Start a Company in Argentina
What you need, how long it takes, and what it costs — for foreign investors deciding whether to set up in Argentina.
Are you a lawyer, accountant or corporate services provider advising a client? You'll probably want the technical version instead: our Doing Business in Argentina guide covers entity types, statutory requirements, tax, foreign exchange and labor law in detail. This page is the practical route for the investor making the decision.
Answers in 60 Seconds
Do I need a visa or residency to own a company?
No. Foreign individuals can be shareholders or partners without residing in Argentina — you only need a CDI, a tax identification number issued for identification purposes. Residency is required for the person acting as resident administrator, and for anyone you hire as an employee. Immigration is a separate process before Migraciones, not the companies registry, and we do not handle it.
Do I need to travel to Argentina?
No. The whole process runs remotely on a power of attorney granted and apostilled in your country. We send you the template to execute and legalize locally.
But someone does have to be here. Your resident administrator has to appear in person at the tax authority after registration to link their CUIT to the company — and until that is done, the corporate books cannot be rubricated and the company cannot really start operating. Remote works for you; it does not remove the need for a real person on the ground.
How long does it really take?
For an SRL, the registry filing takes 1 to 3 months, or about 2 to 3 weeks if you pay for the urgent procedure — and that is only the registry step. Add a few weeks at the front for your apostilled power of attorney and its certified translation, and more at the back for the tax ID. If a foreign company will be a shareholder, its own registration takes 2 to 4 months and has to finish before any of this starts. See the workflow below for where the time actually goes.
What does it cost?
Our published all-in fee for the most common case — an SRL in the City of Buenos Aires, two individual partners, corporate books included — is ARS [FEE_TOTAL] + VAT (approx. USD [USD_TOTAL]). Other structures, timelines and add-ons are listed under what it costs. Apostilles and notarization in your own country are separate.
Can you be my local director?
No. We do not act as nominee director, manager or legal representative. That role carries real personal liability under Argentine tax, labor and corporate law, and it should sit with someone who has actual control of the business. What we can do is run a background check on the person you designate and draft the agreement governing their relationship with the company and its shareholders.
The Route, Stage by Stage
Setting up in Argentina is four stages, not one. Most of the surprises come from treating them as a single step. The two decisions in Stage 1 determine your whole timeline.
1Establishment
Choosing the structure, checking that your company name is available (you can reserve it for 30 days at no cost), preparing and signing the bylaws, and filing with the registry. This is the stage we handle.
One or more individuals
No prior filing needed. Each foreign individual obtains a CDI. You can start immediately. This is the fast path.
A foreign company
The parent must first register with the IGJ under Section 123 of the General Companies Law, with apostilled and translated corporate documents. 2 to 4 months, and it must be finished before the local company is incorporated.
The workaround: incorporate now with individual shareholders and transfer the shares to the parent once its Section 123 registration clears. Most clients in a hurry do this.
Every Argentine company needs at least one administrator (manager in an SRL, director in an SA, administrator in a SAS) who is an individual actually resident in Argentina, with an active CUIT, level 3 tax credentials, and registered as self-employed (autónomo). In an SA with a multi-member board, more than half the directors must be Argentine residents.
2Registration and Location
Once the company exists, it needs a tax ID (CUIT) from ARCA, registration with the provincial tax authority, and a defined location. Note the distinction that catches most foreign investors out:
- Registered legal address (domicilio legal) — appears in the bylaws and the registry. We can provide this in the City of Buenos Aires.
- Tax domicile (domicilio fiscal) — must generally match where the company actually operates. We do not provide this, and neither do most accounting firms.
The CUIT and tax registrations are handled by an accountant, not by us. We can introduce you to firms we work with regularly.
3Personnel
Only relevant once you hire. Employer registration, mandatory workplace-accident insurance (ART), mandatory life insurance, labor books, and payroll. Argentina's labor framework is protective of employees and is the area foreign investors most consistently underestimate — on top of gross salary there are social security contributions, a 13th-month salary, paid leave, and statutory severance.
