Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 13. Regulation › Regulatory compliance essentials

Regulatory compliance essentials

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

Five regimes shape most Dominican compliance work: AML, consumer law, data, competition and environment, with a new Penal Code on company liability starting 5 November 2026. There is no merger filing and no general data agency. The cash limits and the waste contribution reach almost every company.

USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.9007 per US dollar, as shown on its home page on 30 October 2026, rounded to the cent.

Key facts

Company criminal liability starts	2026-11-05 dateLey 44-26 art. 31, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Merger filing	None textLey 42-08, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
General data authority	None textLey 172-13, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Companies answer criminally from 5 November 2026 unless a law changes it, and a compliance program can reduce or remove the penalty.Ley 44-26 art. 31; Ley 74-25 art. 8, art. 31; art. 8, 2026-07-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Cash limits bind everyone, at RD$400,000 for share deals and RD$1,500,000 for real estate.Resolución CONCLAFIT-2025-01, DGII Aviso 27-25, Threshold table, 2025-09-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Listed businesses must run AML programs and report to the UAF.Ley 155-17, art. 33, art. 34, art. 52, art. 55, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Entities reporting income pay a waste contribution of RD$3,000 to RD$675,000 before indexing.Ley 225-20 art. 36, as amended by Ley 98-25, art. 5 of Ley 98-25, 2025-12-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Competitor agreements and abuse are punished, but there is no merger filing.Ley 42-08, art. 5, art. 6, art. 61, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Personal data needs consent or an exception. No general authority exists.Ley 172-13, art. 5, art. 27, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Projects need environmental authorization before starting.Ley 64-00, art. 40, 2000-08-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Area	Authority	Page
Competition	ProCompetencia	regulation/cartels-and-competitor-agreements
Data	Courts; Superintendencia de Bancos for credit bureaus	regulation/personal-data-protection
AML	UAF and supervisors, DGII for non financial	regulation/anti-money-laundering
Consumers	Pro Consumidor and courts	regulation/consumer-protection
Environment	Ministry of Environment	regulation/environmental-licensing
Digital signatures	INDOTEL	regulation/e-commerce-and-electronic-signatures
IP	ONAPI; copyright registry	regulation/trademarks-patents-and-industrial-property

Who regulates what

Step by step

Week 1: check the 5 November start date and name a compliance owner.
Week 2: confirm AML status on the DGII list and register at the UAF if needed.
Week 3: fix cash rules with finance and notaries.
Month 2: run data, competition and consumer reviews.
Month 3: test training and reporting channels.

Common traps

Fines in minimum salaries use different bases: sector tariff in Ley 42-08, lowest private in Ley 172-13 and Ley 53-07, public sector in Ley 155-17.
Printed law amounts are stale for AML. Use the CONCLAFIT tables.
The company liability date may move. Check the Gaceta Oficial.
Sector regulators apply first in regulated markets.

Sources

← Medicines, food and health productsCartels and agreements between competitors →

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