What Peruvian law already gives you

Adhesion contracts and unfair terms in Peru: do I have to comply with everything I signed?

Not always. If you signed a consumer contract you could not negotiate, Peru's Consumer Code makes abusive clauses unenforceable: terms that, against good faith, put you at a disadvantage or cancel your rights. Some are always abusive (article 50), others depending on the case (article 51). The rest of the contract still stands.

Belongings stolen or damaged at a restaurant in Peru: is the restaurant liable?

Often, yes. The Civil Code extends the hotel liability rules to restaurants: if the restaurant took your coat or bag into its custody, it answers as a depositary, including for what its staff do. You must report the loss as soon as you notice it. A "we are not responsible" sign does not erase that liability.

Bumped from a flight in Peru? What the airline owes you, and what not to sign

If you're denied boarding against your will because of overbooking, Andean Community Decisión 619 requires the airline to compensate, refund and assist you: the next flight with space, assistance while you wait, a minimum compensation of 25% of the value of the missed leg, in cash if you want it, and information on your rights, preferably in writing.

Can a bar, club or shop in Peru refuse you entry under "right of admission"?

Only for objective reasons — the safety of the premises, the peace of other customers or similar grounds — and only if the rule was posted before you tried to buy. Refusing entry or treating you differently because of origin, race, sex, language, religion, opinion, economic condition "or any other kind" is prohibited and is also a crime.

Can a business in Peru charge you more for paying by card than in cash?

Only if it told you before you paid, prominently, visibly and accessibly, inside the premises. Article 7 of the Consumer Code allows a different price by payment method, but a «5% más con tarjeta» that first appears at the till is not enforceable.

Can a delivery app in Peru pre-select a tip for you by default?

No. A tip that comes ticked by default is a coercive commercial method under article 56.1(b) of the Consumer Code and collides with the information duty in article 2.2. Indecopi has sanctioned both Rappi and PedidosYa for it: the first was ordered to ask you whether you want to tip, the second to strip every pre-selected option out of the app.

A close relative died: how many days of paid bereavement leave do private-sector workers get in Peru?

If you work in Peru's private sector and your spouse, a parent, a child or a sibling dies, Ley 31602 gives you five calendar days of paid leave. If the death happens somewhere else, you get extra travel days on top.

Bonuses, CTS and vacation in Peru: when and how much

Two bonuses a year, one month's pay each, in the first half of July and December, plus an extra payment equal to the EsSalud contribution; CTS deposited in the first 15 days of May and November; 30 days' holiday per year. In micro and small enterprises registered in REMYPE these benefits are smaller.

Child labor in Peru: minimum ages and required authorization

In Peru, an adolescent can generally start working at 14 (12 in exceptional cases), but the work needs authorization from both the parents/guardians and the competent authority, unless it's unpaid family work.

Collective layoffs for economic reasons in Peru: what your employer must do before dismissing you

If your employer wants to end your contract for economic, technological, or structural reasons together with other workers', the law only allows it when it affects 10% or more of the staff, and requires a formal process before the Labor Ministry with negotiation, a technical audit, and fixed deadlines — a simple notice isn't enough. If the layoff goes through, you're entitled to your CTS severance pay within 48 hours and a one-year preference right to get your job back.

Commissions and variable pay in Peru: when they're owed, and how they count toward your CTS, bonus and vacation pay

If you earn commissions, piecework pay, or other imprecise main pay, the law includes it in your CTS, your statutory bonus, and your vacation pay using the same formula: the average of what you earned in the relevant six-month period, or the daily average if you worked less than six months. For a complementary bonus or commission — not your main pay — it just needs to have been received in at least three of the last six months to count as regular. What doesn't count is what your employer pays you occasionally, as a discretionary gift, outside your usual pay structure.

Does your employer in Peru have to give you a work certificate when you leave?

Yes. When your employment contract ends, your employer must give you, within 48 hours, a certificate stating, among other things, how long you worked there and what kind of work you did. An assessment of your conduct or performance goes in only if you ask. If you don't get it, you can report it to Sunafil.

