How to Get Puerto Rico Merchant Registration in SURI

The Certificado de Registro de Comerciantes (Merchant Registration Certificate) is the registration that the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury Department, "Hacienda") requires of every business that sells goods or provides services in Puerto Rico. It is your entry point to the IVU (sales and use tax). Without this registration, you cannot file the monthly IVU return, you cannot request the Reseller Certificate and, according to the Código de Rentas Internas (Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico) of 2011 itself, no government entity should issue you a license to operate.

This guide explains who needs it, how to apply in SURI (Sistema Unificado de Rentas Internas, Hacienda's online system), what changed in 2026 and what happens if you do not keep it up to date.

Who needs the registration

Section 4060.01 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that any person who wishes to do business in Puerto Rico as a merchant must submit an Application for Merchant Registration Certificate. "Person" includes individuals, corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs). In practice, this covers:

• Stores, grocery stores (colmados), restaurants and sellers of items subject to IVU.
• Service providers, including those who provide services to other businesses (so-called B2B services) and designated professional services, such as attorneys, certified public accountants, engineers, architects and real estate brokers. Hacienda has a specific option in SURI for these professionals to update their registration.
• Importers who bring merchandise to the island.
• Exhibitors at fairs and conventions who sell at retail. An exhibitor whose agreement prohibits sales does not have to register, and one who sells only at wholesale must obtain the buyer's exemption certificate, according to Section 4060.04.

You apply for each business location, listing the people with an interest in the business and where they live, the main office and every location where sales are made.

If you are an individual who is not a merchant and only occasionally imports something for personal use, Hacienda has a separate registration in SURI for declaring those imports. You do not need the Merchant Registration Certificate for that.

When you should apply

The law is clear: the application must be submitted before you start operating (Section 4060.01(b)). Do not wait for your first sale or for the municipality to ask for the certificate for your patente municipal (municipal license tax). Ideally, apply as soon as you have:

1. The business identification number: your Social Security number if you operate as an individual, or an employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS if you are an entity or will have employees. The IRS no longer uses the old Form SS-4PR. You now apply with Form SS-4.
2. The physical address of each location.
3. The date you will start operating and a description of your activities.
4. Information about the owners, partners or officers.

How to apply in SURI

Registration is done only electronically in SURI (suri.hacienda.pr.gov). The general process is:

1. Create your SURI login, as an individual or on behalf of the entity.
2. On Hacienda's Registro de Comerciante (merchant registration) page, choose Registrarse por primera vez (register for the first time). This option is for people who have never registered.
3. Complete the application with information about the owners, the main office, each location and your activities.
4. Submit it and save the confirmation. Once it is approved, you can print the certificate from your account.

From SURI you can also add locations or activities and look up your merchant registration number and the PIN for your main location.

What changed on July 1, 2026

Carta Circular (Circular Letter) de Rentas Internas Núm. 26-13 integrated the municipal IVU into SURI for 73 municipalities. As part of that change, since July 1, 2026, each merchant's IVU account appears split in two:

• Ventas y Uso – Estatal (Sales and Use – State): this is the main account. From here you file the monthly return, pay the state IVU and update your merchant registration, including adding, correcting or closing locations.
• Ventas y Uso – Municipal (Sales and Use – Municipal): this account is used only to pay the municipal IVU that comes from the return.

New registrations made on or after that date get both accounts automatically. This makes it more important than ever to have each location registered with its correct address. SURI assigns the municipal IVU to each municipality based on the address in your registration. If you open a second location and do not register it, the system will not be able to assign that municipality's sales correctly. Read more in our guide to the monthly IVU return.

After you get the certificate

Display it. Section 4060.02 requires the certificate to be visible to the public at all times at each place of business for which it was issued.

Sign up for the fiscal monitoring program. According to Hacienda, once you receive the certificate you should call (787) 200-7900, option 4, for the IVU Fiscal Monitoring Program (Programa de Supervisión Fiscal del IVU) and answer the questionnaire that determines whether you have to install a fiscal terminal. This does not apply to temporary businesses or exhibitors.

Request the Reseller Certificate if you resell. If you buy merchandise to resell it, the Certificado de Revendedor y de Exención del IVU Municipal (Reseller and Municipal IVU Exemption Certificate) is requested in SURI. It lets you buy inventory free of the 1% municipal IVU and claim credits on the return. We explain it in the IVU guide.

Meet your other obligations. Merchant registration is only one part. You will also have the municipal license tax, and if you have employees, employer obligations.

Keep your documents. Sections 4060.06 and 4060.07 require you to keep in Puerto Rico, for at least six years, the invoices, receipts, shipping documents, exemption certificates and other evidence of your sales and the IVU you collected.

Changes, theft and closing: the 30-day deadline

Section 4060.01(e) requires every merchant to notify Hacienda, no later than 30 days after the event, of:

• any change or amendment to the information in the application (address, owners, activities, locations);
• the theft of the certificate;
• a total or partial cessation of operations.

In addition, the certificate cannot be sold, assigned or transferred to another person without Hacienda's authorization. If you buy an ongoing business, the new owner must get their own registration.

Fines for not complying

Section 6043.03 of the Code sets these penalties:

These penalties are in addition to any IVU, interest and surcharges owed.

When you close the business

If you stop operating, report the closing in SURI within 30 days and close the locations that are no longer active. Before you do, make sure you file the last monthly IVU return and pay any balance, because IVU debts appear on Hacienda's Debt Certification. We explain the full process in how to close a business.

If you need proof that you are in good standing, for example for a loan or a contract, see our guide to Hacienda and CRIM certifications. For a broader overview in English, read our guide to doing business in Puerto Rico.

787TAX is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the CRIM or the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Example figures are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.