Bolivia Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Bolivian Business

TL;DR. Bolivia’s commercial registry is SEPREC (Servicio Plurinacional de Registro de Comercio), which replaced FUNDEMPRESA in 2021. SEPREC offers a free online company search at miempresa.seprec.gob.bo with no account required. The interface is Spanish-only, fees are denominated in Bolivianos (BOB), and Bolivia was added to the FATF grey list in June 2025. Factor enhanced due diligence requirements into any Bolivian counterparty onboarding.

What is the official Bolivia business registry?

Bolivia’s commercial entities are registered with SEPREC, the Servicio Plurinacional de Registro de Comercio. SEPREC was created by Supreme Decree 4644 in 2021, absorbing the functions previously held by FUNDEMPRESA, a private concession operator that administered commercial registration from 2002 to 2021. The transfer to a state entity under the Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo y Economia Plural was part of a broader policy to bring commercial registry services fully back under government control.

SEPREC operates under the legal framework established by the Codigo de Comercio Boliviano (Law 14379) and subsequent regulatory decrees. Its mandate covers the inscription of individual merchants, commercial societies, foreign company branches, cooperatives with commercial activity, and state-owned enterprises with commercial operations.

The primary public search tool is the Buscador de Unidades Economicas (Economic Units Search), accessible at miempresa.seprec.gob.bo. The main institutional site at seprec.gob.bo provides procedural guidance, fee schedules, and regulatory publications including the Gaceta de Comercio (Commercial Gazette), which is the official publication for registered commercial acts.

SEPREC also maintains the Historial de la Base Empresarial Vigente (current company database history) in cooperation with the Ministry of Productive Development, accessible via siip.produccion.gob.bo/repSIIP2/formSeprec.php. This secondary access point provides geospatial and sector data on registered companies.

What can you search?

The SEPREC online search supports queries by:

• Company name (partial or exact)
• SEPREC registration number (numero de matricula)
• NIT (Numero de Identificacion Tributaria): the tax identification number issued by the Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN)
• Location and department filters

Search results return: registered name, entity type, registration number, department (regional location), main commercial activity, registration status (active, cancelled, dissolved), and registration date.

The SEPREC portal does not display directorship or shareholder information in public-facing search results. Obtaining officer lists and shareholding data requires requesting a certified extract from a SEPREC office.

Data updates in the public search portal reflect the inscription processing date. Annual renewal confirmations (companies must renew their commercial registration each year in Bolivia) are reflected in the status field.

How much does it cost?

SEPREC has published fee reductions under Administrative Resolution 024/2022, including zero-cost amendments for certain procedural updates and 50% discounts on new registration fees for individual merchants. These reductions apply primarily to Bolivian residents registering entities, not to foreign buyers requesting extracts. All payments to SEPREC go through Bolivia’s state Payment Gateway (PPE). USD/BOB conversion used above: approximately 1 USD = 7.0 BOB (approximate official rate as of May 2026; verify at Banco Central de Bolivia, bcb.gob.bo).

Do you need a local account or ID?

For the free online search at miempresa.seprec.gob.bo, no account or local ID is required. Any user can run a name or NIT query without registering. For certified extracts and official documents, requests are processed through the SEPREC Oficina Virtual or in-person at regional offices. The Oficina Virtual (virtual.seprec.gob.bo) requires account creation. Foreign buyers without a Bolivian identity document will typically need to work through a local legal representative or commercial agent for certified document requests.

Is the website in English?

No. SEPREC’s portal and all associated interfaces are in Spanish only. There is no English-language version. All company records, regulatory publications, and procedural documents are in Spanish. Foreign compliance buyers will need translation for document review. The search interface is functional and navigable by non-Spanish speakers: fields are labelled clearly, and results tables follow a standard format.

What’s the turnaround time?

For the free online company search: results are instant. For certified extracts requested through the Oficina Virtual or an in-person office: 3-7 business days is typical. The Gaceta de Comercio publications for newly inscribed commercial acts have a standard publication lag of 5-10 business days after inscription. SEPREC processed over 200,000 transactions through the PPE payment gateway in 2025, indicating reasonable processing volume and capacity.

Is there an API?

No. SEPREC does not publish an API for registry data access. The online search tools are web-interface only. Bulk data access through programmatic means is not permitted under SEPREC terms of use.

What you legally cannot do

SEPREC’s terms of service and the Bolivian legal framework prohibit bulk extraction or automated scraping of registry data. Commercial redistribution of SEPREC data without authorization is not permitted.

