Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 9. Trade and customs › Importer registration and customs brokers in the Dominican Republic: no broker needed, but a RD$10 million bond for those who are
Importer registration and customs brokers in the Dominican Republic: no broker needed, but a RD$10 million bond for those who are
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Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable
Anyone can import, but commercial importers must register with Aduanas, and an owner can clear its own goods, so a broker is optional. Licensed brokers need a bond of RD$5 million for individuals or RD$10 million for firms, adjusted for inflation. The company stays liable for duties and fines in the cases where the law excuses the broker.
USD figures use the Banco Central de la República Dominicana reference selling rate of RD$60.8594 per US dollar for 28 October 2026, the latest row in its published rate file on the verification date and the rate Aduanas lists for 29 October 2026, rounded to the cent.
Key facts
| Customs agent bond, individual | 5000000 DOPLey 168-21 art. 45, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
|---|---|
| Customs agent bond, company | 10000000 DOPLey 168-21 art. 45, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Non refundable application charge | 100000 DOPDecreto 609-24, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Listed agent license fee | 45000 DOPNorma General 01-2023, as of 2024-01-02 · in force |
| Revalidation cycle | 2 yearsLey 168-21 art. 43, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Importer registration | Required for commercial importers, not a license textDecreto 609-24 art. 4, as of 2026-10-30 · in force |
| Digital certificate for SIGA | 4000 DOPNorma General 01-2023, as of 2024-01-02 · in force |
The rule
1. Importers and exporters count as customs operators. Individuals only need their cédula or passport and companies their RNC, while other operators need a license.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 33 and art. 34, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
2. Anyone may import or export without registering, but a person who intends to do so as a business must register with Aduanas, and a special regime or a permit product has its own formalities.Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros, art. 4, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
3. A company registers with an online form plus certified corporate documents, a current Registro Mercantil certificate, active RNC, a DGII compliance certificate covering the company and holders of 10% or more, a bank reference, proof of address matching DGII and Registro Mercantil, and sworn statements on beneficial owners and on links to other registered importers.Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros, art. 4 paragraph II, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
4. Occasional importers include non commercial users, online shoppers using couriers, people moving household goods and travelers. People buying through couriers must complete the Registro Único Aduanero (RUA).Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros, art. 8, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
5. A foreign company with no Dominican presence can register as a non resident consignee for logistics operations, under conditions set in the decree and in Ley 30-24.Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros; Ley 30-24, Decreto art. 10 to 12; Ley art. 48 to 50, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
6. Those who may act before customs are the consignor, consignee, owner, importer or exporter or their authorized representatives, special customs attorneys and customs agents.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 35, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
7. A special customs attorney (apoderado especial) is an employee who clears only for the employer that holds the license, cannot represent more than one importer or exporter, and needs Aduanas approval. The employer answers for the attorney's acts.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 37, art. 38 and art. 40, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
8. A customs agent's license comes from Aduanas. An individual's license is personal and cannot be transferred, while transfer of a company license follows the regulation.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 41 and art. 44, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
9. The bond is RD$5,000,000 for an individual agent and RD$10,000,000 for a company agent, adjusted each year by CPI. If a renewal is not filed within 30 working days of expiry, Aduanas provisionally suspends the license.
Cost to do it: Bond face amount RD$5,000,000.00 (US$82,156.58) or RD$10,000,000.00 (US$164,313.15) before CPI updates. The insurer's premium is private.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 42 and art. 45, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
Cost to do it: Bond face amount RD$5,000,000.00 (US$82,156.58) or RD$10,000,000.00 (US$164,313.15) before CPI updates. The insurer's premium is private.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 42 and art. 45, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
10. Applying costs a non refundable RD$100,000, subject to inflation indexing. Applicants also need the Basic Customs Techniques course and a proficiency exam, and the guarantee is issued for one year.
Cost to do it: RD$100,000.00 (US$1,643.13), plus a listed license fee of RD$45,000.00 (US$739.41) and a transfer fee of RD$35,100.00 (US$576.74) in the 2024 fee schedule.Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros, art. 34, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
Cost to do it: RD$100,000.00 (US$1,643.13), plus a listed license fee of RD$45,000.00 (US$739.41) and a transfer fee of RD$35,100.00 (US$576.74) in the 2024 fee schedule.Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros, art. 34, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
11. Agents and special attorneys must revalidate their knowledge every 2 years.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 43, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
12. The mandate from the owner to the agent must be filed in original, by authentic act or registered private signature. A declaration filed by an agent is presumed made with the consignee's consent.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 46 and art. 47, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
13. Agents answer for duties and for fines caused by their own acts, but not where the importer gave false data they could not detect, where a preference rests on a retained origin certificate, or in listed value cases. In those cases the principal pays.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 48, art. 49 and art. 50, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
14. Other operators need a license or registration, including transport agents, consolidators, freight agents, depositaries, couriers and logistics operators. Depositaries must be companies established in the territory.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas; Decreto 609-24, Reglamento de Operadores Aduaneros, Ley art. 33, 55, 59, 63 and 66, 2024-10-21 official text · verified 2026-10-30
15. Operators must report company changes and changes of legal representative within 10 working days of Registro Mercantil filing, and report linked or delinked staff in the same term. Failing this is a customs fault.Ley 168-21 de Aduanas, art. 51 numeral 5 and art. 373 numerals 14 and 15, 2021-08-09 official text · verified 2026-10-30
Worked example
- A distributor with an RNC clears through an outside agent. The agent carries a RD$10,000,000.00 (US$164,313.15) bond, but if the distributor's invoice understated the value and the agent could not see it, the duty and fine fall on the distributor.
- A logistics group hiring its own in house attorney pays no third party fee but needs one attorney per importer of record and a guarantee, since art. 39 requires the license holder to post one.
Step by step
- Get the RNC and Registro Mercantil in order, then file the importer or exporter registration with the art. 4 documents through the Aduanas general services.
- Buy the digital certificate and link your users in SIGA.
- Choose between your own employee as special attorney or an outside licensed agent.
- Sign the mandate in the required form and file the original.
- Report any change of company data or staff within 10 working days.
Common traps
- Giving a broker wrong data moves the bill to you, since art. 50 excuses the broker and art. 48 paragraph I hits the principal.
- Read literally, art. 38 limits each special attorney to one importer or exporter, so do not plan on one attorney serving a whole group.
- The bond and application amounts are indexed, so the printed figures may be below current amounts.
- Decreto 609-24 repealed Resolución 111-2018, so older broker requirement lists are out of date.
Sources
Related pages
- trade/importing-and-exporting
- trade/customs-penalties-and-smuggling
- trade/authorized-economic-operator
- entities/choosing-an-entity
- /country/dominican-republic/
- /calendar/
- Live dashboard
Related: Dominican Republic country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide
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