Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 1. Start here › Who regulates what in the Dominican Republic: a map of agencies for investors
Who regulates what in the Dominican Republic: a map of agencies for investors
Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable
DGII runs internal taxes, Aduanas the border, the Banco Central and Junta Monetaria money and FX, and the chambers of commerce the Registro Mercantil. ProDominicana registers foreign investment, TSS collects social security and the Ministerio de Trabajo runs labor. Sector bodies cover securities, insurance, energy, telecoms, mining and the environment, each created by its own law, listed here with the article.
Key facts
| Tax authority | DGII textLey 227-06, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
|---|---|
| Customs authority | Dirección General de Aduanas textLey 168-21, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Central bank | Banco Central de la República Dominicana textLey 183-02 art. 15, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Banking supervisor | Superintendencia de Bancos textLey 183-02 art. 18, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Securities supervisor | Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores textLey 249-17 art. 6, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Competition authority | ProCompetencia textLey 42-08 art. 16, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Consumer authority | Pro Consumidor textLey 358-05 art. 5, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Foreign investment registry | ProDominicana textLey 98-03 art. 9, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Company registry | Chambers of commerce, Registro Mercantil textLey 3-02, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Social security collector | Tesorería de la Seguridad Social textLey 87-01 art. 28, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
The rule
1. Ministerio de Hacienda y Economía: Fiscal and economic policy, public finances, planning. Merged the finance and economy ministries in 2025.Ley 45-25, Promulgated 22 July 2025, 2025-07-22 official text · verified 2026-10-30
2. DGII: Internal taxes, RNC, e-CF, beneficial owner data. Issues general norms and interprets tax law.Ley 227-06; Ley 11-92 art. 34 and art. 35, As cited in Norma General 04-2026, 2026-10-28 official text · verified 2026-10-30
3. Dirección General de Aduanas: Customs, import and export, operators. Applies the customs law and collects at the border.Ley 168-21, Whole law, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
4. Junta Monetaria: Monetary and financial regulation. Sets regulation, including the exchange regulation.Ley 183-02, art. 9, 2002-11-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
5. Banco Central: Monetary policy execution, reference rate, consumer price index. Executes Junta Monetaria policy and publishes the rate.Ley 183-02, art. 15, 2002-11-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
6. Superintendencia de Bancos: Banks and financial intermediaries, exchange agents. Supervises the financial sector.Ley 183-02, art. 18 and art. 19, 2002-11-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
7. Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores: Securities market and issuers. Autonomous regulator of the securities market.Ley 249-17, art. 6, 2017-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-30
8. Superintendencia de Seguros: Insurers and bonding. Decentralized body that licenses insurers.Ley 146-02, art. 1 definition and art. 208, 2002-09-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
9. Unidad de Análisis Financiero: Financial intelligence. Receives reports and supports the Ministerio Público.Ley 155-17, art. 91, 2017-06-01 official text · verified 2026-10-30
10. ProDominicana (created as CEI-RD): Export and investment promotion, foreign investment registry. Took the investment registry from the Banco Central.Ley 98-03; Decreto 214-04, art. 9; art. 2 and art. 3, 2003-06-17 official text · verified 2026-10-30
11. Consejo Nacional de Zonas Francas de Exportación: Free zone permits. Public and private board that authorizes operators.Ley 8-90, art. 20, 1990-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30
12. Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Mipymes: Industry, trade, free zones policy and Mipymes. Also indexes Mipyme thresholds.Ley 37-17, art. 1 and art. 2, as cited in Resolución 079-2025, 2017-02-03 official text · verified 2026-10-30
13. Cámaras de Comercio y Producción: Registro Mercantil. Each chamber runs the registry and sets its fees.Ley 3-02, art. 3, art. 7 and art. 8, 2002-01-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30
14. ONAPI: Trademarks, trade names, patents. Runs the industrial property registers.Ley 20-00, art. 138, 2000-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-30
15. ProCompetencia: Competition. Commission for the defence of competition.Ley 42-08, art. 16 and art. 17, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30
