Ecuador company search: SUPERCIAS (supercias.gob.ec)

TL;DR. Ecuador’s corporate supervisor is SUPERCIAS. https://www.supercias.gob.ec forwards to /portalscvs/index.htm, which warns that JavaScript is disabled. The Portal de Informacion at https://appscvsmovil.supercias.gob.ec/PortalInformacion/index.html asks for scripting to be enabled and puts a Google reCAPTCHA in front of the search, so neither the search nor any price could be read from the page as delivered. The word gratuita on the agency home belongs to a news headline about AML training, not to a registry tariff. Fees here are unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

What is the official Ecuador business registry?

Ecuador’s commercial companies are regulated and registered by the Superintendencia de Companias, Valores y Seguros (SUPERCIAS), an autonomous government body established under the Ley de Companias. SUPERCIAS oversees the incorporation, reform, dissolution, and liquidation of commercial companies, and administers the public securities market and insurance sector. Its mandate covers all private-law commercial entities: anonymous companies (Sociedad Anonima, S.A.), limited liability companies (Compania de Responsabilidad Limitada, Cia. Ltda.), branches of foreign companies, holding companies, and recently introduced simplified companies (Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada, SAS).

The official registry search interface is the Portal de Informacion at https://appscvsmovil.supercias.gob.ec/PortalInformacion/index.html, titled Portal de Informacion. It asks the reader to enable JavaScript (Sorry, JavaScript must be enabled. Change your browser options, then try again.) and loads a Google reCAPTCHA, so the search cannot be read from the page as delivered. The documents portal at https://appscvsmovil.supercias.gob.ec/portaldedocumentos/index.zul, titled Portal de Documentos y Publicaciones, behaves the same way and builds itself in the browser; confirm at source.

Ecuador adopted USD as its official currency in 2000, a status that has remained stable since. All pricing, capital figures, and financial filings are denominated in USD. This eliminates the currency conversion complications common in other LatAm registry searches.

SUPERCIAS also maintains the Registro Mercantil function for the securities market. For companies listed on the Bolsa de Valores de Quito or Guayaquil, additional filings are made through the securities portal. General commercial company searches do not require accessing securities-specific data.

What can you search?

The Portal de Informacion builds its search in the browser and puts a captcha in front of it, so the name, expediente and RUC fields and how quickly results return could not be confirmed here; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

No price is published on the pages reachable here, so the table above reads unknown rather than free; confirm at source. The word gratuita on the agency home belongs to a news headline, capacitacion gratuita en prevencion de lavado de activos (free AML training), and not to a search tariff. Ecuador is dollarized, which is a currency fact and not a fee.

Do you need a local account or ID?

Unknown. The agency home needs no account, but the Portal de Informacion sits behind a reCAPTCHA, so whether a search can be run without one could not be confirmed; confirm at source.

Is the website in English?

No. The SUPERCIAS portal and all registry interfaces are in Spanish only. There is no English-language version. Company names, corporate purposes, and document descriptions are in Spanish. Foreign compliance buyers will need translation capability for document review. The search box and results table behind the Portal de Informacion captcha could not be read, so their language coverage is not confirmed.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. The site publishes no turnaround time; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API is documented for SUPERCIAS, and the consultaCompanias.jsf path no longer exists.

What you legally cannot do

SUPERCIAS terms of use prohibit:

• Automated bulk extraction or scraping of the Portal de Informacion
• Commercial redistribution of registry data without SUPERCIAS authorization
• Misrepresentation of SUPERCIAS data as independently verified or certified