Foreign employees: unlike shareholders, a foreigner cannot be employed in Argentina without permanent residency or a residence certificate from the immigration authority. Argentina has social security agreements with a number of countries that can affect contributions for staff you bring in.
4Incentives, If Any Apply
Argentina has sector-specific promotional regimes — most prominently the RIGI (Incentive Regime for Large Investments), which offers tax, customs and foreign exchange benefits for projects above USD 200 million in sectors such as energy, mining and technology. Worth knowing it exists; it is out of scope for most of the investments we see, and it is not something we handle.
Which One Is You?
Three situations cover almost every inquiry we receive. All three are shown below — it's worth reading the others, because the differences in timeline are large and sometimes a small change in structure saves you two months.
A. One or more foreign individuals
Recommended structure: SAS (fastest, one shareholder is enough) or SRL (two partners minimum).
Timeline: weeks 1–3 go to your apostilled power of attorney and its certified translation in Argentina; the registry filing then takes 1–3 months (2–3 weeks if you opt for the urgent procedure); the CUIT and the corporate books follow. Call it 2–4 months end to end at standard speed, or around 6–8 weeks if you pay to expedite.
What you need: passport and proof of address for each shareholder, a CDI for each, an apostilled power of attorney, and — the part to solve first — a resident administrator.
Indicative cost: ARS [FEE_TOTAL] (approx. USD [USD_TOTAL]) for the SRL case described under what it costs.
B. A foreign company opening a subsidiary
Recommended structure: SAS or SRL as the local subsidiary. A branch (Section 118) only makes sense if you specifically want ownership and control to stay with the parent — and it means the parent is liable without limit.
Timeline: the Section 123 registration of the parent takes 2–4 months and must complete before the local company can be incorporated — so realistically 4–7 months total. Or use the workaround: incorporate with individuals now, transfer the shares later, and you're back to the 2–4 month timeline.
What you need: certificate of incorporation, current bylaws, good standing or certificate of incumbency, and a corporate resolution authorizing the registration and the investment — all apostilled, and translated into Spanish in Argentina by a certified public translator. Translations done abroad are not accepted.
Indicative cost: the formation fee plus ARS [FEE_ART123] for the Section 123 registration, both plus VAT. You will also need to identify the parent's ultimate beneficial owners — every individual holding 10% or more of the capital or voting rights, directly or indirectly. Apostilles and foreign notarization are paid in your country; we coordinate the local translations.
C. "Can you handle everything — company, accounting, bank account?"
Partly, and it's worth being precise about who does what, because no single provider in Argentina genuinely covers all of it.
We handle the legal and registry side: incorporation, Section 123 or 118 filings, registered legal address, administrator background checks and agreements, document coordination.
An accounting firm handles the CUIT, tax registrations, invoicing and payroll. We work alongside firms experienced with non-resident-owned companies and can introduce you.
The bank account is the hardest step for a company with non-resident shareholders. We guide and support the process, but the decision rests entirely with each bank and no one can promise you an account.
What It Costs
Our fees for foreign clients are the same as for local ones. Below is the complete figure for the most common case, with nothing left out — this is what you actually pay to end up with a registered company that can legally operate.
SRL in the City of Buenos Aires — all in
ARS [FEE_TOTAL] + VAT
approx. USD [USD_TOTAL] · standard filing · updated [PRICE_DATE]
Includes: incorporation of an SRL with two individual partners, one of them manager; IGJ forms and fees; online name availability check; the pre-qualification opinion required by the IGJ; publication of the notice in the Official Gazette (up to 20 lines); notarial certification of the 25% capital contribution (for capital up to ARS 300,000); and the rubrication of the corporate books, including the books themselves.
Not included: VAT (21%, added at invoicing); anything you pay in your own country (apostilles, notarization, courier); certified translation in Argentina; and tax registrations with ARCA and the provincial revenue authority, which your accountant handles.
