Nikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right licence scope and leads the file all the way to the SSF's authorisation, including banking and payment rails.
Get an investment license in Uruguay.
Uruguay licenses the securities trade through its central bank. The Banco Central del Uruguay, acting through its Superintendencia de Servicios Financieros, authorises intermediarios de valores - corredores de bolsa on the exchange, agentes de valores off it - under Ley 18.627 arts 94-100, registers asesores de inversión under art. 117, licenses the gestor de portafolios it created in its own Recopilación, and authorises administradoras de fondos de inversión under Ley 16.774. The intermediary's capital floor is the Superintendencia's to set, confirmed with it for each file; what the BCU prints, in Circular 2477 of 20 May 2025, is the guarantee each licensee posts in UI - the unidad indexada, Uruguay's inflation-indexed unit: UI 2,000,000 for an intermediary, UI 500,000 for a gestor, UI 250,000 for an asesor, UI 1,500,000 for a fund administrator. No statutory decision period, no published fee schedule, 3,499,451 people, IRAE at 25%.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
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in-house specialistsspecialists
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Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Uruguay in brief
A central bank's licence, a guarantee in indexed units, and no clock.
The securities law is Ley 18.627 of 2009 and the licensing authority is the central bank, acting through its Superintendencia de Servicios Financieros. Art. 94 defines the intermediario de valores - anyone who professionally and habitually intermediates between buyers and sellers of securities - in two classes: the corredor de bolsa, a member of the Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo or BEVSA, and the agente de valores, off-exchange. Art. 96 makes the SSF's authorisation the condition of acting, with requirements that may differ for own-account traders; art. 98 imposes an exclusive object, banks excepted. Art. 117 adds the asesor de inversión, who advises on public-offer securities or routes client orders to intermediaries in Uruguay or abroad, and may not hold custody without meeting an agente de valores' requirements. The gestor de portafolios, for discretionary management, is the BCU's own creation in its Recopilación, not a statutory category. Fund administrators sit under Ley 16.774 of 1996 (art. 5).
Capital is where the candour starts. The law leaves the intermediary's patrimonio mínimo to the Superintendencia (arts 97 d, 100), which sets it in its Recopilación, so we confirm the floor with it before quoting. What the BCU publishes, in Circular 2477 of 20 May 2025, is the guarantee each licensee posts in its favour, in UI - the unidad indexada, Uruguay's inflation-indexed unit: UI 2,000,000 for an intermediario de valores plus 0.05% of client portfolios above UI 1,000,000,000, UI 500,000 for a gestor de portafolios, UI 250,000 for an asesor de inversión, UI 1,500,000 for an administradora de fondos, UI 2,500,000 for a fiduciario financiero, with existing licensees given until 31 March 2027. A fund administrator's patrimonio mínimo is printed: UI 1,500,000 (RNMV art. 152, Circular 2413), UI 500,000 while it has no active fund (art. 154). No article of Ley 18.627 gives the SSF a decision period. The market is 3,499,451 people.
The Banco Central del Uruguay's SSF authorises intermediarios de valores (Ley 18.627 arts 94-100), registers asesores (art. 117), licenses gestores de portafolios and authorises fund administrators (Ley 16.774). Guarantees in UI under Circular 2477: 2,000,000 intermediary, 500,000 gestor, 250,000 asesor; AFI capital UI 1,500,000. No statutory clock.
IRAE 25%, IRNR 7% on dividends and 12% on other income; brokerage commissions exempt from the 22% IVA. 3,499,451 people (Censo 2023). Built from Montevideo.
The two builds
The asesor at UI 250,000 - or the intermediario at UI 2,000,000.
Two licences at opposite ends of the same law: the asesor de inversión advises and routes orders without custody on a UI 250,000 guarantee, with the gestor de portafolios beside it for discretionary mandates at UI 500,000; the intermediario de valores buys and sells for clients and on own account, posts UI 2,000,000, and answers to the Superintendencia for every share it issues. We fix the class first, then build once.
The asesor at UI 250,000 - or the intermediario at UI 2,000,000.