Compliance buyers using SUPERCIAS data for CDD, KYC, or AML monitoring purposes are within permitted use. Documenting the stated purpose of each query as part of an internal audit trail is good practice. Ecuador’s data protection framework (Ley Organica de Proteccion de Datos Personales, in force since 2021) applies to personal data held in registry records; compliance use for KYC purposes is generally within permissible processing grounds.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• RUC is the anchor identifier. The RUC (Registro Unico de Contribuyentes) is Ecuador’s unified taxpayer and entity identifier, managed by the Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI). For legal entities, the RUC is a 13-digit number starting with the two-digit province code (e.g., 17 for Pichincha/Quito). Always search by RUC if you have it; company names can have variants or orthographic differences that create missed matches. Cross-reference the RUC at srienlinea.sri.gob.ec for tax status confirmation.
• Check status field carefully. SUPERCIAS status codes for an entity include Activa (active), Disuelta (dissolved), En Liquidacion (in liquidation), and Cancelada (canceled). An entity labeled Activa is currently registered and in good standing with SUPERCIAS filing requirements; one labeled Cancelada has been removed from the registry.
• Annual financial filings. Companies with assets above the SUPERCIAS threshold are required to file annual financial statements with SUPERCIAS. The documents portal (index.zul), titled Portal de Documentos y Publicaciones, builds itself in the browser, so balance-sheet and income-statement retrieval could not be confirmed here; confirm at source.
• SAS entity type. Ecuador introduced the Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (SAS) in 2020 as a simplified corporate form. SAS entities appear in the SUPERCIAS portal alongside traditional Cia. Ltda. and S.A. forms. SAS entities have lighter filing requirements and may have less financial data available.
• FATF status. Confirm at fatf-gafi.org.
• Foreign branches. Foreign companies operating branches in Ecuador register those branches with SUPERCIAS. Branch records appear in the Portal de Informacion under the branch’s local expediente. The parent company’s foreign registry data is referenced but not reproduced in the Ecuadorian record.

Alternatives if you cannot access SUPERCIAS directly

• Aggregator search (indicative only): OpenCorporates may index SUPERCIAS filings. It is not a substitute for the official register.
• SRI portal (srienlinea.sri.gob.ec): online, forwarding to sri-en-linea; it carries tax registration rather than the company register.

Local data suppliers

No independent commercial credit bureau could be confirmed for Ecuador. Use SUPERCIAS for the authoritative corporate filing record.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the Ecuador registry directly?

The agency home is reachable. The Portal de Informacion needs a browser with scripting enabled and a captcha, so whether the search is free and how fast it returns could not be confirmed here; confirm at source.

What is the RUC number in Ecuador?

The RUC (Registro Unico de Contribuyentes) is Ecuador’s primary identifier for legal entities and individuals engaged in economic activity. For legal entities (companies), the RUC is 13 digits, starting with the two-digit province code followed by a sequential number and a check digit. The RUC is issued by the Servicio de Rentas Internas (SRI) and is the same identifier used in SUPERCIAS records, tax filings, and customs systems.

What entity types are registered with SUPERCIAS?

SUPERCIAS registers private commercial companies: Sociedad Anonima (S.A.), Compania de Responsabilidad Limitada (Cia. Ltda.), Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada (SAS), Compania en Nombre Colectivo, Compania en Comandita Simple and por Acciones, holding companies, and branches of foreign companies. Sole proprietors and civil associations are registered with other authorities; government-owned entities appear in a separate registry.

Does Ecuador have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

No public beneficial ownership registry could be confirmed for Ecuador; confirm at source.

How current is the data in the SUPERCIAS portal?

Data in the Portal de Informacion reflects filings processed by SUPERCIAS. The system updates on a rolling basis as companies complete their filing obligations. For corporate events such as director changes or capital amendments, data typically appears within a few business days of SUPERCIAS processing the relevant instrument. Annual financial statement data for qualifying companies appears after the annual filing period closes.

Is Ecuador on the FATF grey list?

Confirm at fatf-gafi.org.

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

SUPERCIAS maintains the corporate registry. SRI (Servicio de Rentas Internas) holds tax registration (RUC). The SUPERCIAS financial filings behind the portal captcha could not be confirmed here; confirm at source.

Last verified: 2026-09-03. Sources: www.supercias.gob.ec, which forwards to portalscvs; the Portal de Informacion, which needs scripting and a reCAPTCHA; portaldedocumentos/index.zul, which builds itself in the browser; srienlinea.sri.gob.ec, which forwards to sri-en-linea. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.