ARCO Rights in Peru: Access, Rectification, Cancellation and Objection to Your Personal Data

Peru's Law N.° 29733 gives you six rights over your personal data: information, access, rectification/cancellation, blocking its transfer, opposition, and objective treatment. Anyone who handles your data must respond within 8, 10 or 20 business days depending on the right, free of charge. If they refuse or don't respond, you can complain to the National Personal Data Protection Authority (ANPD) or go straight to court via a habeas data action.

Can a building, gym or hotel in Peru keep your ID card?

For the DNI, no: the law expressly forbids anyone to seize or retain it. For the carné de extranjería there is no equivalent general written ban; that they can't keep it either is our reading of the Migraciones rules, which ask you to show it, not hand it over.

Can a hotel, bank or phone company ask for a copy of your DNI?

They can ask to see it and record its details; no rule we reviewed makes banks, phone companies, notaries or hotels keep a copy of a customer's DNI (except a tax rule for non-domiciled guests), and the data authority has fined 11 companies, at least 13 times, for photographing it when showing was enough, though no blanket ban exists.

Can a public office in Peru demand a photocopy of your DNI?

No: since 2016 Decreto Legislativo 1246 bars public bodies from demanding a «copia del Documento Nacional de Identidad» in a procedure, though they may ask you to show it; the ban does not reach banks, notaries or private businesses, but the data authority has fined 11 companies, 13 times or more, for photographing it when showing it was enough.

Changing your name in Peru: requirements, effects, and who can challenge it

In Peru, no one can change their name or surnames just by wanting to: the Civil Code requires a justified reason plus judicial authorization, which must also be published and registered. The change doesn't alter your civil status or prove filiation, and if it harms someone, that person can challenge it in court.

Emergency care in Peru: can a clinic refuse you if you cannot pay up front?

They treat you first and bill you afterwards. No health facility in Peru, public or private, may make emergency care conditional on you producing a document or on signing a *pagaré*, a *letra de cambio* or any other means of payment. And only a doctor decides what counts as an emergency — not the admissions desk.

Can you disinherit a child in Peru?

Only by will, and only for one of the grounds listed in the Civil Code, stated clearly in the will. A disinheritance with no stated cause, on a ground the law does not list, or subject to a condition, is void. Not getting along, or leaving the child out of the will, is not enough.

Child custody and visitation rights in Peru

Since Law 31590 (2022), shared custody (tenencia compartida) is the first legal option when parents are separated: both share parenting unless that isn't possible or would harm the child. The old rule that a child under three stays with the mother no longer exists. If parents don't agree, the judge must grant shared custody as the first option and can only exceptionally give exclusive custody to one parent.

De facto unions in Peru: how to get legal recognition and what rights it gives

Under Article 326 of the Civil Code, cohabitation between a man and a woman free of any marriage impediment, kept up for at least two continuous years, itself creates a shared-property arrangement under the community-property regime: the text does not require a prior procedure for that. Recognition by a notary (Law 29560, from 2010) or a judge, and registration with the Personal Registry, serve to prove the union and are what Law 30007 requires for inheritance rights. A notary can recognize it if no one objects within 15 days; if someone objects, the case goes to the courts.

Divorce in Peru: mutual consent vs. fault-based

If both spouses agree, have no unresolved minor children (or have a final judgment or conciliation record on their parental authority, support, custody and visitation), and have no pending marital property to divide, they can separate at a municipality or notary's office within weeks and request the divorce two months later. If there's no agreement, the only option is to sue based on a specific legal ground — such as abandonment, violence, or two years of de facto separation — and that process is judicial and longer.

Do You Inherit Debt in Peru? The Beneficio de Inventario, Explained

No. Peruvian law automatically caps what an heir must pay toward the deceased's debts at the value of the assets they actually inherited (Article 661 of the Civil Code) — you don't need to file for any separate procedure to get that protection. But if you hide estate assets or fake debts to harm creditors, you lose that protection and become personally liable (Article 662).

Does an unmarried partner inherit in Peru?