01 - ASESOR DE INVERSIÓN · GESTOR DE PORTAFOLIOS
The adviser and the portfolio manager
The asesor de inversión of Ley 18.627 art. 117 advises on public-offer securities and routes client orders to intermediaries at home or abroad, without custody; the gestor de portafolios adds discretionary management under the BCU's Recopilación. Guarantees under Circular 2477: UI 250,000 for an asesor, in a cash deposit, indexed securities or a seguro de caución valid for at least a year; UI 500,000 for a gestor, plus 0.05% of client portfolios above UI 1,000,000,000. A natural person may register as asesor (art. 117).
The asesor de inversión of Ley 18.627 art. 117 advises on public-offer securities and routes client orders to intermediaries at home or abroad, without custody; the gestor de portafolios adds discretionary management under the BCU's Recopilación. Guarantees under Circular 2477: UI 250,000 for an asesor, in a cash deposit, indexed securities or a seguro de caución valid for at least a year; UI 500,000 for a gestor, plus 0.05% of client portfolios above UI 1,000,000,000. A natural person may register as asesor (art. 117).
- ✓Advice and order routing (art. 117)
- ✓Orders may go to intermediaries abroad
- ✓Guarantee UI 250,000 - asesor
- ✓Guarantee UI 500,000 - gestor de portafolios
- ✓Natural or legal person
- ✓No custody without agente de valores status
02 - INTERMEDIARIO DE VALORES
UI 2,000,000 guaranteeThe corredor de bolsa or agente de valores
The full intermediary of arts 94-100: a corredor de bolsa admitted to the Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo, or an agente de valores off-exchange, organised as a commercial company under Ley 16.060 whose shareholders are natural persons, named as such, with the SSF authorising every issue and transfer of its shares (arts 97, 99). Guarantee UI 2,000,000 plus 0.05% of client portfolio assets above UI 1,000,000,000, locked for a year (Circular 2477); patrimonio mínimo set by the SSF and confirmed with it before filing.
Corredor de bolsa or agente de valores under arts 94-100 - natural-person shareholders, SSF consent for every share, UI 2,000,000 guarantee.
- ✓Corredor de bolsa · agente de valores (art. 94)
- ✓SSF authorisation (art. 96) · exclusive object (art. 98)
- ✓Shareholders are natural persons (art. 97)
- ✓Share issues and transfers need SSF consent (art. 99)
- ✓Guarantee UI 2,000,000 + 0.05% (Circular 2477)
- ✓Patrimonio mínimo: confirmed with the SSF
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. The BCU publishes no application or supervision fee schedule for securities-market licences, and no decision period; both are confirmed with the Superintendencia before filing.
Why Uruguay
A small market with a light adviser gate.
Uruguay sells a central-bank licence that a natural person may hold, guarantees in an indexed unit, and a flat 25% - to a market of 3.5 million.
✓
A licence a person can hold
Ley 18.627 arts 94 and 117 let natural persons act as intermediaries or asesores; an intermediary company's shareholders must themselves be natural persons (art. 97).Arts 94, 117.
✓
Orders routed abroad
An asesor may channel client orders to intermediaries radicados en el país o en el exterior (art. 117) - the legal base for an advisory house serving Uruguayan clients on foreign platforms.Art. 117 allows it.
✓
Guarantees in UI, printed
Circular 2477 of 20 May 2025: UI 250,000 asesor, UI 500,000 gestor, UI 2,000,000 intermediary, UI 1,500,000 AFI, UI 2,500,000 fiduciario - every figure in the unidad indexada, so the cover keeps pace with prices.Circular 2477, printed.
✓
25% IRAE, 7% on dividends
Texto Ordenado 2023: IRAE at 25% (Título 4 art. 23), IRNR at 7% on dividends paid by an IRAE taxpayer (Título 8 art. 18), and brokerage commissions on public and private securities exempt from the 22% IVA (Título 10 art. 38).IRAE; IRNR on dividends.
✓
The BCU decides
Art. 96 lets the Superintendencia weigh legality, expediency and convenience; art. 99 puts every share issue and transfer under its consent. One regulator, one register, one counterparty for the life of the licence.One regulator, art. 96.
✓
What the law does not print
No decision period in arts 94-100, no published fee schedule, no published intermediary capital floor, no investor-compensation scheme, no register counts. Each point is confirmed with the SSF before filing.No clock, no fee published.
How it compares
How Uruguay differs from other routes.
The honest comparison: a central-bank licence with guarantees and no clock - against Argentina's 20-business-day statute, Chile's 30 days, and Panama's dollar floors.
