What a RUT actually is
The Rol Único Tributario is the number the Chilean Internal Revenue Service uses to identify a taxpayer. Chileans get it as part of their identity document; everyone else has to apply for it separately. It is a string of digits with a check character, and on its own it is entirely unremarkable.
Its importance is procedural. Chilean public instruments identify the parties by RUT. A notary drafting a purchase deed needs it. The registry needs it to record you as owner. The tax authority needs it to attribute the transaction. Without one, the paperwork has no way to say who you are.
Why everything stops without one
This is the step that most often surprises a foreign buyer, because in many countries nothing equivalent is required to buy a house. In Chile the RUT is a precondition for completing the purchase, not a formality to sort out afterwards.
The same is true for an heir. Every heir in a Chilean estate needs a RUT — including heirs who have never been to Chile, do not speak Spanish and have no other connection to the country beyond a grandparent's house. A family of six heirs abroad means six applications, and the estate cannot be processed until all of them exist.
Sequence matters. The RUT is not difficult, but it takes time, and it sits at the front of every other step. Starting it late is one of the most common reasons a closing date slips — not because anything went wrong, but because the number was not there yet.
How a non-resident obtains one
A foreign individual who does not live in Chile can obtain a RUT without residency, without a visa and without travelling. The application is made to the Internal Revenue Service and requires, in substance, proof of identity from your own country in acceptable form and a representative in Chile with a Chilean address at which the tax authority can serve notices.
Two details cause most of the delays. The first is the form of the identity documents: they generally need to be apostilled, and — where they are not in Spanish — accompanied by a translation. The second is the representative: this is not a formality to be given to whoever is available. It is the address at which the Chilean tax authority will look for you, and appointing someone who will not reliably act on what arrives there creates a problem that surfaces much later, usually at the worst moment.
When the buyer is a foreign company
A company incorporated abroad can hold Chilean property and can obtain a Chilean tax number for that purpose. The documentation is heavier: the company's constitutional documents and the evidence of who is authorised to act for it must be produced in a form Chile accepts, which in practice means apostilled and translated.
Whether buying through a foreign company is a good idea is a separate question from whether it is possible, and the answer depends on the tax position in both countries rather than on Chilean law alone. It is worth deciding before the purchase: restructuring afterwards means transferring the property again, with a second set of taxes and registry fees.
What a RUT does not give you
It is not residency. A RUT is an identifier, not an immigration status. It confers no right to live or work in Chile.
It does not make you a Chilean tax resident. Residency for tax purposes turns on presence and domicile tests under Chilean tax law. Holding a RUT because you own an apartment does not, by itself, bring your worldwide income into the Chilean tax net.
It does not open a bank account. Chilean banks apply their own onboarding requirements to non-residents, and those are considerably more demanding than obtaining a tax number. Plan for them separately, and early — particularly if you will need a Chilean account to receive sale proceeds.
By Felipe Andrés Solar Rojas, partner · Published 21 September 2026 · Last reviewed 21 September 2026
Heads the real estate, wealth structuring and company advisory practice at Iriarte & Solar. His work runs through Chilean notaries, the Conservadores de Bienes Raíces, the Internal Revenue Service and municipal works departments. Full profile (in Spanish).
Sources: Chilean Civil Code, on capacity and representation, at Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional · LeyChile.
This guide states the general rule in force at the date of last review. It is not legal advice for a specific matter, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own documents. Amounts expressed in UF move daily. Every transaction has features that can change the conclusions set out here.