Bolivia’s data protection framework is developing; the country does not yet have a general data protection law equivalent to GDPR. However, use of registry data should be limited to stated compliance purposes, and any personal data on individual directors or shareholders should be handled with appropriate controls under the receiving party’s applicable data protection obligations.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• NIT is the primary identifier. The NIT (Numero de Identificacion Tributaria) issued by Bolivia’s Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN) is the most reliable cross-system identifier for Bolivian entities. Cross-reference NIT lookups at the SIN taxpayer portal (impuestos.gob.bo) to confirm tax registration status alongside the commercial registry record.
• Annual renewal is mandatory. Bolivian companies must renew their Matricula de Comercio annually with SEPREC. An entity that has not renewed will show a lapsed status. Always check whether the registration is current-year renewed, not just that the entity was once registered.
• FUNDEMPRESA era records. SEPREC inherited the FUNDEMPRESA database from 2021. Records from the FUNDEMPRESA period (2002-2021) are included in SEPREC’s system, but some older records may have data quality issues from the transition. For entities incorporated before 2021, verify record completeness with a certified extract.
• FATF grey list status (added June 2025). Bolivia was added to the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in June 2025. This requires enhanced due diligence for Bolivian counterparties in most financial institution KYC frameworks. Bolivia committed to address strategic deficiencies in beneficial ownership transparency, AML supervision of high-risk sectors, and money laundering prosecution rates. For current FATF status, see fatf-gafi.org.
• Enhanced due diligence trigger. As a grey-listed jurisdiction, transactions with Bolivian entities will trigger enhanced due diligence requirements under most bank and AML platform policies. Prepare for additional documentation requests when onboarding Bolivian counterparties. For the full framework applicable to grey-listed jurisdictions, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.
• State-owned entities. Bolivia has a material state-owned enterprise sector (YPFB in hydrocarbons, ENTEL in telecoms, BOA in aviation). These entities appear in the SEPREC registry with specific entity type designations for state or mixed-economy enterprises.

Alternatives if you cannot access SEPREC directly

• Aggregator search (free, indicative only): OpenCorporates indexes some Bolivian SEPREC and FUNDEMPRESA filings but coverage is partial and lags the official registry. Useful for initial name confirmation only.
• SIN taxpayer portal (impuestos.gob.bo): Free NIT status lookup by the Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales. Useful for cross-referencing tax registration status.
• Ministry of Productive Development SIIP (siip.produccion.gob.bo): Aggregated company database maintained by the ministry, with geospatial overlays. Useful for sector and location analysis of Bolivian entities.

Local data suppliers

• Rojas & Asociados Abogados (rojas-lawfirm.com). Bolivian law firm providing SEPREC-based due diligence and company verification services for foreign clients, including certified extract retrieval, director background checks, and legal opinion on entity structure.

Use SEPREC for the authoritative commercial registration record. Use local legal providers when you need certified documents, officer verification, or legal opinion that cannot be obtained through the online portal.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Bolivia registry directly?

A foreign company can run free online searches at miempresa.seprec.gob.bo without any local account or ID. For certified extracts and official documents, account registration is required, and foreign companies without a Bolivian presence will typically need a local legal representative to complete the request process.

What is the Matricula de Comercio in Bolivia?

The Matricula de Comercio is Bolivia’s commercial registration certificate, issued by SEPREC upon entity inscription. It is the primary proof of legal existence for a commercial entity in Bolivia. The matricula number is the registry identifier used across SEPREC records and must be renewed annually to remain current.

What entity types are registered with SEPREC?

SEPREC registers: individual merchants (comerciantes individuales), Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S.R.L.), Sociedad Anonima (S.A.), Sociedad en Comandita Simple, Sociedad en Nombre Colectivo, branches of foreign companies (sucursales), cooperative entities with commercial activity, and state enterprises with commercial functions under the Codigo de Comercio.

Does Bolivia have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Bolivia does not have a public UBO registry. Beneficial ownership disclosure requirements exist under AML regulations but are not systematically collected in a publicly accessible database. The FATF has identified beneficial ownership transparency as one of Bolivia’s key action plan items following its June 2025 grey listing. Progress on this item can be followed through FATF’s mutual evaluation follow-up reports at fatf-gafi.org.

How current is the data in the SEPREC registry?

Online search results reflect the most recently processed inscription or renewal. For companies that have completed their annual renewal, the status shows as current-year active. Annual renewal data typically appears within a few days of SEPREC processing the renewal submission. Changes in directors or capital require filing amended instruments with SEPREC and may take 5-10 business days to be reflected in registry records.

Is Bolivia on the FATF grey list?

Yes. Bolivia was added to the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring in June 2025. Bolivia committed to work with FATF and GAFILAT to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, with key action items including beneficial ownership transparency, supervision of high-risk sectors, and enhanced financial intelligence. As of February 2026, Bolivia remains on the grey list. For current status, see fatf-gafi.org.

What is the difference between the registry and tax/financial filings?

SEPREC maintains the commercial registry (inscription, entity type, annual renewal, capital structure). The Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN) holds the NIT tax registration and tax return data separately. Financial statements are submitted to SIN for tax purposes and are not publicly available through SEPREC. This means financial data on Bolivian private companies is generally not accessible through the commercial registry system.

Last verified: May 2026. Source: SEPREC (seprec.gob.bo), FATF Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring June 2025 and February 2026 (fatf-gafi.org), Banco Central de Bolivia (bcb.gob.bo). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.