Uruguay vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  Uruguay | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Regime | Ley 18.627 - BCU/SSF | CNV Argentina · CMF Chile · SMV Panama |
| Capital | Guarantee UI 2M intermediary · UI 250k asesor · AFI UI 1.5M | 65,350 UVA AN Argentina · 6,000 UF Chile · B/.250,000 Panama |
| Scope | Domestic market, orders routable abroad | Domestic only - no passport |
| Timeline | No statutory period | 20 business days Argentina · 30 days Chile · no published clock Panama |
Regime
UruguayLey 18.627 - BCU/SSF
Other jurisdictionsCNV Argentina · CMF Chile · SMV Panama
Capital
UruguayGuarantee UI 2M intermediary · UI 250k asesor · AFI UI 1.5M
Other jurisdictions65,350 UVA AN Argentina · 6,000 UF Chile · B/.250,000 Panama
Scope
UruguayDomestic market, orders routable abroad
Other jurisdictionsDomestic only - no passport
Timeline
UruguayNo statutory period
Other jurisdictions20 business days Argentina · 30 days Chile · no published clock Panama
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay | BCU intermediario · asesor · gestor | 25% IRAE · 7% dividends | Guarantee UI 2M · asesor UI 250k · no clock |
 Argentina | CNV ALyC · AN · AAGI | 25% / 30% / 35% scale | 470,350 UVA ALyC · 65,350 UVA AN · 20 business days |
 Chile | CMF corredor de bolsa · AGF | 27% · 35% Adicional | 6,000 UF · 4,000 UF guarantee · 30 days |
 Panama | SMV casa de valores · asesor | 25% territorial · 10% dividends | B/.250,000 casa · B/.50,000 asesor · no clock |
UruguayLicense typeBCU intermediario · asesor · gestor
Taxation25% IRAE · 7% dividends
RequirementsGuarantee UI 2M · asesor UI 250k · no clock
ArgentinaLicense typeCNV ALyC · AN · AAGI
Taxation25% / 30% / 35% scale
Requirements470,350 UVA ALyC · 65,350 UVA AN · 20 business days
ChileLicense typeCMF corredor de bolsa · AGF
Taxation27% · 35% Adicional
Requirements6,000 UF · 4,000 UF guarantee · 30 days
PanamaLicense typeSMV casa de valores · asesor
Taxation25% territorial · 10% dividends
RequirementsB/.250,000 casa · B/.50,000 asesor · no clock
Before you apply
Requirements for the Uruguayan licence.Requirements for the licence.
Art. 97 is the list, and the SSF applies it a satisfacción de esta Institución. The checklist below is what a passing file contains - and where the figure is the Superintendencia's to give, it goes into the quote.
01
Commercial domicile - a domicilio comercial in Uruguay declared in the file (Ley 18.627 art. 97).
02
The name - corredor de bolsa or agente de valores in the company name, by class (art. 97).
03
Corporate form - a commercial company under Ley 16.060 whose shareholders or partners are natural persons (art. 97); for an AFI, a sociedad anónima with nominative or book-entry shares and exclusive object (Ley 16.774 art. 5).
04
Patrimonio mínimo - set by the Superintendencia under arts 97 d) and 100 for intermediaries and gestores, and confirmed with it; UI 1,500,000 for an AFI (RNMV art. 152), UI 500,000 while it has no active fund (art. 154).
05
Guarantee - UI 2,000,000 for an intermediary, UI 500,000 for a gestor, UI 250,000 for an asesor, UI 1,500,000 for an AFI (Circular 2477), posted in cash deposits, national public securities or exchange shares for an intermediary (an asesor may use a seguro de caución) and not substitutable within its first year.
06
Administrative structure - adequate organisation and internal controls (art. 97), with the conduct, information and prudential standards the SSF sets under art. 100.
07
Fit persons - directors and senior staff with legal capacity and no disqualifications (art. 97), measured against the aptitud, rectitud comercial y profesional standard of art. 100.
08
Shareholding control - every issue and transfer of the intermediary's shares authorised by the SSF (art. 99).
09
Custody - an asesor holding client securities meets the agente de valores requirements (art. 117); an AFI's guarantee is pledged in the BCU's favour on indexed deposits or national public securities (art. 152).
