El Salvador Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Salvadoran Business

TL;DR. El Salvador’s official commercial registry is the Registro de Comercio, administered by the Centro Nacional de Registros (CNR) at registrocomercio.gob.sv. El Salvador uses the USD as its official currency (dollarized since 2001). Basic name searches are free; certified extracts cost approximately USD 10–50. The registry is functional with an online search interface in Spanish. El Salvador is a Northern Triangle country; apply standard enhanced due diligence for high-risk sectors. [VERIFY: Confirm FATF grey list status before use.]

What is the official El Salvador business registry?

The Registro de Comercio (Commercial Registry) of El Salvador is maintained by the Centro Nacional de Registros (CNR), which also administers real property, intellectual property, and other official registries. The CNR operates under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The Registro de Comercio website is at registrocomercio.gob.sv and provides online access to the commercial registry.

El Salvador’s commercial law is codified in the Código de Comercio (Commercial Code), which governs the registration and operation of commercial entities. The registry covers: sociedades anónimas (SA, equivalent to joint-stock companies), sociedades de responsabilidad limitada (SRL/SL, equivalent to private limited companies), sociedades en nombre colectivo (general partnerships), sociedades en comandita (limited partnerships), sole traders (comerciante individual), branches of foreign companies (sucursales), and foundations (fundaciones) and associations (asociaciones) with commercial activity.

El Salvador adopted the USD as its only legal tender in 2001 under the Monetary Integration Law, making it fully dollarized without its own national currency. In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the USD under the Bitcoin Law. However, the Bitcoin Legal Tender Law was amended in January 2025 to make Bitcoin acceptance optional rather than mandatory for businesses, effectively downgrading Bitcoin from full legal tender status. USD remains the primary currency for all formal commerce, taxation, and registry fee purposes.

What can you search?

The Registro de Comercio online portal at registrocomercio.gob.sv supports:

• Company name search (búsqueda por nombre)
• Registration number (número de matrícula) lookup
• Business name or commercial name search

Search results include: company name, commercial name, registration number (matrícula), legal form, date of registration, and status. Director information, shareholder details, and complete filing histories may require a certified extract (certificación literal) rather than being available in the free online search.

For compliance-grade due diligence, a certified extract from the CNR is the authoritative document. The extract provides the official legal record of the entity’s registered particulars, including incorporation date, share capital, directors, and any registered changes.

How much does it cost?

El Salvador is fully dollarized; all fees are in USD. No currency conversion is needed. Verify current fees at the CNR website or by contacting the Registro de Comercio directly, as fee schedules are set by regulation and may be updated.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No Salvadoran identity document is required for basic online searches. Registration on the CNR online portal is optional and may be required for some document download services. Foreign buyers can conduct name searches without registration. For certified extracts, requests can be made online, in person at CNR offices, or through a local attorney or corporate service provider. No local bank account is required for online fee payment.

Is the website in English?

No. The Registro de Comercio portal and all CNR materials are in Spanish. El Salvador’s official language is Spanish and no English interface is available. Foreign compliance buyers should either work with a Spanish-reading team member, use translation tools for navigation, or engage a Salvadoran attorney or corporate service provider to retrieve and translate registry records.

What’s the turnaround time?

Online name searches are available immediately. Certified extracts through the online portal typically take 3–10 business days under normal conditions; in-person requests at CNR offices may be faster. The CNR has invested in digitising its registry services, and processing times have improved in recent years. For urgent compliance requirements, engaging a local attorney is recommended.

Is there an API?

No public API is available from the CNR or the Registro de Comercio for programmatic company data access as of May 2026. The registry operates a portal-only model. Compliance platforms requiring systematic El Salvador entity lookups should engage a local data partner or law firm.

What you legally cannot do

El Salvador’s data protection framework is governed by the Ley de Acceso a la Información Pública (LAIP) and sector-specific regulations. The CNR terms of use and applicable law prohibit:

• Automated bulk scraping or harvesting of CNR registry records for commercial redistribution
• Using personal data from registry records (director names, addresses) for unsolicited marketing or profiling
• Misrepresenting uncertified online searches as certified official documents for legal or regulatory submissions

El Salvador’s AML/CFT framework is supervised by the Unidad de Investigación Financiera (UIF), operating under the Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía General de la República), and the Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero (SSF) for financial institutions. The Ley Contra el Lavado de Dinero y de Activos (LCDA) is the primary AML legislation.

