> ## 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.

# Timor-Leste

> How to collect KYB documents from business customers in Timor-Leste (TLS) when onboarding through the Conduit API.

## 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.                                  |

*Tax ID:* Numeric, issued at registration; certificate called Certificado de NIF.

*Registration number:* Assigned upon commercial registration; appears on Certidão de Registo Comercial.

## 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  |
| 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**               | Legal Registration, Good Standing |
| **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.
* **Good Standing:** Timor-Leste's SERVE I.P. does not issue a separate Certificate of Good Standing. The Certidão de Registo Comercial is dated, free to obtain, and carries the entity's current legal status, registered seat, and corporate officers; under the Portuguese-tradition registo comercial model it serves the same live-status function as a CoGS. 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.)                                   | `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).