10
Exchange admission - a corredor de bolsa is admitted by the Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo as a member, on top of the SSF's authorisation.
01
Domicile in Uruguay.
02
Class in the name.
03
Natural-person shareholders.
04
Patrimonio mínimo per the SSF.
05
Guarantee in UI posted.
06
Internal controls in place.
07
Directors without disqualifications.
08
SSF consent for shares.
09
Custody rules met.
10
BVM admission for a corredor.
Reflects Ley 18.627 (as amended by Leyes 19.820 and 20.345), Ley 16.774 and the BCU's Recopilación de Normas del Mercado de Valores as amended by Circulares 2413, 2423 and 2477, as of 2026.Ley 18.627 + Ley 16.774 + RNMV (Circular 2477), as of 2026.
How it works
From first call to the BCU register.
01
Class and figure
Asesor, gestor de portafolios, intermediario or AFI - and the guarantee tier of Circular 2477 that comes with it.Guarantee tier fixed.
02
Company and people
Ley 16.060 company with natural-person shareholders, the name by class, directors and senior staff cleared.Natural-person shareholders.
03
The file
Art. 97 evidence, internal controls and the guarantee instrument - complete at filing, in Spanish.Art. 97, complete.
04
SSF review
No statutory period: art. 96 gives the Superintendencia discretion on legality, expediency and convenience; each request answered on its date.No statutory period.
05
Authorised and live
Register entry, guarantee locked for its first year, BVM membership for a corredor, accounts open.Guarantee locked, live.
Quick facts
RegulatorBCU · SSF
LawLey 18.627 (2009)
Intermediary guaranteeUI 2,000,000
Gestor guaranteeUI 500,000
Asesor guaranteeUI 250,000
AFI capitalUI 1,500,000
Statutory clockNone
Corporate tax25% IRAE
The Superintendencia keeps the figures the law delegates to it; the craft is to confirm the patrimonio mínimo and the timetable with it before drafting, and to arrive with the guarantee instrument already in UI.
On the ground in Uruguay
Run from our Montevideo office.
Prifinance - Uruguay
Montevideo · Uruguay
Montevideo, Uruguay
01
Class and figure
Asesor, gestor, intermediario or AFI - fixed in writing, with the guarantee in UI and the patrimonio mínimo confirmed with the SSF before drafting.Confirmed with the SSF.
02
The SSF file
The art. 97 list - domicile, name, company, capital, guarantee, structure, people - drafted in Spanish to the Superintendencia's standard.Drafted in Spanish.
03
People and shareholders
Natural-person shareholders, directors without disqualifications and the senior staff art. 100 measures - sourced in Montevideo.Sourced in Montevideo.
04
Guarantee and launch
The UI deposit or seguro de caución posted, BVM admission for a corredor, and bank relationships sequenced with the authorisation.Posted in UI.
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Good to know
Taxation of investment firms in Uruguay.
A flat 25%, a 7% dividend rate, and a VAT exemption written for brokers.
IRAE 25%
Texto Ordenado 2023, Título 4 art. 23: 25% on net fiscal income - one rate, no scale.Flat rate.
IRNR 7% on dividends
Título 8 art. 18: dividends paid or credited by an IRAE taxpayer 7%, other non-resident income 12%, entities in low-tax jurisdictions 25%.On dividends.
IVA 22%, brokerage exempt
Título 10 art. 34 sets the basic rate at 22% and the minimum at 10%; art. 38 exempts commissions from intervening in the purchase and sale of public and private securities (2 I) and interest on securities and bank deposits (2 A).Brokerage exempt.
No published BCU fee
The BCU publishes no application or annual supervision fee for securities-market licensees; the charge, if any, is confirmed with the Superintendencia before filing.None published.
Guarantee, not tax
The UI guarantee is an asset you keep, pledged to the BCU: cash deposits, national public securities or exchange shares, locked for its first year (Circular 2477).An asset, not a tax.
Free zones - per structure
Whether a licensed entity can use Uruguay's zona franca regime is confirmed per structure and answered in the quote, not assumed here.Per structure.
Tax summary
Corporate tax25% IRAE
Dividends to non-residents7% IRNR
IVA22% · brokerage commissions exempt
Other IRNR income12% · 25% low-tax jurisdictions
BCU supervision feeNone published
*Figures as of 2026 per Uruguayan law (Texto Ordenado 2023). Group and founder-level outcomes are modelled per structure.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: Uruguayan company, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live, licensed firm.
