Simple Promissory Note Chile (Pagaré Simple)

Simple Promissory Note Chile (Pagaré Simple) is a streamlined negotiable instrument (título de crédito) governed by Ley N° 18.092 of 14 January 1982 (Ley sobre Letras de Cambio y Pagarés) Article 102, by which a suscriptor (maker) makes a single, unconditional promise to pay a fixed sum of money to a named beneficiario (payee) at a specified maturity date. The pagaré simple is distinguished from installment promissory notes (pagarés en cuotas) by its single-payment structure — the entire principal and accrued interest become due and payable on one specified date without installment schedules or acceleration clauses.

Ley N° 18.092 was published in the Diario Oficial on 14 January 1982 during the military government, replacing the earlier commercial law provisions on bills of exchange and promissory notes with a modern unified statute. Article 102 of Ley N° 18.092 sets out the seven mandatory elements (menciones obligatorias) that every pagaré must contain to qualify as a legally valid negotiable instrument: the word «Pagaré» inscribed in the text; the unconditional promise to pay a determined sum; the place and date of issuance; the maturity date; the place of payment; the beneficiary's name; and the maker's signature.

The pagaré simple automatically constitutes a título ejecutivo (executive title) under Código de Procedimiento Civil (CPC) Article 434 N° 4 once all seven mandatory elements are present. The título ejecutivo status enables the beneficiario to collect payment through juicio ejecutivo — an expedited enforcement proceeding before the Juzgado de Letras en lo Civil — without first obtaining a declaratory judgment establishing the debt. The juicio ejecutivo procedure is significantly faster than the ordinary declaratory action (juicio ordinario): the court issues a mandamiento de ejecución y embargo upon filing, and if the debtor does not successfully defend within the legal opposition period, the creditor proceeds directly to embargo (attachment) and remate (public auction) of the debtor's assets.

The Banco Central de Chile publishes the official Tasa de Interés Corriente and Tasa Máxima Convencional (TMC) monthly under Ley N° 18.010 of 1981 on Credit Operations. The TMC — calculated as 1.5 times the tasa de interés corriente for the applicable amount category — represents the legal maximum for conventional interest in Chile. Pagarés stipulating interest above the TMC are subject to automatic interest reduction to the tasa de interés corriente under Ley N° 18.010 Article 8, with forfeiture of all excess interest charged. The Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) monitors compliance with the TMC limits by regulated financial institutions.

The pagaré simple is the preferred instrument for formalizing short-term personal loans (préstamos personales entre particulares), security deposits (garantías de arriendo), deferred payment arrangements between businesses (acuerdos de pago diferido entre empresas), and informal credit relationships that require a legally enforceable payment obligation without the complexity of installment structures. The Registro Civil e Identificación provides the cédula de identidad (RUN) data used to verify the parties' identities, while the SII's Servicio en Línea portal allows verification of the parties' RUT status.

The prescription period (prescripción de la acción ejecutiva) under Ley N° 18.092 Article 98 is one year from the maturity date — the creditor must initiate juicio ejecutivo within one year of maturity to preserve the título ejecutivo status. After one year, the pagaré loses its executive title but the underlying debt obligation can still be pursued through juicio ordinario within the general six-year prescription period under Código Civil Article 2515. The one-year executive prescription period makes prompt action by the creditor essential.

A Simple Promissory Note Chile under Ley N° 18.092 Article 102 is needed whenever individuals, businesses, or organizations wish to formalize a single-payment financial obligation as a legally enforceable título ejecutivo without the complexity of installment structures or acceleration clauses.

Personal loans between private individuals (préstamos personales entre particulares) — between family members, friends, or business associates — are the most common use case for the pagaré simple. When one person lends money to another, formalizing the loan through a pagaré simple gives the lender título ejecutivo status, enabling collection through juicio ejecutivo if the borrower defaults, without requiring a prior declaratory trial. A simple written acknowledgment of debt (reconocimiento de deuda) does not provide this executive enforcement advantage.

Landlords (arrendadores) frequently require tenants (arrendatarios) to sign a pagaré simple for the security deposit (garantía or mes de garantía) as an additional enforcement mechanism — if the tenant causes property damage or leaves owing rent, the landlord can enforce the pagaré through juicio ejecutivo rather than the slower civil action for property damage. Real estate agencies (corredoras de propiedades) and property managers (administradores de propiedades) commonly require this security pagaré alongside the residential lease contract under Ley 18.101.

Small and medium businesses (PYME) registered with SERCOTEC or CORFO use pagarés simples to formalize deferred payment arrangements for goods and services — when a customer receives goods on credit with payment due in 30, 60, or 90 days, a pagaré simple provides legally enforceable documentation of the payment obligation. The pagaré simple is faster and less expensive to execute than a notarial contract for routine commercial credit.

