Dominican Republic: Business/trade

Commercial holidays

New Year's Day: January 1; Epiphany: January 6; Our Lady of Altagracia: January 21; Duarte's Birthday (varies); Independence Day: February 27; Good Friday (varies); Labor Day: May 1; Corpus Christi (varies); Restoration Day: August 16; Our Lady of Mercy: September 24; Constitution Day (varies); Christmas Day: December 25.

If a holiday with a variable date falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, the holiday is generally moved to the preceding Monday. If it falls on Thursday or Friday, the celebration is usually moved to the next Monday.

For more information on specific holidays, see Dominican Republic Public & Bank Holidays.

Public holiday celebrations may cause delays in commercial transport of goods. It is best to check with your agent in the country about the extent of business stoppage during holidays.

For information on holidays worldwide, see: Holidays and Observances around the World.

(Last updated on 2025-01-01)

Major trade agreements

• African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP), Avenue Georges Henri 451, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium; phone: +32 2 743 0600; fax: +32 2 735 5573; email: info@acp.int
  • The ACP group is an organization that was created in 1975 by the Georgetown Agreement. The ACP is a group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States that signed the Georgetown Agreement, which is a partnership agreement between the ACP group and the European Union. This agreement is officially called the "ACP-EC Partnership Agreement" or the "Cotonou Agreement".
  • The Cotonou Agreement was signed by all 79 ACP group member countries except Cuba. The Cotonou Agreement is an agreement that binds its signatory ACP group countries to the European Union.
  • 79 member countries: Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cook Islands, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

• Association of Caribbean States (ACS), 5-7 Sweet Briar Road, St. Clair, P.O. Box 660, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies; phone: +868 622 9575; fax: +868 622 1653
  • The Association of Caribbean States aims to promote consultation, cooperation, and concerted action for its member countries.
  • Member countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela.
  • Associate member countries: Aruba, Bonaire (The Netherlands), Curaçao, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saba (The Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy (France), Saint Martin, Sint Eustatius (The Netherlands), and Sint Maarten.
  • Observers: Argentina, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, European Union, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Morocco, Netherlands, Palestine, Peru, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

• Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) [Spanish: Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC)]
  • CELAC is an organization that joins Latin American countries and the countries of the Caribbean.
  • Member countries: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

• Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
• See Governmental Contact Points (by member country) for information about the FTAA process.
• Member countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts & Navis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

• CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
• CARIFORUM stands for Caribbean Forum. CARIFORUM countries signed this Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).
• Partnership countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.
• Haiti signed the agreement, but ratification is still pending.

• Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) [English: Central American Integration System]
• SICA is an economic and political organization of Central American countries. SICA promotes economic integration and regional cooperation.
• Member countries: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
• Regional observers: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, United States of America, and Uruguay.
• Extra-regional observers: Australia, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malta, Morocco, New Zealand, Qatar, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) (observer) [English: International Francophonie Organization]
• OIF is one of the largest linguistic zones in the world. The French language and values are shared between member countries.
• Member countries: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, New Caledonia, Niger, North Macedonia, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Säo Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
• Observer countries: Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay.

• Also check Dominican Republic Trade Agreements.

For additional information on trade agreements and rules of origin see: Rules of Origin Facilitator.

(Last updated on 2024-12-19)