Yes, but only if the unión de hecho meets article 326 of the Civil Code, was in force at the moment of death, and is registered with Registros Públicos or recognised by a court. On those conditions the partner inherits like a spouse. Without them, the partner inherits nothing by law.

Can I open a bank account in Peru without a carné de extranjería?

For a cuenta básica, yes: since 16 June 2025 the SBS rule lets you open one with an identity card, passport or another legally recognised document, not only the carné de extranjería. For regular accounts each bank sets its own requirements, and if you are refused or badly treated you can complain — the bank has 15 business days to answer.

Cancellation of migratory status in Peru: when it applies and how it connects to expulsion

Migraciones can cancel your migratory status (your authorized stay or residence) on five grounds: at your own request, due to death or a court declaration of death or absence, due to naturalization, due to a change of migratory status, or as a result of a mandatory departure or expulsion sanction already resolved through a sanctioning procedure. If you hold residence status and leave the country for more than 183 consecutive days (365 if you hold Permanent residence), you can also lose it, unless you obtained authorization for a justified absence beforehand.

Digital nomads in Peru: can you work remotely for a foreign employer on a tourist visa?

Peruvian law created a 'digital nomad' immigration status in 2023 for foreigners who work as employees, in a subordinate relationship, for an employer domiciled outside Peru, without generating Peru-source income. But the regulation that would make it operative had not been published when we checked, in September 2026, and the status could not be applied for. Meanwhile, tourist status expressly bans any paid activity, and staying more than 183 days can make you a tax resident before SUNAT.

Family reunification in Peru: how to get residency for your spouse, children or parents

A Peruvian citizen or a foreign resident asks Migraciones, through family reunification, for the Family Resident immigration status on behalf of the members of their núcleo familiar (family core) defined in Article 38 of Decreto Legislativo 1350, as worded by Decreto Legislativo 1582: a spouse or common-law partner; the couple's children who are minors, unmarried and studying up to age 28, or unmarried with a proven disability (no age limit); children of only one of the two if they are minors or have a proven disability; and «el ascendiente de la pareja» (the couple's ascendant). Since 2023 the law no longer names the spouse's or partner's parents (in-laws) separately. If the family member is outside Peru, the application costs S/ 58.80 (code 07567); if they are already in the country, the change of immigration status costs S/ 161.40 (code 07568). Either way, Migraciones answers within 30 business days, and — per the official procedure cards, which we did not re-check against Legislative Decree 1582 for this category — the residency lasts 2 years if the resident is Peruvian or 1 year if they are a foreign resident, renewable.

Rentier and investor status in Peru: the requirements and minimum amounts for residency

Rentier status requires a permanent pension or income — at least US$1,000 a month if it comes from abroad — and does not allow you to work. Investor status requires proving an investment of at least S/500,000 and only lets you act as your company's Gerente (Manager) or Director. Both are requested from outside Peru or, once you're already in the country, as a change of immigration status.

What fines and sanctions can Migraciones impose on me in Peru?

Three: a fine, salida obligatoria (compulsory departure, with a re-entry ban of up to 5 years) and expulsión (up to 15 years). The fine amounts are in article 190 of the regulation and are percentages of the UIT: 0.1% per day of overstay, 1% per month without updating your carné, 10% for working outside your migratory status. No sanction is ever applied to children or adolescents.

Building declaration, internal regulations and unit subdivision in Peru: what order do they go in?

First the municipality issues the conformidad de obra y declaratoria de edificación. Then the declaratoria de fábrica is registered at Sunarp. Only after that is the reglamento interno registered, and that registration splits each unit into its own registry file; the parent file keeps the common areas.

Buying a home in Peru: how arras (earnest money) work and when you actually own it

You become the owner of a home in Peru the moment you take on the obligation to buy it — usually when you sign the sale contract or the minuta — not when you register it with Sunarp; registration only protects you against third parties, it isn't what makes you the owner. If you paid confirmatory earnest money (arras confirmatorias) and the seller breaches, you can demand double that amount back; if you paid withdrawal earnest money (arras de retractación) on a preliminary contract and you're the one who backs out, you simply lose it.

