Registered Office Address in Chile

What is a Registered Address?

Chilean Legislation requires a registered address (Dirección Tributaria in Spanish) as part of the statutory process of forming a company. The registered address serves as the main location where government authorities send correspondence and also carry out official visits. As such, there are important considerations to have, before choosing your registered address.

When do you appoint the Registered Address of the Company?

You must appoint a registered address at the beginning of the company registration in the company bylaws. You can also change the registered address at a later time via a modification of the company bylaws through a public deed that is submitted to the Chilean Commerce Registries.

Can a Registered Address be a P.O. Box or a virtual address?

No. Chilean Legislations mandates for a registered address to be verifiable before local authorities, meaning it has to be a physical address, in a suitable location that allows business activities.

Can any physical address be a Registered address for a company?

No. It is important to take into consideration that a registered address needs to allow business activities. For example, a building where there are several apartments may not be suitable for business. This is because local municipalities determine which buildings can have businesses and which ones can only be used for residential purposes.

In Santiago de Chile every district (or neighborhood) has one municipality that provides this information. Usually, before leasing an office space, realtors disclose this information, however, it is advisable to visit your corresponding municipality to confirm this information before signing any lease.

After you successfully find an ideal office space, you will then need to obtain a municipality operations license.

What is a Commercial patent?

The Municipal patent most commonly known as the Commercial patent (Patente Comercial in Spanish) is a mandatory permit required for businesses that will have operations in a fixed, physical area in Chile. Chilean Municipalities have the obligation to provide a permit or a provisional permit as soon as the permits and forms required for the application are presented. If you receive a provisional permit, a visit from the site management (Dirección de Obras in Spanish) division of the Municipality is expected to corroborate that your office has successfully complied with safety requirements that allow your business to start operations. Expect investing in safety equipment (fire extinguishers, fire alarms, safety signs, etc.) and a visit from a municipality official to confirm compliance. Usually, you can find third-party companies that visit your office and provide installations to comply with the Municipal requirements.

Easyco and Registered Address. What to expect?

As you can see, having a properly registered address is not as easy as you might expect. Especially, if you want a company formed quickly. However, Easyco is here to help, we can appoint a registered office address for your company compliance for a small fee. Moreover, If you are thinking of opening a company in Chile, we can help with the complete setup process and continuous compliance.

Whether you are looking to open an office where you plan to operate in the near future or just need a registered address for compliance purposes, Easyco’s service helps you save valuable time.