For cross-border due diligence principles, see the Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• USD is the official currency. El Salvador has been fully dollarized since 2001. All commercial transactions, registry fees, and tax obligations are in USD. No currency risk or conversion complications.
• Bitcoin context: use with caution. El Salvador’s 2021 Bitcoin Legal Tender Law attracted material international attention and some AML/CFT scrutiny. The January 2025 amendment made Bitcoin acceptance optional rather than mandatory. If a counterparty’s business model involves Bitcoin or cryptocurrency transactions, apply enhanced due diligence given the evolving regulatory framework and FATF guidance on virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
• Northern Triangle AML overlay. El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala form the Northern Triangle of Central America, a region that has historically faced material challenges from drug trafficking, gang activity (MS-13, Barrio 18), money laundering, and public corruption. Standard enhanced due diligence should be applied to counterparties in high-risk sectors including construction, real estate, money services, and cash-intensive businesses. Note that El Salvador’s security situation has improved considerably under President Nayib Bukele’s 2022 security crackdown (estado de excepción), but AML/CFT effectiveness concerns remain.
• FATF status. [VERIFY: Confirm El Salvador’s current FATF grey list status at fatf-gafi.org/en/countries/detail/El-Salvador.html before use in any customer-facing material.]
• Sociedades anónimas (SA) are the standard structure. The SA is El Salvador’s equivalent of a joint-stock company and the most common structure for medium and large enterprises. SAs must file annual accounts with the CNR. Verify whether your counterparty is current on its annual filing (matrícula renewal) as a basic status check.
• SSF for financial services. If your counterparty is a bank, insurance company, securities broker, or money services business in El Salvador, check the SSF register at ssf.gob.sv for licence status. Financial institutions must be SSF-licensed to operate lawfully.
• Ministry of Finance and Tax Authority. The Ministerio de Hacienda and the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos (DGII) manage tax registration. An entity’s NIT (Número de Identificación Tributaria) is the tax identification number and serves as an additional cross-reference identifier alongside the commercial registry matrícula number.

Alternatives if you cannot access the Registro de Comercio directly

• Local attorneys: The Asociación de Abogados de El Salvador and the Asociación de Empresas de El Salvador (ASEM) can provide referrals to local practitioners experienced in commercial registry searches.
• OpenCorporates: May index some El Salvador commercial registry data; coverage is limited and lags official records.
• Global compliance platforms: Some international KYC/AML platforms include El Salvador entity data as part of Latin American coverage packages.

Local data suppliers

El Salvador does not host a major independent commercial credit bureau with broad market coverage as of May 2026. The Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (BCR) maintains the Central Credit Registry (Central de Riesgos) for financial system lending data, which is accessible to licensed financial institutions. For trade credit risk on Salvadoran commercial counterparties, the most practical approaches are: engaging a local law firm or due diligence firm, requesting audited financial statements directly from the counterparty, or using a global trade credit insurer with Central American coverage.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access the El Salvador commercial registry directly?

Yes. The Registro de Comercio online portal is accessible internationally. Basic name searches are free and require no registration. Certified extracts may require online account registration and payment, or can be arranged through a local attorney. The primary barrier for foreign buyers is that the portal and all documents are in Spanish.

What is the matrícula de comercio?

The matrícula de comercio is the commercial registry registration number assigned to each business entity registered with the Registro de Comercio. It is the primary identifier in the commercial registry and must be renewed annually. A lapsed or cancelled matrícula indicates that the company has not maintained its annual filing obligations, which is a red flag for compliance purposes.

Is Bitcoin still legal tender in El Salvador?

After the January 2025 amendment to the Bitcoin Law, Bitcoin acceptance is no longer mandatory for businesses in El Salvador; it remains optional. USD remains the only mandatory legal tender. The Chivo Wallet government Bitcoin wallet system continues to operate. For compliance purposes, Bitcoin acceptance by a counterparty is now a business choice rather than a legal obligation.

What is the NIT number in El Salvador?

The NIT (Número de Identificación Tributaria) is El Salvador’s tax identification number, assigned by the DGII (Dirección General de Impuestos Internos) to individuals and legal entities. For companies, the NIT is a 14-digit number. It is used for tax filings, customs, and other government interactions. The NIT is distinct from the matrícula de comercio (commercial registry number) but serves as a complementary identifier.

Is El Salvador on the FATF grey list?

[VERIFY: Confirm El Salvador’s current FATF status at fatf-gafi.org/en/countries/detail/El-Salvador.html before use. El Salvador has faced AML/CFT effectiveness concerns related to the Northern Triangle context and Bitcoin adoption.] El Salvador is a member of GAFILAT (the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America).

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Centro Nacional de Registros El Salvador (registrocomercio.gob.sv); Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero (ssf.gob.sv); El Salvador Bitcoin Law (Ley Bitcoin, 2021) and January 2025 amendment; FATF El Salvador country page, [VERIFY current status]; GAFILAT (gafilat.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.