Buying a home in Peru: what to check before you sign, pre-construction or already built

If you're buying from someone who sells real estate habitually — a developer, builder, or promoter — you're not only protected by the Civil Code: the Consumer Protection Code (Law N.° 29571) also applies, requiring the seller to give you specific information before you sign (different depending on whether you're buying pre-construction or an already-built unit), to draft a contract with mandatory minimum content, and to answer for structural defects for at least 10 years. If the property or the seller don't deliver what was agreed, you have five ways to complain: the Complaints Book, Indecopi's Reclama Virtual, the Real Estate Client Ombudsman, an administrative complaint to Indecopi, or consumer arbitration.

Buying a Techo Propio home from a developer in Peru: what to check before you sign

Under Techo Propio's new-home track (Adquisición de Vivienda Nueva), you can only buy from a developer whose project is in the Fondo MIVIVIENDA's Registro de Proyectos. Before signing, confirm that registration, that the price is under the current cap, that the contract states price, grant, savings and loan, and how your savings are recorded.

Can a developer in Peru change the project after you sign?

Not on its own say-so. The contract binds both sides, and what the developer offered in its advertising and brochures binds it too, even if the contract leaves it out. A clause letting it change the project at will can be an unfair term. Municipal approval of the change does not release it from what it promised you.

Can a developer in Peru mortgage the land your home is being built on?

Yes. The landowner may mortgage the land, and the mortgage extends to the property's integral parts. It is indivisible: your unit stays encumbered even after you pay for it, and only the lender can release it. Check the land's registry entry before signing and get a contract term requiring your unit to be handed over free of that mortgage.

A Peruvian government office refused my procedure or asked for something not in its TUPA: what can I do?

A public body may only require what its TUPA lists. If it refuses your procedure or asks for more, get the answer in writing, file your request at the mesa de partes, use the Libro de Reclamaciones or a complaint about procedural defects, and go to Indecopi or the Defensoría del Pueblo.

Access to public information in Peru: deadlines, what the State can withhold, and how to appeal

Anyone can request information from any Peruvian government entity without saying why they want it. The entity has ten (10) business days to respond; if it doesn't, the request is treated as denied (negative silence) and you can appeal to the Transparency and Access to Public Information Tribunal within fifteen (15) calendar days. The State can only withhold information classified as secret, reserved, or confidential, and you can only be charged the cost of reproduction.

Can a restaurant or shop put tables, awnings or goods on the sidewalk in Peru?

The sidewalk is public road: Peruvian law treats it as property for public use. The municipality regulates and sanctions its use through its own ordinances. It can hold or remove anything occupying the sidewalk in breach of its rules, and any resident can report it in writing.

Court costs and attorney fees in a Peruvian civil case: who pays for the lawsuit?

As a rule, whoever loses the case reimburses the winner for court costs (costas: court fees and other case expenses) and attorney fees (costos: the winner's lawyer), even if nobody asked for them in the lawsuit. The judge can exempt the loser with stated reasons. Special rules apply if you accept the claim in time, settle without agreeing on costs, or receive legal aid.

Default in a Peruvian civil case: what happens if you don't answer the lawsuit?

If you do not answer the lawsuit in time, the judge declares you in default (rebeldía): the case continues without you and the facts in the claim are presumed true, although that presumption is rebuttable and has exceptions. You can join the case at any point, but in whatever stage it has reached: deadlines that passed do not come back.

Digital Signature and Digital Certificate in Peru: Which Procedures Are Really 100% Virtual?

Your digital signature legally counts the same as your handwritten signature — but that doesn't make every procedure virtual. Law N.º 27269 and its Regulation say expressly that this validity "does not exclude compliance with the specific formalities" certain acts require, including notarial certification. That's why the procedures that are genuinely 100% virtual today are the ones that only need your digital certificate (activated on your electronic ID, the DNIe) and the electronic filing of already-notarized documents with the public registry (SID-SUNARP). What is not yet virtual is the act of executing the notarial instrument itself: signing a public deed by video call remains a legislative proposal, not current law.

