Company Formation in Argentina

If you prefer to start with the legal background, read the Doing Business in Argentina guide. This page describes the engagement itself.

When This Service May Fit Your Project

• a.Your foreign company plans to establish an Argentine subsidiary.
• b.You and your partners want to form a company to operate locally.
• c.You are comparing a subsidiary with a branch of an existing foreign company.
• d.Your market-entry project needs corporate work coordinated with payments, virtual-asset or lending regulation.

You do not need to arrive with an entity type already chosen. We can help assess the options against your intended activity, ownership and operating requirements.

Defining the Scope of Work

Structure and ownership

Assess the appropriate vehicle, including an SRL, SA, SAU or branch, and identify the relevant governance and representation requirements.

Foreign shareholder or parent-company documentation

Identify the applicable filings and documents for the ownership structure, including foreign-company registration where required.

Formation or branch registration

Prepare the corporate documents and assist with the filings, publications and registry process included in the engagement.

Steps after registration

Identify the tax-registration, corporate-record and bank-onboarding tasks needed for the project, and define how they will be coordinated.

The proposal identifies which stages JFC will handle, the deliverables and the work requiring your team, accountants, notaries or other providers. A branch and a locally incorporated subsidiary have different documents and registration requirements.

What the Engagement Delivers

Depending on the stages included, the deliverables may comprise:

• a.A recommended corporate structure and outline of the work required.
• b.A document checklist tailored to the shareholders and jurisdiction.
• c.Draft corporate documents, resolutions and powers of attorney within scope.
• d.Filing receipts and registration documents as the relevant stages are completed.
• e.A closing checklist identifying remaining tasks and ongoing corporate obligations.

The proposal will specify whether tax activation, corporate books, bank-onboarding documentation or continuing support are included or require separate coordination.

Preparing Documents From Abroad

For a foreign corporate shareholder, preparation typically involves evidence of the company's existence, constitutional documents, the relevant corporate approvals, representation and beneficial-ownership information. Required certification, legalization and translation depend on the documents and filing.

For filings before the IGJ in Buenos Aires City, joint filing of foreign-company registration and local incorporation is available subject to the applicable conditions. Eligibility for digital documents must also be checked for the particular document and procedure. See the official IGJ resolution.

For individual shareholders, we review their existing identification and tax-registration position. Where a person resides abroad and needs an Argentine CUIT, the applicable ARCA procedure provides for an authorized representative or third party domiciled in Argentina. See ARCA's procedure for residents abroad.

You do not need to send passports, powers of attorney or confidential documents with your initial inquiry. Start with a description of the project; the document checklist follows once the required work is defined.

Planning the Timeline

A company formed by individual shareholders, a subsidiary owned by a foreign parent and a branch involve different preparation and registration steps.

The schedule depends on document readiness, the chosen vehicle and jurisdiction, registry review and any tax, banking or regulatory requirements. Some preparation can proceed in parallel; other steps depend on documents or approvals being completed first.

We assess these dependencies when defining the scope. Company registration, tax activation and bank onboarding should be planned as separate milestones. Any estimated timeline should specify its starting point, assumptions and what it includes.

The Team and Other Participants

JFC's team coordinates the legal work included in the engagement. The proposal identifies the responsible professional and how communication will be handled.

Accounting, payroll, notarial work, translation and banking may involve independent providers. Where a project also requires fintech regulatory advice or registration, that work is scoped separately and coordinated with the corporate steps: see fintech market entry. You can also meet our team.

Working With Foreign Counsel

We can coordinate the Argentine legal work with your in-house team or advisers in other jurisdictions. The engagement defines responsibilities, information needs and communication for the project.

Questions Before Getting Started

Do we need to choose an SRL or SA before contacting you?

No. Describe the activity, ownership structure and intended operations. We can assess which vehicle fits the project as part of the agreed work.

Can preparation begin while we are abroad?

Initial discussions, structure assessment and document preparation can begin remotely. The execution and filing requirements will depend on the documents, signatories and procedure involved.

Do we need someone based in Argentina?

Governance, representation and local-address requirements depend on the vehicle and applicable rules. We identify what your structure requires and discuss how it will be addressed. The engagement does not automatically include providing a director, manager, representative or registered address.

Does incorporation include a bank account?

Bank onboarding is a separate process. Where included in the scope, we assist with the legal documentation and coordination. The bank evaluates the application and decides whether to open the account.

What if the business is a fintech?

Describe the product and how money or assets move through it. Corporate formation and regulatory work are scoped together where appropriate, with separate responsibilities and milestones. If the applicable registration is still unclear, start with our fintech market-entry service.

For the step-by-step legal background, see How to Start a Company in Argentina and Doing Business in Argentina.