Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › What is normal abroad but works differently in the Dominican Republic

What is normal abroad but works differently in the Dominican Republic

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Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Changing

The Dominican Republic is an open market with free rates and free currency choice in contracts, but many everyday habits from abroad work differently, and each has a price or a deadline. Every company needs two owners unless the owner is a natural person using an E.I.R.L., and a protected distributor cannot be dropped without just cause. Staff get a Christmas salary and a share of profit, payments need bank proof and a fiscal receipt, and bank payments carry 0.2%.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar for 29 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Banco Central reference selling rate, 29 October 2026	60.9007 DOP per USDBanco Central reference rate file, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Contracts in foreign currency	Valid, debts are paid in the agreed currency Ley 183-02 art. 24, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Interest rate ceiling	None Ley 183-02 art. 24, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Commercial registry renewal	2 yearsLey 3-02 art. 12, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Rates are free and a money debt is paid in the agreed currency, though the peso is the only legal tender and official accounts are in pesos.Ley 183-02 Monetaria y Financiera, art. 24, 2002-11-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Unlike many markets, a concession grantor cannot end or refuse to renew a protected relationship except for just cause.Ley 173 of 1966, as quoted in Suprema Corte de Justicia, sentencia núm. 14, art. 2, 2006-09-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Companies need two or more owners, and only a natural person can hold an E.I.R.L.Ley 479-08 as amended by Ley 31-11, art. 89, art. 369-1 and art. 450, 2011-02-08 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Registered businesses renew their commercial registration every two years from first registration.Ley 3-02 sobre Registro Mercantil, art. 12, 2002-01-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. An employer can end an indefinite contract without stating a cause, by giving notice and paying cesantía, due within ten days.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 75, art. 80 and art. 86, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Workers get a Christmas salary of one twelfth of the year's ordinary pay by 20 December, and companies share 10% of net profit with indefinite staff.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 219, art. 220 and art. 223, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. At least 80% of workers and of pay must be Dominican, subject to exceptions.Ley 16-92, Código de Trabajo, art. 135, art. 136 and art. 138, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Payments above RD$50,000 need bank means as well as fiscal receipts to have tax effect.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, art. 287 paragraph I, 2012-11-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Each check and transfer payment bears a tax of 0.2%.Ley 11-92, Código Tributario, as restated by Ley 30-26 art. 40, art. 382, 2026-06-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Rate raised from 0.15% to 0.2% from 3 July 2026.

10. Large local and medium taxpayers issue only e-CF from 1 November 2026.Ley 32-23; DGII notice 17-26, art. 55 of Reglamento 587-24, 2026-10-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30 · changed: Type B sequences lapse on 31 October 2026 for this group.

Topic	Often abroad	Dominican Republic	Page
Ending a distributor	Non renewal is free on expiry	Just cause needed for a protected concession; US suppliers can stay out	normal-abroad/distributor-protection-law-173
One owner subsidiary	Common	S.R.L., S.A. and S.A.S. need two owners; E.I.R.L. is for natural persons	normal-abroad/two-owner-minimum
Statutory auditor	Often not needed in small companies	Every S.A. has a comisario de cuentas	normal-abroad/comisario-de-cuentas
Dividends	Solvency test	5% to legal reserve until 10% of capital; audited statements	normal-abroad/legal-reserve-before-dividends
Dismissal	Notice only at will	Allowed with notice and 21 or 23 days a year of cesantía	normal-abroad/dismissal-with-notice-and-cesantia
Fixed term hiring	Free	Presumed indefinite; three lawful cases	normal-abroad/contracts-presumed-indefinite
Year end bonus	Discretionary	One twelfth of annual pay by 20 December	normal-abroad/christmas-salary-thirteenth-month
Profit sharing	Voluntary	10% of net profit, capped at 45 or 60 days per person	normal-abroad/mandatory-profit-sharing
Working week	40 to 48 hours	44 hours, ending Saturday noon	normal-abroad/working-hours-and-overtime
Foreign staff	Free once visas are in order	80% Dominican by head count and by pay	normal-abroad/dominican-staff-quota
Minimum wage	One national figure	Four sizes plus sector tariffs	normal-abroad/minimum-wage-by-company-size
Invoices	Any invoice supports a cost	Fiscal receipt with DGII number; e-CF by phases	normal-abroad/fiscal-receipts-and-e-cf
Cash	Normal	Above RD$50,000 loses tax effect; banned above art. 64 limits	normal-abroad/cash-payments-lose-tax-effect
Bank transfers	No tax	0.2% on checks and transfer payments	normal-abroad/bank-payment-tax
Loss years	No income tax	1% asset tax as a minimum	normal-abroad/asset-tax-as-minimum-tax
Tax losses	Long or open ended	Five years, 20% a year, use it or lose it	normal-abroad/loss-carryforward-in-fixed-slices
Paying local freelancers	Gross	15% withheld on fees and on rent to individuals	normal-abroad/withholding-on-local-payments
Leases	Term ends on the date	Renews by default; 90 or 180 days bailiff notice	normal-abroad/lease-rules-after-ley-85-25
Interest	Cap or legal rate	Free rates; no statutory legal interest	normal-abroad/no-interest-rate-ceiling
Returns	Shop policy	Legal guarantee; seven working day trial in distance sales	normal-abroad/consumer-warranty-and-withdrawal-rights
Buying land	Deed and insurance	Right arises on registration; deslinde for constancias	normal-abroad/registered-title-and-deslinde

Common habits abroad and the Dominican rule. Abroad column is a general contrast, not a statement about any one country.

Worked example

A foreign company opens a 25 person sales office. It sets up an S.R.L. with two group holders, keeps at least 20 Dominican staff, budgets one month of pay for the Christmas salary, plans up to 45 days of pay per person of profit share, pays all suppliers above RD$50,000 (US$821.01) by bank against fiscal receipts, and adds 0.2% to payment runs.

Step by step

Read the row that matches your plan, then its page.
Build the labor items into the first year budget.
Set the two owner structure before filing.
Set payment rules on day one: bank, fiscal receipt, withholding.
Review distributor and lease contracts before signing.

Common traps

Advice from before 2025 on leases and before June 2026 on tax is often stale.
Rules that seem friendly to the investor, such as dismissal without a stated cause, still have a set cost.
This page is a summary and not legal advice.

Sources

← Leaving a free zone: closure, sale and asset removalEnding a distributor: Ley 173 of 1966 →

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