Other structures
| Service | Fee (ARS, + VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| SRL, City of Buenos Aires — all in, books included | [FEE_TOTAL] | 1–3 months |
| SA, City of Buenos Aires — all in, books included | [FEE_SA_TOTAL] | 1–3 months |
| Section 123 registration of a foreign shareholder | [FEE_ART123] | 2–4 months |
| Section 118 registration of a branch | [FEE_ART118] | 2–4 months |
Add-ons, where they apply
- Urgent filing — cuts the SRL timeline to about 2–3 weeks: add ARS [FEE_URGENT_SRL]
- Each additional partner or manager: add ARS [FEE_EXTRA_PARTNER] each
- Each shareholder that is a company (requires a certified public accountant's certification under Section 31 of the General Companies Law): add ARS [FEE_CORP_PARTNER] each
- Capital above ARS 300,000 and up to ARS 1,000,000: add ARS [FEE_CAPITAL]. Above that, quoted per case.
- Preparation of Form 185 to obtain the company's CUIT: ARS [FEE_F185]. Most non-resident-owned companies will want this. It does not include linking the tax administrator or registering for specific taxes.
- Registered legal address in the City of Buenos Aires: quoted per case
- Paid in your own country: apostilles, notarization and courier. Certified translation must be done in Argentina; we coordinate it and quote it once we see the documents.
Prices in Argentine pesos, excluding VAT, updated [PRICE_DATE]. The US dollar figure is approximate, for reference only, and moves with the exchange rate. Fees are subject to increases in IGJ duties and are confirmed in a written proposal for your specific case; paying a retainer does not fix the price for amounts still outstanding.
Who Does What
| You | Portal Societario | Your accountant |
|---|---|---|
| Decide the activity and structure (with our input) | Recommend the structure and draft the bylaws | — |
| Designate a resident administrator | Background check and administrator agreement | Register them as autónomo if needed |
| Execute and apostille the power of attorney abroad | Provide the template; coordinate certified translation in Argentina | — |
| Provide passports, proof of address, corporate documents | File with the IGJ and follow the registration through | — |
| — | Registered legal address (domicilio legal) | Tax domicile, CUIT, tax registrations, invoicing, payroll |
| Attend the bank and satisfy its requirements | Guidance and support through the process | Financial statements the bank asks for |
Things We Don't Handle — But You Should Know About
We're a corporate and registry law firm. These come up constantly in inquiries from abroad, so here is an honest orientation on each, even though they aren't our services.
Visas, residency and citizenship
Owning a company does not give you residency, and you don't need residency to own one. They're separate tracks: company registration goes through the IGJ, immigration through Migraciones.
Worth knowing: in May 2025 Argentina enacted Decree 366/2025, reforming the immigration regime and creating, for the first time, a route to citizenship without a minimum residence period for foreigners making a significant investment in strategic sectors, managed by a dedicated agency under the Ministry of Economy. We don't do immigration work, but we can refer you to firms that do.
Accounting, tax and payroll
We're a law firm, not an accounting practice — no CUIT applications, tax filings or payroll. We refer to accounting firms with experience serving non-resident-owned companies.
Trademarks and patents
Registering your company name with the IGJ is not the same as registering a trademark. Trademarks and patents go through the INPI, in a separate proceeding. If your brand matters in Argentina, plan for it separately.
Nominee director or legal representative
Not a service we offer, in any form. See above for why.
Where We Work
Argentina has a separate companies registry in each province, with its own requirements, costs and timelines. We work before the IGJ (City of Buenos Aires) and the DPPJ (Province of Buenos Aires). Everything on this page refers to the City of Buenos Aires unless stated otherwise. If your operation belongs in another province, tell us and we'll be straight with you about whether we're the right firm for it.
The Next Step
To give you a useful answer instead of a generic one, we need five things. Copy these into an email or a WhatsApp message and we'll come back with a concrete structure, timeline and fixed quote — usually within one business day.
- Will the shareholders be individuals or a foreign company?
- Do you already have someone resident in Argentina for the administrator role?
- What will the company actually do — the activity or sector?
- Do you have, or will you have, a place of business in Argentina?
- Is there a deadline you're working against?
This page provides general information about Argentine law for informational purposes only. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied on for any specific transaction — laws, figures and timelines change frequently. See our Legal Notice, or contact us to discuss your particular case.