Dominican legal glossary: the terms foreign clients meet most

Dominican legal practice has its own vocabulary, and most of it does not translate cleanly. Foreign clients spend their first weeks encountering acronyms that everyone around them treats as obvious. This glossary collects the terms that come up most, grouped by what they are rather than by alphabet.

The institutions

• DGII — Dirección General de Impuestos Internos, the tax authority. Issues the RNC, receives monthly and annual filings, and administers property tax.
• ONAPI — Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial. Registers trade names, trademarks, patents and industrial designs.
• ONDA — Oficina Nacional de Derecho de Autor. Records copyright in creative works and software.
• Registro de Títulos — the land registry. Under the Torrens system, ownership is what this registry says it is.
• Jurisdicción Inmobiliaria / Tribunal de Tierras — the specialised real property courts, which rule on matters such as a deslinde.
• Cámara de Comercio — the Chamber of Commerce, which maintains the Registro Mercantil where companies are legally born and renewed.
• DIGEMAPS — the Ministry of Public Health directorate controlling sanitary registration of food, cosmetics, supplements, pharmaceuticals and devices.
• CNZFE — the national free zones council, which grants free zone licences under Law 8-90.
• ProDominicana — the export and investment agency, which registers foreign investment under Law 16-95.
• Migración — the Directorate General of Migration, which processes residency after consular visa issuance.
• TSS — Tesorería de la Seguridad Social, through which employers fund health, pension and occupational-risk contributions.
• Banco Central — the Central Bank, relevant to distributors and agents through registration under Law 173.

The documents

• RNC — Registro Nacional de Contribuyentes, the company or taxpayer identification number. It is required for tax operation, but invoicing authorisation, employer onboarding and bank KYC are separate steps. See registering a company.
• Cédula — the national identity document. Banks, notaries, utilities and the vehicle registry ask for this, not your passport.
• Certificado de Título — the certificate of title evidencing ownership of registered land.
• NCF / e-CF — the fiscal receipt numbering that makes an invoice valid for tax purposes, now migrating to the electronic e-CF under Law 32-23.
• Apostilla — the Hague certificate authenticating a foreign public document for use here. See apostilles and legalization.
• Intérprete judicial — the judicial interpreter whose certified translation official bodies accept.
• Estatutos — the company bylaws, filed and public, as distinct from a private shareholders’ agreement.

The concepts

• ITBIS — the value-added tax, currently 18%, filed monthly with the 606 and 607 formats. See the ITBIS guide.
• IPI — Impuesto al Patrimonio Inmobiliario, with different statutory bases: individuals are generally assessed on their aggregate taxable portfolio above the annual exemption, while trusts are assessed on total taxable property under the current DGII method. See IPI.
• Anticipos — advance payments of corporate income tax spread through the year.
• Deslinde — the cadastral and registry process used when a qualifying unindividualized right must be surveyed and registered as a separate parcel; not every property described as “without deslinde” has the same registry position. See deslinde.
• CONFOTUR — a tourism incentive classification under Law 158-01 that may support specific tax treatment; the resolution, project, unit, buyer, transaction and current DGII treatment must be verified.
• Zona franca — the free zone regime under Law 8-90 for export-oriented operations. See CNZFE applications.
• Prestaciones laborales — statutory severance accruing to employees, and a liability a buyer inherits in a share purchase. See M&A diligence.
• Comisario de cuentas — the statutory auditor an SA must appoint, and one of the cost differences from an SRL.
• Primer solicitante — first-to-file: filing priority is important, subject to statutory earlier-right, prior-use, well-known-sign and bad-faith grounds.
• Pensionado / rentista — the Law 171-07 residency categories for people supported by foreign pension or passive income. See choosing a route.