Can a clinic hold you for not paying? The 'carta de garantía' trap and your rights

No. No health facility in Peru can detain you, hold your body or a deceased relative's body, or condition emergency care, to force payment while your insurer delays the 'carta de garantía' (guarantee letter): Article 70 of the Health Facilities Regulation bans it in absolute terms — 'terminantemente' (utterly forbidden). What they can do is bill you or pursue payment afterward, through normal channels.

Can a family member stay with you while you are in hospital in Peru?

No general law guarantees you a companion for your whole hospital stay. At EsSalud, a September 2026 resolution orders the insurer to regulate companionship by a close relative or a person you choose. For exams and surgery you can authorise someone to be present, if the doctor approves and you pay the costs.

Can a hospital in Peru move you to another hospital in an emergency without your consent, and who pays for the transfer?

If a facility cannot handle your emergency, it must stabilise you and refer you at once to a higher-level facility. You must be told why, and cannot be moved without your consent, unless there is a justified reason. The facility answers for your safety in transit and can bill your insurer if the transfer is covered.

Can I refuse treatment or leave hospital against medical advice in Peru?

Yes. As an adult you can refuse to start or continue a treatment, and you can decide to leave the hospital or clinic. The doctor must explain the consequences, and your decision is recorded in writing with your signature, which releases the doctor and the facility from liability. The exception: an emergency, or a risk to public health.

Can you be admitted for mental health care in Peru without your consent? Admission, rights and discharge under Ley 30947

As a rule, no. Peru's Mental Health Law requires your informed consent and treats hospitalization as an exceptional measure. The only exception is a psychiatric emergency in which you cannot express your will: your chosen support person signs or a court is asked to appoint one, and the order expires after 12 hours, up to 72.

Can you smoke or vape in a restaurant in Peru?

No, if the space has a roof and two or more walls: Ley N.º 32159 declares that a 100% smoke-free environment, and the ban covers both smoking and vaping. The place must post a visible sign saying so, and enforcement is split between the municipality and Minsa.

Bank account garnishment for debt in Peru: a judge orders it for private debt, and some income is protected

For a private debt (a loan, a credit card, a commercial debt), a bank or a private creditor cannot freeze your account on their own — only a judge can order that, through a garnishment-by-retention that forces the bank to hold the money and deposit it to the court's order (article 657 of the Code of Civil Procedure). That is not true of every debt: for a tax debt (for example, owed to Sunat), an administrative collector (ejecutor coactivo) can order that same retention without going through a judge (article 118 of the Tax Code); for municipal taxes (property tax, municipal fees) the same no-judge retention is in article 33(d) of Law 26979 on coercive enforcement. In both cases, your salary and pension are protected up to 5 Unidades de Referencia Procesal, and only a third of the excess can be garnished — unless the debt is child support, where up to 60% of your total income can be taken.

Can creditors seize your CTS, AFP fund, or pension in Peru?

Your CTS (severance savings) and the funds accumulated in your AFP (private pension fund) are, as a general rule, protected from garnishment. Your CTS can only be garnished up to 50% when the debt is child or spousal support (Article 37 of D.S. N° 001-97-TR); your AFP fund is protected without that exception appearing in the text of the law that protects it (Article 20 of D.S. N° 054-97-EF). Once you start collecting a monthly pension, different rules apply: the general income-garnishment regime kicks in, protecting up to 5 Procedural Reference Units, with the cap widened to 60% for support debts.

Credit life insurance (desgravamen), insurance tied to a loan, and refinancing vs. rescheduling in Peru: what is the difference?

If a bank requires insurance for a loan, you can bring your own policy and endorse it to the bank, as long as it meets the conditions the bank disclosed; for credit life insurance, the endorsement carries no fee. Refinancing means changing term or amount because you struggle to pay, and it drops a Normal rating a step.