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Uruguay · BCU
Launch your investment firm in Uruguay with expert support.
Full-service assistance - from the Uruguayan company and the UI guarantee to the SSF file, the people, exchange admission and ongoing compliance - run through our Montevideo office.
Get a consultation →Free legal opinion
Is Uruguay the right fit for your project?
Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days
Request a free conclusion →FAQ
The Uruguayan investment licence, answered.
Who licenses an investment firm in Uruguay?+
The Banco Central del Uruguay, through its Superintendencia de Servicios Financieros: it authorises intermediarios de valores (Ley 18.627 art. 96), registers asesores de inversión (art. 117), licenses gestores de portafolios under its own Recopilación and authorises administradoras de fondos under Ley 16.774. A corredor de bolsa is also admitted by the Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo.
What is the difference between an asesor, a gestor and an intermediario?+
The asesor advises and routes orders, without custody (art. 117). The gestor de portafolios manages portfolios on a discretionary mandate - a BCU licence, not a statutory one. The intermediario de valores buys and sells for clients or on own account (art. 94), as corredor de bolsa on the exchange or agente de valores off it.
What capital is required?+
For an AFI, patrimonio mínimo UI 1,500,000 (RNMV art. 152). For intermediaries and gestores the floor is set by the Superintendencia under arts 97 and 100 in its Recopilación - we confirm it with the SSF before quoting. What is printed is the guarantee: UI 2,000,000, 500,000 and 250,000 by class.
What is a UI?+
The unidad indexada, Uruguay's inflation-indexed unit of account. Circular 2477 sets every guarantee in it and requires the deposit, securities or seguro de caución to be denominated in UI too, so the cover keeps pace with prices; the qualified-investor threshold of Circular 2423 is UI 4,000,000.
How long does authorisation take?+
Ley 18.627 sets no decision period: art. 96 leaves the Superintendencia to weigh legality, expediency and convenience. The SSF keeps its own table of processing times, so we confirm the timetable with it before filing and plan the file to answer each request on its date.
Can a foreign group own the firm?+
The law sets no nationality rule and no percentage cap. What it does require is that an intermediary's shareholders be natural persons (art. 97) and that every issue or transfer of its shares be authorised by the SSF (art. 99) - so a corporate parent needs structuring before the file, not after.
What people does the BCU require?+
Directors and senior staff with legal capacity and no disqualifications (art. 97), judged against the aptitud, rectitud comercial y profesional standard of art. 100, plus adequate structure and internal controls. Compliance-officer and residency rules sit in the BCU's Recopilación and are confirmed with the SSF before the bench is fixed.
How are Uruguayan investment firms taxed?+
IRAE at 25% on net fiscal income (Título 4 art. 23); IRNR at 7% on dividends paid to non-residents, 12% on other income, 25% for low-tax jurisdictions (Título 8 art. 18); IVA at 22%, with commissions on the purchase and sale of public and private securities exempt (Título 10 art. 38).
Uruguay or Argentina for a new firm?+
Uruguay buys a lighter gate - an asesor licence a natural person can hold, a UI 250,000 guarantee, 25% tax and 7% on dividends - into a market of 3.5 million. Argentina buys 46 million people and a 20-business-day statutory clock at 65,350 UVA. Argentina prints its timetable; Uruguay does not.
Why Prifinance for Uruguay?+
A Montevideo office for the SSF file, the guarantee posted in UI before filing, the patrimonio mínimo and the timetable confirmed with the Superintendencia rather than guessed, and the natural-person shareholding of art. 97 structured for a foreign parent from the first call.
Who licenses?+
The BCU's SSF.
Asesor vs gestor vs intermediario?+
Advises / manages / trades.
Capital?+
AFI UI 1.5M; others per SSF.
A UI?+
Uruguay's indexed unit.
How long?+
No statutory clock.
Foreign owners?+
Natural-person shareholders, art. 97.
People?+
Art. 97 and 100 standards.
Taxes?+
25% + 7% dividends.
Or Argentina?+
Lighter gate vs market.
Why you?+
Montevideo, confirmed figures.
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Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Banco Central del Uruguay or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.