How do I get a RUC and a Clave SOL as an individual in Peru?

Who needs a RUC

The RUC (Registro Único de Contribuyentes, the taxpayer register) is an 11-digit number that identifies you to SUNAT, Peru’s tax authority. The official gob.pe page says you must register if you are going to start a professional activity or trade on your own, start your own business, rent out your house, flat or other property, or pay tax on the sale of shares, real estate and similar assets.

The same page warns that SUNAT can also register you on its own initiative (de oficio), without you asking.

This is not tax advice. This page explains the procedure. It does not tell you which regime to choose or how much tax you will pay.

Online with a DNI

If you have a DNI (the Peruvian national ID), you can do the whole procedure from home:

1. Open SUNAT Virtual, enter your DNI and say why you need the RUC.
2. The system takes you to a QR code that you scan with the App Personas SUNAT.
3. On your phone you verify your fingerprints.
4. You enter your details and create your Clave SOL.
5. SUNAT emails you the confirmation.

You can also do everything inside the App Personas SUNAT, under «Inscríbete en el RUC». In that case your start date of activities is the same as the registration date.

Foreigners: in person, with the right document

The online route asks for a DNI. For the in-person procedure, SUNAT’s page accepts these documents:

• DNI
• Carné de extranjería (foreign resident card)
• Identity card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Carné de Permiso Temporal de Permanencia (CPP)
• Passport with an immigration status that allows earning Peruvian-source income

The passport is on the list only with that condition. It follows that a passport with tourist status is not among the accepted documents. The page does not say this in those words. If you do not have your card yet, see how to get a carné de extranjería.

At the SUNAT service centre (Centro de Servicios al Contribuyente) you also hand in Form 2119. If someone else does the procedure for you, they need a letter of authorisation (carta poder) with your signature certified by a notary or by a SUNAT officer (fedatario).

The Clave SOL: how to get it and how to recover it

The Clave SOL is your username and password for SUNAT Operaciones en Línea, SUNAT’s online system. According to the gob.pe page, you use it to pay and file your returns and to do other procedures online.

• Online: you create it at the end of the RUC registration.
• In person: you ask for it at the same service centre once the registration is done.
• If you forgot it: go to «¿Te olvidaste tu usuario o clave?», choose recovery through your secret question, enter your RUC and answer. SUNAT sends a link to the email in your RUC record, valid for 48 hours. If you never set a secret question, use the option to recover the key through authentication questions.

The regimes, one paragraph each

We do not recommend any of them. This is how SUNAT describes them.

Fourth-category income (recibo por honorarios). This covers self-employed people who charge for professional services or a trade. When you register you enter your profession or trade code. Since 1 April 2017, recibos por honorarios are issued only electronically. If your clients are abroad, see remote work for a foreign company.

Nuevo Régimen Único Simplificado (NRUS). Only for individuals. SUNAT presents it for small businesses such as a corner shop, a market stall, a hair salon or a small restaurant that issue sales receipts (boletas de venta).

Régimen Especial de Renta (RER). For individuals with a business and for companies whose income comes from trade, industry or services.

Régimen MYPE Tributario (RMT). Created for micro and small businesses, with simpler conditions to meet their tax obligations.

The RUC page also mentions the Régimen General, which SUNAT’s regimes page describes as aimed at medium and large businesses.

Your tax address: set it and keep it current

Article 11 of the Tax Code (Código Tributario) says that anyone who must register has the duty to «set and change» their tax address (domicilio fiscal) under SUNAT’s rules. In the online registration the starting point is the address on your DNI. If you declare a different one, SUNAT may check it later. In person, you prove it with a utility bill or another document.

Numeral 5 of article 173 makes it an infringement not to give SUNAT your registration details, change of address or record updates in the form and time SUNAT sets. We do not state the fine for that numeral here.

The fine for not registering

Numeral 1 of article 173 of the Tax Code penalises not registering with SUNAT. The fine depends on which table applies to you:

All three tables list seizure (comiso) or temporary impoundment of the vehicle as an alternative. We do not cover the reductions that may apply. To understand the unit, see what the UIT is.

If you are told to get a RUC for a job with fixed hours

Some employers ask workers to get a RUC and issue recibos por honorarios even though they work set hours and take orders. That is a different problem, with different rules. We explain it in disguised employment in Peru.