Other treaties/conventions

• World Trade Organization (WTO), Center William Rappard, Rue de Lausanne 154, CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 739 5111; fax: +41 22 731 4206; email: enquiries@wto.org
  • Check list of all Regional Trade Agreements (RTA).
• World Customs Organization (WCO), Rue du Marché 30, B-1210 Brussels, Belgium; phone: +32 2 209 9211; fax: +32 2 209 9262
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Headquarters, 34 Chemin des Colombettes, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 338 9111; fax: +41 22 733 5428
• Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), Secretariat, International Environment House, 11 Chemin des Anémones, CH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 917 8139 and +41 22 917 8140; fax: +41 22 797 3417; email: info@cites.org
• World Health Organization (WHO), Headquarters, Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses (FOS), World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland; fax: +41 22 791 4807; email: foodsafety@who.int
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Education Outreach Cluster, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, UN Headquarters, New York, NY 10017
• Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (the Montreal Convention), IATA Head Office, 800 Place Victoria, PO Box 113, Montreal H4Z 1M1, Quebec, Canada; phone: +1 514 874 0202; fax: +1 514 874 9632
• Organization of American States (OAS), 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20006-4499, United States of America; phone: +1 202 370 5000; fax: +1 202 458 3967
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Headquarters, 999 Robert-Bourassa Boulevard, Montréal, Quebec H3C 5H7, Canada; phone: +1 514 954 8219; fax: +1 514 954 6077; email: icaohq@icao.int
• International Maritime Organization (IMO), 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom; phone: +44 20 7735 7611; fax +44 20 7587 3210; email: info@imo.org
• Universal Postal Union (UPU), Universal Postal Union, International Bureau, P.O. Box 312, 3000 Berne 15, Switzerland; phone: +41 31 350 3111; fax: +41 31 350 3110
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Place des Nations, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 730 5111; fax: +41 22 733 7256; email: itumail@itu.int
• International Labour Organization (ILO), 4 Route des Morillons, CH-1211, Genève 22, Switzerland; phone: +41 22 799 6111; fax: +41 22 798 8685; email: ilo@ilo.org
• United Nations, New York, USA and Geneva, Switzerland.

(Last updated on 2024-11-13)

Government trade information

Dominican Republic Government:

• Dominican Republic Customs Website, (Dirección General de Aduanas - DGA), General Directorate of Customs, Main Office, Avenida Abraham Lincoln No. 1101, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; phone: +1 809 547 7070; fax: +1 809 540 5854; email: info@dga.gov.do
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ave. Independencia 752, Estancia San Gerónimo, Santo Domingo; phone: +1 809 987 7001; fax: +1 809 535 6280; email: webmaster@hacienda.gov.do & relexteriores@mirex.gov.do
• Ministerio de Industria y Comercio (MIC), (Ministry of Industry and Commerce), Oficina de Tratados Comerciales (Office of Trade Treaties), Ave. 27 de Febrero, No. 209, Ensanche Naco, POB 10121, Santo Domingo, D.N.; phone: +1 809 567 7192; fax: +1 809 381 8076; email: info@mic.gob.do
• Instituto Dominicano para la Calidad (INDOCAL), Calle Oloff Palme Esq. Núñez de Cáceres, San Gerónimo, DO-Santo Domingo, D.N.; phone: +1 809 686 2205; fax: +1 809 688 3843; email: INDOCAL@indocal.gob.do
  • See ISO membership.

(Last updated on 2023-07-10)

Additional trade information

Refer to updated IMF Country Report.

(Last updated on 2019-07-23)

Traveler requirements (visas, samples, etc.)

A visa is required for visits to the Dominican Republic for up to 30 days with option of extension in the Dominican Republic.

Refer to overview of Dominican Republic Visa Requirements.

For detailed visa requirements contact:

• Embassy of the Dominican Republic, 1715 22nd Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008; phone: +1 202 332 6280; fax: +1 202 265 8057; email: embassydominicanrepublic@gmail.com
• Embassy of the Dominican Republic, Consular Section, 8 Gloucester Square London W2 2TJ; phone: +44 90 5677 0054; fax: +44 20 7727 3693; email: consulate@dominicanembassy.org.uk

For worldwide visa requirements see: Travel Visa Requirements.

(Last updated on 2023-03-30)

Business customs

Business appointments are generally required, but punctuality is not a consistent part of Dominican business practices.

Most Dominican business people speak English, but communication in Spanish is often preferred. Business cards are exchanged.

For business customs check Cultural Guide - Dominican Republic, and Management Guide - Dominican Republic.

Also refer to Culture Crossing in Dominican Republic.

(Last updated on 2018-04-14)