Schmidt & Schmidt provides extracts from the commercial register of Venezuela with a translation and legalization.

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a sovereign state in the northern part of South America. It is a federal presidential republic. Local currency is the Venezuelan bolívar. Official language is Spanish. Venezuela is a member of the United Nations, Organisation of American States, UNASUR, Mercosur, and OPEC.

Venezuela has got a mixed economy largely based on the petroleum sector. Petroleum accounts for about 95% of total exports of Venezuela. The country has got an abundance of natural resources, including natural gas. Oil and gas sector take up about 25% of the country’s GDP.

Nowadays Venezuela is going through a serious economic and political crisis that turned into open civil conflict. This implies economic depression, lack of basic goods, and hyperinflation; as well as sharp increase in hunger, crime, unemployment, and poverty. By the end of 2017, Venezuela defaulted on its debt, and the country seems to spiral into a fully-fledged humanitarian crisis. Different sides of the civil conflict have different opinions on the cause of the crisis – some blame the government for inadequate policies and corruption. According to Transparency International, Venezuela is one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Such developments led to the number of businesses reduced by three quarters.

Business activities in Venezuela are regulated by the 1942 Civil Code, 1955 Commercial Code, and other relevant laws.

Main types of businesses in Venezuela

• Sociedad Anonima – joint-stock company (corporation)
• Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada – limited liability company

There are also branches and permanent establishments of foreign companies, and individual entrepreneurs.

Commercial register of Venezuela is managed by the Autonomous Service of Registries and Notaries (Servicio Autónomo de Registros y Notarías – SAREN). This is an organisation within the Ministry of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace of Venezuela.

Contents of the register

Main extract available from the business register of Venezuela is a company profile. It comes in the Spanish language and contains information about a company, relevant at the moment of the request.

• Full legal name (and former names)
• Registration number and date
• ID number
• Type of business
• Legal address
• Current status (active/inactive)
• Main activities
• Registered capital
• Owners, key management, shareholders
• Contact details

NB: Information about some companies may be unavailable.

Other available documents

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Financial statements
• Credit reports

Search in the register is not free of charge. Search results are sent to you within 7-14 days after request submission.

To get a required document, we will need the following information about a company:

• Full legal name
• Registration number

An extract from the business register of Venezuela can be used in order to:

• Obtain detailed information about potential business partners
• Negotiate foreign trade agreements
• Register legal entities with foreign participation
• Apply for a work visa
• File legal claims

Apostille for extracts from Venezuela

Venezuela acceded to the The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents on 1 July 1998.

Therefore, the documents issued in Venezuela are subject to a simplified apostilling procedure, thus the documents gain full legal value in Convention member states after notarised translation.

In addition, you can order notarised translation from Spanish.

We provide extracts from the register in strict compliance with the legislation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Inquiries are processed within one working day. Courier delivery of apostilled documents is paid separately by courier service tariffs.

You can order free preliminary availability check of required information on our website.