RUT, cédula and BPS number: Uruguay's identifiers explained

When you start out as a unipersonal (sole trader) in Uruguay, three numbers quickly show up and get mixed up: your cédula de identidad, your RUT and your BPS number. They're not the same, and they're not issued by the same body. Understanding what each one is saves you trouble when you invoice, pay taxes or do a procedure. Let's take them one at a time.

Cédula de identidad (CI): who you are

The cédula de identidad is your personal ID: it identifies you as a person, not as a business. It's issued by DNIC (Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil), which reports to the Ministry of the Interior. Everyone living in Uruguay has one; foreigners get one when they process their residency. It's the basis for almost everything else: your login for government services and, as you'll see, even your taxpayer number are built on it.

RUT: how DGI knows you

The RUT (Registro Único Tributario) is the number DGI (Dirección General Impositiva) uses to identify you as a taxpayer — that is, for the tax world. When you register your unipersonal, DGI assigns you a RUT (a number of about twelve digits) generated from the owner's cédula. That RUT is what goes on your invoices, what you pay IVA (VAT), IRAE or the relevant IRPF/IASS with, and what you look up to check whether your single certificate is valid. Put simply: the cédula says who you are as a person; the RUT says who you are to DGI.

BPS number: your business at social security

The BPS número de empresa or número de contribuyente is the registration of your activity at Banco de Previsión Social, the social security body. It's different from DGI's RUT: it's for your pension and health (FONASA) contributions, not for taxes. When you register a unipersonal, you also get registered at BPS with its own number. Many people discover it when the contributions bill arrives: that money goes to BPS, not to DGI.

How they relate (and why people mix them up)

The most common confusion is thinking RUT and BPS are the same, or that the unipersonal is 'another person'. It isn't: there's a single owner (you, with your cédula), but that person is registered at two bodies at once. When you register a unipersonal, the procedure signs you up at DGI (hence your RUT) and at BPS (hence your número de empresa) in one and the same process. So a unipersonal has one cédula (the owner's), one RUT (DGI) and one BPS number (social security). Three numbers, one owner.

• The DGI registration certificate, explained
• DGI clave and online services: getting started

Frequently asked questions

• Are the cédula and the RUT the same? No: the cédula identifies you as a person (issued by DNIC); the RUT identifies you as a taxpayer at DGI.
• Does my RUT come from my cédula? A unipersonal's RUT is generated from the owner's cédula; it's a different, longer number (about twelve digits).
• Is the BPS number the RUT? No: the BPS number is your business registration at social security; the RUT is DGI's number for taxes.
• How many numbers does a unipersonal have? Three: the owner's cédula, the RUT (DGI) and the BPS number (social security).
• I'm a foreigner — do I need a cédula? Yes: you get it when you process residency, and with it you can register your activity and obtain a RUT and a BPS number.

In short: the cédula says who you are (DNIC), the RUT says who you are for taxes (DGI), and the BPS number registers your business at social security (BPS). A unipersonal has all three, with a single owner behind them. Being clear which is which avoids mistakes when you invoice, pay and do procedures.