Company formation and governance

• Registro Mercantil — the public Mercantile Registry maintained by the competent Cámara de Comercio y Producción. Registration gives a commercial company legal personality, and the certificate follows a two-year renewal cycle. See Commercial Registry renewal.
• Acta constitutiva — the founding record through which the initial owners approve incorporation, capital, bylaws, appointments and other first decisions.
• Cuotas sociales — ownership units in an SRL. They are not freely traded shares; the law, bylaws and approvals govern a transfer. See SRL formation.
• Acciones — shares representing ownership in an SAS or SA, subject to the applicable company law, bylaws and any shareholders' agreement.
• Gerente — a manager authorized to administer and represent an SRL or another entity within the powers stated in law, the bylaws and owner decisions.
• Asamblea general ordinaria — the ordinary owners' meeting that addresses annual accounts and recurring company decisions. The required mechanics depend on the entity and its documents.
• Beneficiario final — the natural person who ultimately owns, controls or benefits from a structure under the applicable identification and reporting rules. It is not necessarily the person who signs.
• Domicilio social — the company's registered domicile. It helps determine the competent Chamber and where formal notices and records connect to the entity.
• Capital autorizado — the maximum share capital an SAS or SA is authorized to issue under its constitutive documents, subject to the governing statute and registered amendments.
• Capital suscrito y pagado — the portion of capital owners have committed and actually paid in accordance with the entity's rules. It is distinct from the authorized ceiling.
• Persona jurídica — a legal person separate from its owners once validly created. Separate personality does not excuse owners, managers or beneficial owners from their own duties.
• SRL — sociedad de responsabilidad limitada, a closely held limited-liability company whose ownership is divided into cuotas sociales. See the SRL service guide.
• SAS — sociedad anónima simplificada, a share company designed for flexible private governance within its statutory framework. See SAS formation.
• SA — sociedad anónima, the more formal Dominican share company with statutory capital and governance requirements. See SA formation.
• EIRL — empresa individual de responsabilidad limitada, an individual limited-liability enterprise formed by one natural person. See EIRL formation.
• Poder de representación — a power of attorney authorizing another person to carry out stated acts. A limited power should identify the transaction and authority rather than rely on vague, unlimited wording. See powers of attorney.

Transactions, property and succession

• Certificación de estado jurídico — a Registro de Títulos certification reporting the registered legal status of a property at issuance, including relevant rights, liens or annotations. See property due diligence.
• Promesa de venta — the binding promise or preliminary sale agreement that sets price, conditions, deposits, evidence, default rules and the path to the definitive transfer.
• Fideicomiso — a trust arrangement under Law 189-11 in which assets form a separate patrimony for a defined lawful purpose. It is a structure, not an automatic guarantee. See real-estate trusts.
• Fiduciaria — the authorized fiduciary entity that administers trust assets and obligations under the constitutive act and its regulatory perimeter.
• Reserva hereditaria — the protected share of an estate that Dominican succession law reserves for specified heirs when that law governs. Cross-border cases require conflict-of-laws analysis rather than a universal assumption.
• Debida diligencia — due diligence: the structured review of title, parties, authority, contracts, debts, permits, taxes and other facts before assuming a legal or economic risk.
• KYC — “know your customer,” the bank or regulated party's review of identity, ownership, beneficial owners, business purpose, source of funds and risk. Company registration does not guarantee KYC approval.
• Aporte en naturaleza — a non-cash contribution, such as property or equipment, made to an entity's capital. Valuation, title, approvals and transfer taxes require separate analysis.
• Retención — tax withholding: an amount a legally obligated payer must retain and remit to the DGII from a qualifying payment. The payer, recipient and payment type control the rule.
• Exención — a statutory release from a particular tax or duty when every condition is met and evidenced. An exemption from one item does not erase unrelated taxes, professional fees or third-party costs.

The laws you will hear cited

479-08 commercial companies · 16-95 foreign investment · 11-92 the Tax Code · 108-05 real property registry · 20-00 industrial property · 65-00 copyright · 8-90 free zones · 158-01 tourism incentives · 57-07 renewable energy · 171-07 pensioner and rentier incentives · 285-04 migration · 87-01 social security · 155-17 anti-money laundering · 32-23 electronic invoicing · 173 protection of import agents.

If a term you have met is not here, ask us — scoping a question is free, and it is usually faster than searching for a translation that does not exist.

Frequently asked questions

What is an RNC and why do I need one?

The Registro Nacional de Contribuyentes is the tax identification number issued by the DGII. Until it exists, a company cannot invoice, hire formally or open a corporate bank account, so it is the final step of incorporation.

What is the difference between a cedula and a residency card?

The residency card evidences immigration status, while the cedula is the national identity document that banks, notaries, utilities and registries actually ask to see. They run on parallel clocks and are renewed together in practice.

What does first-to-file mean for trademarks?

Filing priority is important, but first-to-file is not absolute. Law 20-00 recognises specified earlier-use, better-right, trade-name, well-known-sign and bad-faith grounds; file early without assuming registration priority resolves every prior claim.

What is CONFOTUR?

A tourism incentive classification under Law 158-01 that may support specific tax treatment. The project label alone does not establish an exemption: verify the complete resolution and amendments, seller, parcel, phase, unit, transfer type, effective dates, buyer structure, Law 30-26 and current DGII treatment.