Fourth- and fifth-category income tax in Peru: the difference between freelance and payroll work

Fourth-category income is independent work (recibos por honorarios) and fifth-category is dependent, payroll employment; each is withheld differently (a flat 8% for fourth category, a twelfth of the estimated annual tax each month for fifth), but both share a fixed 7 UIT annual deduction that, combined with the automatic 20% deduction on fourth-category income, means many freelancers and modest-income employees end up owing no income tax at all.

Income tax when selling an inherited property in Peru: why your cost basis can be zero

Since August 1, 2012, the cost basis (costo computable) of an inherited property is zero by default — not the property's value at the time you inherited it. You can only use a higher cost basis (and pay less tax) if you can reliably prove what the deceased person originally paid for it. If you inherited before that date, a different, more favorable rule applies: the property-tax self-assessed value (autoavalúo). The effective tax rate on the gain is 5%, and it can be zero entirely if the property qualifies as your primary residence (casa habitación).

Insurance claim denied or ignored in Peru: what deadlines does the insurer have and what can you do?

Without a loss adjuster, the insurer has 30 days from your complete documents to accept or deny your claim. If it stays silent, the claim counts as accepted and it must pay within 30 more days. A denial needs written reasons and documents. You prove the loss; the insurer proves why it need not pay.

Animal cruelty: how to report it in Peru

Animal cruelty and abandonment are a crime in Peru: up to 3 years in prison, or 3 to 5 years if the animal dies, under article 206-A of the Criminal Code. Anyone can report it — not just the owner — to the municipality, the police, or the prosecutor's office, and the administrative and criminal tracks run at the same time.

Can a restaurant, shop or bus in Peru refuse your pet? What about a guide dog?

For an ordinary pet, we found no Peruvian rule that forces a business or a transport operator to accept it: they can restrict entry for objective reasons, announced in advance. A guide dog registered with Conadis is different: the law requires entry, with no extra charge.

Dog bites: the owner's liability in Peru

In Peru a dog owner is liable for a bite even without negligence — liability is strict. If the injury is serious, Ley N.° 27596 also requires the owner to cover hospitalization, medication and reconstructive surgery until you fully recover, on top of a separate damages claim.

Pet custody after a separation in Peru: who keeps the dog or the cat?

Peruvian law has no rules on custody, visitation or support for pets. The Civil Code treats a pet as property: if you bought it during the marriage it is usually shared marital property to be divided, and if it belonged to one of you before, it stays theirs. Ley 30407 calls animals sentient beings, but only for applying that law.

Can a building or a landlord ban pets in Peru?

It depends on when the rule was set and what kind of ban it is: an owners' association can ban pets in the building's internal regulations, but can't apply that ban to you if you already had the pet before the rule was adopted; a landlord can validly include a no-pets clause in a rental contract.

For businesses and MYPEs

Free tools, the complaints-book checklist and the pages that concern a business, grouped by topic.

The site's fines, as CSV and JSON

Every fine we cover, with its range in UIT and soles, the authority and the norm that sets it. CC BY 4.0 licence.

Indecopi fines Edunastours Nasca and its manager 455 UIT over a fatal dune-buggy crash in the Usaka dunes

The Commission of Indecopi's Ica Regional Office sanctioned Edunastours Nasca E.I.R.L. and its manager, at first instance, with a total fine of 455 UIT (S/2,502,500) over a dune-buggy crash in the Usaka dunes, Nasca, in which a foreign tourist died and four other people were injured.

455 UIT — S/ 2,502,500

Indecopi fines a Chachapoyas private school S/105,270 on first instance for improper charges and steering uniform purchases

The Commission of Indecopi's San Martín Regional Office fined Empresa Educativa Grupo Horna S.A.C. 19.14 UIT for charges that are not allowed, late-payment interest above the legal limit, and steering the purchase of textbooks and uniforms. The school can appeal.

19.14 UIT — S/ 105,270

Indecopi fines Móvil Bus S/75,790 for hiding its fares and printing tickets in illegible type

Indecopi upheld a fine against the bus company Móvil Bus for not displaying its price list and for printing tickets with text below the legal minimum size.

13.78 UIT — S/ 75,790