Beneficial Ownership Rules in El Salvador

Who is a beneficial owner

Under Article 15 of Decree No. 426, the beneficial owner of a company is the individual who owns or controls, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of its capital or voting rights, or who controls its management by other means. Owners of 25% or more of a company listed on a stock exchange that publishes its information do not have to be identified.¹

Who collects the information

• Obliged firms: banks and other financial institutions, real estate agents, casinos, dealers in precious metals and stones, digital asset and bitcoin service providers, and lawyers, notaries, accountants and auditors when they set up or manage companies for clients.
• Records: obliged firms keep customer and transaction records for at least 15 years.
• Ministry of Finance: every January, all taxpayers update their shareholder and partner information on form F-915 (Article 124 of the Tax Code).
• Registry of Commerce: holds the founding shareholders from the deed. For a S.A.S., reporting later changes of ownership to the registry is not mandatory.

Source: Special Law against Money Laundering, Decree No. 426 of 7 October 2025 (Judicial Documentation Centre, PDF, in Spanish); OECD Global Forum: El Salvador peer review, second round, 2026^1,2

The OECD Global Forum found in April 2026 that obliged firms are the only source of beneficial ownership information, so it is available only where a company has a relationship with one of them. Bearer shares were abolished in 2021, with a deadline of October 2022 to convert them.²

What reviewers say

• OECD Global Forum, April 2026: rated El Salvador Largely Compliant on transparency and exchange of tax information, and recommended that adequate, accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information be available for all companies.
• IMF, 2025: the IMF programme included a commitment to legislate the submission of beneficial ownership information by all legal persons.
• IMF, October 2026: the Fund noted progress on AML/CFT reforms and listed beneficial ownership transparency among the areas that still need attention.

Source: OECD Global Forum: El Salvador peer review, second round, 2026; IMF: El Salvador 2025 Article IV consultation and EFF review; IMF: Executive Board concludes second and third reviews under the EFF, October 2026^2,3,4

What to prepare

• An ownership chart that traces every shareholder to the individuals who own or control 25% or more.
• ID documents for those individuals and for the directors and legal representative.
• The shareholder list for the yearly F-915 report, kept up to date when shares change hands.

Source: Special Law against Money Laundering, Decree No. 426 of 7 October 2025 (Judicial Documentation Centre, PDF, in Spanish); OECD Global Forum: El Salvador peer review, second round, 2026; Banco Agrícola: small and medium businesses^1,2,5