16. Pro Consumidor: Consumer protection. Decentralized consumer protection institute.Ley 358-05, art. 5, 2005 official text · verified 2026-10-30
17. Ministerio de Trabajo: Labor administration and inspection. Top labor authority, with SIRLA registration.Ley 16-92, art. 420, 1992-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-30
18. Consejo Nacional de Seguridad Social: Social security policy. Directs the system.Ley 87-01, art. 22, 2001-05-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
19. Tesorería de la Seguridad Social: Contribution collection, employer registration in SUIR. Collects and distributes contributions.Ley 87-01, art. 28, 2001-05-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
20. SIPEN and SISALRIL: Pensions; health and occupational risk. Supervisors of the insurance branches.Ley 87-01, art. 107; art. 175 and art. 176, 2001-05-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
21. Dirección General de Migración: Entry and stay of foreigners. Applies migration rules.Ley 285-04, art. 6, 2004-08-15 official text · verified 2026-10-30
22. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente: Environmental permits and licences. Created as a State secretariat. Projects listed need an environmental permit or licence.Ley 64-00, art. 17, art. 40 and art. 43, 2000-08-18 official text · verified 2026-10-30
23. Ministerio de Energía y Minas; Dirección General de Minería: Mining and hydrocarbons policy. Ministry leads the sector, and the directorate handles concessions.Ley 100-13; Ley 146-71, EITI page; art. 150, 2013-07-30 official text · verified 2026-10-30
24. Superintendencia de Electricidad: Electricity regulation and tariffs. Relates to the Executive through the Comisión Nacional de Energía.Ley 125-01, art. 8, 2001-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30
25. INDOTEL: Telecommunications. Autonomous regulator with national reach.Ley 153-98, art. 76, 1998-05-27 official text · verified 2026-10-30
26. Jurisdicción Inmobiliaria: Land titles and registry. Exclusive competence over real property rights and their registration, with exceptions such as foreclosure.Ley 108-05, art. 1 and art. 3, 2005-03-23 official text · verified 2026-10-30
27. Dirección General de Contrataciones Públicas: Public procurement. Sets implementation rules for the new law.Ley 47-25, Resolución PNP-01-2026, 2026-01-28 official text · verified 2026-10-30
| If you want to | Go to | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Form a company | Chamber of commerce, then DGII | entities/setup-costs-and-timeline |
| Register foreign capital | ProDominicana | fx/foreign-investment-registration |
| Hire staff | Ministerio de Trabajo and TSS | labor/employing-people |
| Bring in foreign staff | Ministerio de Trabajo and Dirección General de Migración | labor/foreign-workers-and-quotas |
| Import or export | Aduanas | trade/importer-registration-and-customs-brokers |
| Set up in a free zone | Consejo Nacional de Zonas Francas | trade/free-zones |
| Protect a brand | ONAPI | entities/setup-costs-and-timeline |
| Handle a consumer complaint | Pro Consumidor and courts | disputes/consumer-claims |
Which agency do I need?
Worked example
- A foreign manufacturer setting up in a free zone deals with the chamber for the Registro Mercantil, DGII for the RNC, the Consejo Nacional de Zonas Francas for the operating permit and foreign investment registry route, Medio Ambiente if the project needs a permit, Aduanas for goods, and the Ministerio de Trabajo and TSS for staff.
Step by step
- Find your activity in the table.
- Check for a sector regulator before signing a lease or contract.
- Read the sector law, since Ley 16-95 art. 5 keeps sector limits in place.
- Confirm the current agency name, as older laws use former names.
Common traps
- Older laws name bodies that have since changed. Secretarías are now Ministerios, CEI-RD is now ProDominicana and Ley 45-25 merged two ministries.
- Ley 155-17 attaches the UAF to the Ministerio de Hacienda, now the Ministerio de Hacienda y Economía.
- The chamber depends on the domicile, and each one sets its own fees.
- Foreclosure on real property stays with ordinary courts, not the land jurisdiction (Ley 108-05 art. 3 paragraph I).
Sources
- Ley 45-25
- Ley 227-06; Ley 11-92 art. 34 and art. 35
- Ley 168-21
- Ley 183-02
- Ley 249-17
- Ley 146-02
- Ley 155-17
- Ley 98-03; Decreto 214-04
- Ley 8-90
- Ley 37-17
- Ley 3-02
- Ley 20-00
- Ley 42-08
- Ley 358-05
- Ley 16-92
- Ley 87-01
- Ley 285-04
- Ley 64-00
- Ley 100-13; Ley 146-71
- Ley 125-01
- Ley 153-98
- Ley 108-05
- Ley 47-25
- ProDominicana investment guide
Related pages
- start/start-here
- start/first-90-days
- entities/setup-costs-and-timeline
- labor/employing-people
- trade/importer-registration-and-customs-brokers
- disputes/courts-arbitration-and-enforcement
- start/glossary
- /country/dominican-republic/
- /calendar/
- Live dashboard
Related: Dominican Republic country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X
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