | Legal Registration |
| Estatutos | Constitutive Documents |
| Acta de Constituição | Constitutive Documents |
| Certificado de NIF | Tax Registration |
| Licença de Exercício de Actividade | Operating Permit |
| Lista de Sócios (Lda.) | Ownership Records |
| Registo de Accionistas (S.A.) | Ownership Records |
| Registo de Gerentes (Lda.) | Governance Records |
| Registo do Conselho de Administração (S.A.) | Governance Records |
| Deliberação dos Sócios | Signing Authority |
| Deliberação do Conselho de Administração | Signing Authority |
| Contrato de Arrendamento | Address |
| Recibo de Serviços (≤90 dias) | Address |
| Extrato Bancário (≤90 dias) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | BCTL Licence |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Issued by SERVE I.P.; covers name, number, type, seat, status; free to obtain. Decree-Law 16/2017 governs registration procedure (1–5 business days).
- Constitutive Documents: Filed with SERVE I.P. at formation; constitutive document setting capital, governance, and quotas/shares.
- Tax Registration: Issued by ATTL/DNRD; required before commencement of business; distinct from tax-clearance (Certidão de Dívidas).
- Operating Permit: Issued by the competent sectoral ministry or municipality; required by industry. No single unified municipal alvará exists nationally.
- Sector-Specific License: Banco Central de Timor-Leste (BCTL) licenses banks, insurers, payment institutions, and FX dealers. Required only for financial-sector applicants.
- Governance Records: Filed with SERVE I.P.; Lda. managed by Gerente(s) appointed by quota holders; S.A. governed by Conselho de Administração.
- Signing Authority: Quota-holder or board resolution granting signing authority; notarised POA for third-party representatives.
- 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.
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 (Lda.) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Appointed manager with authority to bind the Lda.; may or may not be a sócio. |
| Administrador / Conselho de Administração (S.A.) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Executive director(s) with day-to-day management authority in S.A. |
| Presidente do Conselho de Administração (S.A.) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Chair of the board; governance role in S.A. |
| Representante Permanente (R.P.) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Named representative of a foreign branch; must be resident in Timor-Leste. |
Notes
- USD functional currency. Timor-Leste uses the US Dollar as its sole official currency (no national currency); no FX conversion risk on USD-denominated capital or transactions.
- SERVE registration is free and fast (1–5 days) under Decree-Law 16/2017, but sector operating licences from line ministries are separate and timeline/cost varies; confirm licence status independently.
- Foreign ownership cap in petroleum and media. Foreigners may own up to 100% in most sectors, but petroleum and media communications have sub-100% foreign ownership limits — verify sector before onboarding.
- Lei 10/2017 replaced Law 4/2004 as the governing commercial companies statute; any pre-2017 constitutional documents were issued under the old law — check for updated Estatutos filed post-September 2017 (Lei 10/2017 entered force 120 days after 17 May 2017 publication).