How to Start a Company in Argentina

Starting a company in Argentina is an orderly process: you choose the corporate form, incorporate and register the company with the public registry, obtain the tax ID (CUIT) and only then open the bank account. This guide walks through how to create, open or register a company step by step, with the real timelines, capital rules and legal requirements, for residents and for foreigners.

One clarification before starting: if the shareholder will be a foreign company (rather than an individual), there is a mandatory prior step that changes the project's timeline. It is explained in the last section.

Corporate Forms: SAS, SRL and SA

The General Companies Law No. 19,550 governs the classic forms, the SRL and the SA; Law No. 27,349 added the SAS in 2017. In practice, the decision comes down to these three.

The SRL (limited liability company) is the starting point for most new businesses. It is run by one or more managers, with no board of directors, its upkeep is simple, and it is a fully consolidated form before registries, banks and counterparties.

The SA (corporation) is the full corporate form: shares, a board of directors and shareholders' meetings. It makes sense when the company expects investors, changes in ownership, more formal governance or regulatory requirements. It has a legal minimum capital set by regulation and a heavier maintenance structure.

The SAS (simplified shares company) is, on paper, the fastest and cheapest form: a digital filing, a single shareholder allowed and a minimum capital of two minimum monthly salaries. That said, we generally do not recommend it as the default vehicle. Registry practice, bank onboarding and regulatory perception tend to favor the SRL and the SA, and speed of incorporation is usually the least important factor in the decision.

In short:

If the business will be regulated (payments, lending, crypto, securities) or will have a foreign company as shareholder, the choice of vehicle deserves specific analysis before filing. That is the work we do in our company formation in Argentina service.

Can a Foreigner Start a Company in Argentina?

Yes. A foreign individual can be a partner or shareholder of an Argentine company without being a resident. There is no immigration requirement to hold equity: the participation can be executed while in Argentina as a tourist, or directly from abroad through a power of attorney.

The concrete requirements are three:

• a.Tax identification. A foreign shareholder who has no CUIT or CUIL obtains a CDI (identification code) from ARCA. It pays to start early: without it, the participation cannot be registered.
• b.Domicile. The company establishes its legal domicile in Argentina.
• c.Management with local presence. In the SA, an absolute majority of the directors must have their real domicile in Argentina (Section 256, General Companies Law), and the same rule reaches the managers of an SRL, because the law applies the directors' regime to them (Section 157). In the SAS, at least one administrator must be a resident (Law 27,349). The foreign shareholder can keep corporate control and appoint local administrators.

The distinction that organizes the analysis: owning from abroad is possible with nothing more than a CDI; managing requires local presence. Deciding who the resident administrator will be before drafting the bylaws avoids redoing documents later.

Timelines: How Long It Takes

Timing depends on the form chosen, the jurisdiction, the type of filing and the shareholders' nationality:

• a.SRL or SA with local shareholders: in simple cases, between 7 and 15 business days from signing to registration. The IGJ offers an urgent-track filing that compresses review times in exchange for a higher fee.
• b.SAS in the City of Buenos Aires: the filing is digital and can be completed in a few days.
• c.With a foreign individual as shareholder: add the time for the CDI and the powers of attorney (apostille and sworn translation if signed abroad), normally a few additional weeks.
• d.With a foreign company as shareholder: the horizon becomes 8 to 16 weeks, because of the prior Article 123 registration explained in the last section.

Two typical causes of delay worth anticipating: registry observations (vistas) on the bylaws, and foreign documents with formal defects in the apostille or translation. Registration, moreover, is not the end of the road: the CUIT takes days, and the bank account takes days to weeks depending on the bank and the shareholders' profile.

Minimum Capital and Contributions

The capital rules, by corporate form:

• a.SRL: no specific legal minimum; the capital must bear a reasonable relation to the corporate purpose. A token capital invites registry observations and, above all, banking friction.
• b.SA: a legal minimum set by regulation, updated periodically.
• c.SAS: the equivalent of two minimum monthly salaries.

For cash contributions, the general rule of the Companies Law applies: 25% paid in at incorporation and the balance within two years. In-kind contributions are paid in full. The relevant exception for groups: the SAU (the single-shareholder corporation) pays in 100% of its capital at incorporation and remains under permanent state oversight (Section 299).

A practical criterion: size the capital with the bank and the first months of operation in mind, not the legal minimum. Visibly undercapitalized companies start bank onboarding at a disadvantage.

CUIT, CDI and the Tax Code

Once the company is registered, tax identification follows:

• a.The company's CUIT is obtained from ARCA once the bylaws are registered. Without a CUIT there is no invoicing, no contracts and no bank account.
• b.Shareholders and administrators need their own identification: CUIT or CUIL for residents; CDI for foreigners without Argentine identification.
• c.The legal representative's clave fiscal (tax access code) enables the company's digital operation before ARCA: tax registrations, invoicing and information regimes.

The sequence is strict: registry first, CUIT second, bank last. Inverting the order only produces back-and-forth.

