Procedures for Establishing a Panama Foundation - International Relocation Firm

Procedures for Establishing a Panama Foundation

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO US PERSONS: International Relocation Firm does not offer Panama Private Interest Foundations to US persons (citizens or residents of the US).

To form a Panama Private Interest Foundation, the first step is to Contact Us to explain your business needs.

The procedure to form a Panama Foundation, is generally as follows:

1. Contact Us. Explain your business needs, goals and objectives, and our lawyers can provide valuable feedback and recommendations on what is best suited for your needs. We will provide a formal quotation and services agreements as well as payment instructions to proceed.

2. Complete the required forms.  Our attorneys will assist you in completing all the required forms and agreements to form a Panama Private Interest Foundation.

3. Selecting the Name(s): On the application, you should indicate three name choices for each new Panama Private Interest Foundation.

Panama Foundations names can be in any language and must include the word “Foundation” within the name (in any language):

English spelling: Foundation
Spanish spelling: Fundación
For example, typical names for Panama Foundations could be: “Reef Foundation”, “Latin Educational Foundation”, or “Fundación Familia Lopez”.

Once you have returned the application including the name(s) for your entity, we will check to see if the names you selected are available in the Panamanian Public Registry. The first available name selections will be incorporated once we have received payment.

4. Directors: On the application, you should indicate who you want to appoint as council members. Every Panama Private Interest Foundation requires 3 council members/officers (President, Secretary and Treasurer). The council members/officers can be either individuals or entities.

If you are appointed as council member, then your name will be publicly registered since the directors names and identifications must be presented in the Panama public registry when the entity is formed. Generally, the only documentation on public record is the deed (or foundation charter) and the names of the council members/officers and Panama Registered Agent (the registered agent is the Panama attorney or attorneys that form the entity).

We offer our clients the optional service of using our “Panama Nominee council” for their Panama Private Interest Foundation. For purposes of convenience, some of our clients prefer that we provide nominees for their entities. When we appoint Panamanian nominees for the entities that we establish for our clients, we always provide our clients with pre-signed, undated letters of resignation from the directors so that our client can replace those directors at any time.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO US PERSONS: We DO NOT provide Nominee Services to US Persons (citizens or residents of the U.S.).

Otherwise, if clients prefer to appoint their own directors, they simply complete our order form with the names of the directors that they wish to use (they also must send us a photocopy of their directors passports and a signed authorization letter from each director to be appointed as a director).

5. Beneficiaries: When you receive the Foundation documents, you will appoint the Protector, by signing the Private Protectorate Document. The Protector will need to complete a Letter of Wishes, indicating who the beneficiaries of the Foundation are, and that document must be sent to the resident agent.

6. Payment: On the order form, you should indicate your preferred method of payment. After submitting the application, you will be contacted by our service staff and will be provided with payment instructions.

7. Time Frame: A new Panama Private Interest Foundation can be established within 5 business days. If you wish to expedite the formation, there is a $250 expedite fee, and we can have it completed within 24 to 48 hours.


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