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Prices in UF and debts in foreign currency

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Abroad, a long contract is priced in a currency and adjusted by an inflation clause; in Chile the market prices leases, loans and property in the Unidad de Fomento (UF), a unit that moves daily with inflation. Between parties that are not banks or other mass lenders, any form of readjustment may be agreed freely, and courts liquidate UF debts in pesos at the readjusted value. Debts written in US dollars are valid but, unless the law or the Central Bank authorises payment in that currency, are paid in pesos at a bank selling rate, with no extra readjustment allowed.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (CVE 2891564). UF amounts use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026 and UTM amounts the SII value of CLP 72,151 for October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Unidad de Fomento (UF) value	41221.08 CLPLey Nº 18.010, art. 3 and art. 25, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Central Bank US dollar exchange rate (Diario Oficial)	986.58 CLP per USDDiario Oficial CVE 2891564, rate under Cap. I of the Compendio de Normas de Cambios Internacionales, as of 2026-10-23 · in force
Foreign currency obligations between residents	Valid; paid in pesos at the bank selling rate of the payment day unless law or the Central Bank authorises payment in the currency textLey Nº 18.010, art. 20, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Free indexation between non bank parties	Yes, any form of readjustment may be agreed textLey Nº 18.010, art. 3, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. In money credit operations in Chilean currency where no party is a bank, family allowance fund, insurer, savings and credit cooperative or other mass lender, the parties may freely agree any form of readjustment. If they chose a Central Bank authorised readjustment system and it is later repealed or changed, existing contracts keep the agreed system unless the parties substitute it.
Cost to do it: No fee. The economic cost is that a UF price rises with inflation every day.
Example: A 5 year office lease at 100 UF a month costs CLP 4,122,108 at the UF value for 26 October 2026, and adjusts automatically as the UF moves. / About US$4,178 a month at CLP 986.58.Ley Nº 18.010 on money credit operations, Art. 3, 1981-06-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. In a court claim for any readjustable money debt, payment is made in pesos, liquidating the debt on that date at the value of the capital readjusted by the agreed index or the UF; in executive proceedings no prior valuation is needed.
Cost to do it: Standard court costs; no valuation expert is required for a UF debt.
Example: A tenant owes 300 UF of unpaid rent. The landlord sues for 300 UF and is paid the peso value on the payment date, CLP 12,366,324 at today's UF. / About US$12,535, with the peso amount growing with inflation until payment.Ley Nº 18.010, Art. 25, 1981-06-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Obligations expressed in a foreign currency are paid with their equivalent in Chilean pesos at the bank selling rate of the payment day; for overdue obligations the rate of the due date applies if it is higher. Where payment in foreign currency is authorised by law or by the Central Bank, the creditor may demand the agreed currency. A certificate from a local bank for the day the claim is filed, or any of the ten preceding days, proves the rate in court, and the court issues the enforcement order for the peso equivalent.
Cost to do it: Bank certificate of the selling rate for court claims; no other fee.
Example: A Chilean distributor owes a local supplier US$50,000 due on 1 October and pays late on 26 October. It pays pesos at the bank selling rate of 26 October, or of 1 October if that rate was higher. / On US$50,000, each CLP 10 move in the rate changes the peso amount by CLP 500,000, about US$507.Ley Nº 18.010, Art. 20, art. 21 and art. 22, 1981-06-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. In obligations expressed in foreign currency but payable in Chilean pesos, no form of readjustment may be agreed other than the one they carry implicitly, that is, the exchange rate itself. A clause adding UF or CPI indexation on top of a US dollar amount is therefore not valid.
Cost to do it: No fee; the risk is losing an indexation clause.
Example: A supply contract priced at US$10,000 a month, payable in pesos, cannot also add a Chilean inflation adjustment; the parties must choose either the US dollar or the UF as the indexing unit. / At CLP 986.58 the monthly price is about CLP 9,865,800, moving only with the exchange rate.Ley Nº 18.010, Art. 24, 1981-06-27 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Pricing unit	Monthly amount today	What moves it	Rule
100 UF	CLP 4,122,108 (about US$4,178)	Chilean inflation through the daily UF	Ley 18.010 art. 3, 25
US$4,178	CLP 4,121,931 at today's rate	Exchange rate on the payment day; no extra indexation	Ley 18.010 art. 20, 24
CLP 4,122,108 fixed	CLP 4,122,108	Nothing unless a readjustment clause is agreed	Ley 18.010 art. 3

How a 100 unit monthly price behaves under each pricing choice (CLP at 986.58 per US dollar; UF at CLP 41,221.08).

Worked example

A foreign group signs a warehouse lease in Santiago at 250 UF a month: CLP 10,305,270 today (about US$10,445).
If it instead signs at US$10,000 a month payable in pesos, the peso cost follows the exchange rate and no UF clause can be added on top.
If rent goes unpaid and is collected in court, the claim is for the UF amount, liquidated in pesos on the payment date.

Step by step

Decide the indexing unit before negotiating: UF for local cost bases, US dollars for import linked or export priced contracts.
For US dollar contracts between residents, specify the bank or source of the selling rate and the date used for conversion, consistent with Ley 18.010 art. 20.
Check whether payment in foreign currency is authorised by law or Central Bank rules if the creditor needs actual dollars.
Load the daily UF value from the SII into billing and accounting systems.
In court claims, attach a local bank certificate of the selling rate for the filing date or one of the ten prior days.

Common traps

Adding a UF or CPI clause on top of a US dollar price payable in pesos is not valid under art. 24.
A late debtor pays at the higher of the due date and payment date selling rates, so delay never helps the debtor on a foreign currency debt.
Banks and other mass lenders cannot rely on the free indexation rule of art. 3; their readjustment systems follow Central Bank rules.
UF prices rise even when the peso strengthens, so a UF lease can become more expensive in US dollar terms on two fronts.

Sources

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