The Steps Before the IGJ

For companies domiciled in the City of Buenos Aires, the competent registry is the Inspección General de Justicia (IGJ); in the provinces, the local Public Registry. The full process, in order:

• 1.Name reservation (optional but advisable). It secures the chosen name for 30 calendar days while the documents are prepared, and avoids redrafting the bylaws if the name is already taken.
• 2.Drafting and signing the incorporation instrument. The SA is incorporated by notarial deed (Section 165, General Companies Law). The SRL also admits a private instrument, with the partners' signatures certified before a notary public. The bylaws define, at a minimum, name, domicile, corporate purpose, capital, duration, management and oversight bodies and fiscal year-end. In the SAS, the filing is digital, with a model or tailored bylaws.
• 3.Acceptance of offices and sworn statements. The appointed administrators accept their positions, establish a special domicile in the country and file the required sworn statements: politically exposed person status and beneficial-owner information.
• 4.Evidence of capital contribution. For cash contributions, the initial 25% is evidenced with a deposit at Banco de la Nación Argentina or with a notary's certification that the funds are paid in at the act of incorporation.
• 5.Publication in the Official Gazette. The SA and the SRL publish the Section 10 notice for one day, with the company's essential details.
• 6.Professional pre-qualification opinion. The IGJ filing is accompanied by the opinion of a notary or a lawyer, depending on the type of instrument, verifying compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• 7.Filing and registration. The file is submitted with the forms, the applicable fee and the shareholders' documentation (including the CDI of foreign shareholders), on the ordinary or urgent track, today mostly digitally. If the registry raises observations (vistas), they are answered; once cured, the company is registered.
• 8.Rubrication of books. With the company registered, the corporate and accounting books are rubricated (digital in the SAS) and the initial resolutions are documented.

On costs: the budget combines registry fees, the Official Gazette publication, notarial certifications and professional fees. Peso amounts change frequently, so it is best to budget close to the filing date.

With the registration in hand come the CUIT, the tax access code, the tax registrations (including gross receipts tax depending on the jurisdiction) and the bank account, with the beneficial-ownership and source-of-funds file the bank will request.

What If the Shareholder Is a Foreign Company?

When the investor is not an individual but a company incorporated abroad, a mandatory prior step appears: its registration under Article 123 of the General Companies Law, with apostilled and translated corporate documents, a local legal representative and beneficial-owner disclosures.

IGJ General Resolution No. 4/2026 simplified this regime in the City of Buenos Aires: it allows filing the foreign company's registration and the local company's incorporation together (the latter conditioned on completion of the former), accepts foreign documents with digital apostille and eliminated redundant documentary requirements. We analyzed the reform in detail in our note on RG 4/2026.

Even with the simplification, this scenario (subsidiaries of foreign groups, investment vehicles, holding structures) has its own logic of timing, documents and decisions. We cover it in depth in the Doing Business in Argentina guide and execute it as a service in company formation in Argentina.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I start a company in Argentina on a tourist visa?

Yes. There is no immigration requirement to be a partner or shareholder: a foreign individual can take part in the incorporation while in the country as a tourist, or from abroad through a power of attorney. They need a CDI from ARCA, and the company's management must include at least one Argentine resident.

How long does it take to start a company in Argentina?

An SRL or SA with local shareholders, in simple cases, between 7 and 15 business days; the IGJ also offers an urgent track. An SAS in the City of Buenos Aires can be registered in a few days. With foreign shareholders the timeline extends: a few additional weeks for individuals (CDI and powers of attorney) and 8 to 16 weeks if the shareholder is a foreign company, because of the prior Article 123 registration.

How much capital do I need to incorporate?

The SRL has no specific legal minimum, but the capital must be adequate to the corporate purpose. The SA has a legal minimum set by regulation. The SAS requires the equivalent of two minimum monthly salaries. For cash contributions the rule is 25% at incorporation and the balance within two years; the SAU pays in 100% from the start.

Should I choose an SAS, an SRL or an SA?

For most new businesses, the SRL is the starting point; the SA, when there are investors, scale or regulated activity. The SAS is the fastest on paper, but we generally do not recommend it as the default vehicle: registry and banking practice favor the SRL and the SA. The choice deserves case-by-case analysis.

Do I need to live in Argentina to own a company?

No. Ownership can be exercised entirely from abroad. What the law requires is local presence in management: in the SA and the SRL, an absolute majority of the administrators must have their real domicile in the country (Sections 256 and 157, General Companies Law); in the SAS, at least one must be a resident. It is common for foreign founders to appoint local administrators and keep control as shareholders.

What changed with IGJ RG 4/2026?

It simplified the registration of foreign companies before the Public Registry of the City of Buenos Aires: joint filing of the Article 123 registration and the local company's incorporation, acceptance of digital apostille and fewer documentary requirements. It mostly impacts projects that have a foreign company as shareholder.

What are the legal requirements to start a company in Argentina?

The core requirements are choosing a corporate form (generally SRL or SA), drafting and signing the bylaws, registering them with the public registry (the IGJ in the City of Buenos Aires), paying in the capital (25% at incorporation for cash contributions), obtaining the CUIT from ARCA and appointing a management with at least one resident in the country. Foreign shareholders also obtain a CDI; there is no immigration requirement to hold equity.

How do you open or register a company in Argentina, step by step?

The path, in order, is to reserve the name; choose the corporate form and draft the bylaws; sign them (notarial deed for the SA, private instrument with notarized signatures for the SRL); evidence the capital contribution; publish the Section 10 notice in the Official Gazette; attach the pre-qualification opinion; file and register with the IGJ; and rubricate the books. Only after registration come the CUIT, the tax registrations and the bank account.