Loan agreements (contratos de mutuo de dinero) under Código Civil Articles 2196–2211 and Ley N° 18.010 are commonly secured by a pagaré simple that the borrower signs simultaneously with the loan contract — the mutuo establishes the terms of the loan while the pagaré provides the título ejecutivo mechanism for collection if the borrower defaults on the single repayment date.

Banks and CMF-regulated financial institutions do not typically use pagarés simples for consumer lending (they use pagarés en cuotas with acceleration clauses), but they do use pagarés simples for certain commercial bridge loans (créditos puente de corto plazo), short-term trade finance instruments, and overnight funding arrangements in the interbank market. Factoring companies (empresas de factoring) regulated by the CMF acquire commercial pagarés simples through endorsement to provide immediate liquidity to suppliers.

A valid Simple Promissory Note Chile under Ley N° 18.092 Article 102 must contain all seven mandatory elements (menciones obligatorias) to constitute a título ejecutivo enforceable through juicio ejecutivo. The pagaré simple is deliberately streamlined — it omits installment schedules, acceleration clauses, and complex interest provisions — making it the most straightforward Chilean credit instrument.

Pagaré Designation (Indicación de Ser Pagaré): The word «PAGARÉ» must appear explicitly inscribed in the body of the document itself (inscrita en el mismo texto) under Article 102 N° 1. Chilean courts have consistently held that this designation cannot be implied from context — it must appear as an express word in the instrument. A document that contains all other elements but omits the pagaré designation does not qualify as a pagaré under Ley N° 18.092, though it may function as a reconocimiento de deuda (acknowledgment of debt) under general contract principles.

Unconditional Promise (Promesa Incondicional de Pago): An unqualified, unconditional promise to pay under Article 102 N° 2 — «prometo pagar incondicionalmente» or equivalent language. The promise must not be subject to any condition (condición), event, or contingency. Any language that conditions payment on an event — such as «pagaré si el negocio tiene utilidades» (I will pay if the business makes profits) — disqualifies the instrument as a pagaré. The promise must cover a determined or determinable sum (cantidad determinada o determinable de dinero).

Amount (Suma Determinada): The principal amount (monto del capital) must be stated precisely in both figures (guarismos) and words (letras) — discrepancies between the two are resolved in favour of the amount in words under general Chilean commercial law principles. The amount may be denominated in Chilean Pesos (CLP) or in Unidades de Fomento (UF) — with UF amounts payable in the CLP equivalent at the official UF value published by the SII on the maturity date. The amount must be determined (not subject to future calculation) at the time of issuance.

Place and Date of Issuance (Lugar y Fecha de Expedición): The specific city or commune and the exact date (day, month, year — DD/MM/YYYY format) on which the pagaré is executed under Article 102 N° 3. The date is critical for calculating the one-year executive prescription period (prescripción de la acción ejecutiva) under Ley N° 18.092 Article 98, and for establishing the starting point for interest accrual.

Maturity Date (Fecha de Vencimiento): The specific date on which payment of the full amount falls due under Article 102 N° 4. For a pagaré simple, this is a single fixed date (día fijo y determinado) — the entire principal plus accrued interest is due on that one date. The maturity date must be certain (cierta) and determinable at the time of issuance — a maturity of «when the business is sold» is not a valid pagaré maturity.

Place of Payment (Lugar del Pago): The city, commune, or specific address where payment is to be made under Article 102 N° 5. In practice, this is typically the beneficiario's bank (banco del beneficiario), business address, or domicile. If not specified, the place of issuance serves as the default place of payment under Ley N° 18.092 Article 102 inciso 2. The place of payment also determines which Juzgado de Letras en lo Civil has territorial jurisdiction (competencia) over any juicio ejecutivo.

Beneficiary (Nombre del Beneficiario): The full legal name and RUT (Rol Único Tributario assigned by the SII) of the payee under Article 102 N° 6. A pagaré may also be made payable to bearer (al portador) or to order (a la orden) — though most pagarés simples in Chile name a specific beneficiary to avoid bearer instrument risks. The RUT of the beneficiario is not technically required by Article 102 but is essential for juicio ejecutivo identification and for tax purposes under SII requirements.

Maker's Signature (Firma del Suscriptor): The original handwritten signature (firma ológrafa) of the suscriptor under Article 102 N° 7 — the person who is obligated to pay. For natural persons, this is the personal signature matching the cédula de identidad. For corporations (SA, SpA, SRL), the legally authorized representative signs, specifying the company's razón social, RUT, and the representative's authority (mandato or power of attorney). Photocopies, electronic signatures (unless executed on a qualified electronic signature platform meeting Ley N° 19.799 standards), and rubber stamp signatures do not satisfy the Article 102 N° 7 requirement.

Interest Rate (Optional but Standard): While not a mandatory Article 102 element, virtually all commercial pagarés simples specify a conventional interest rate (tasa de interés convencional) for the period from issuance to maturity (interés remuneratorio) and a default interest rate (interés moratorio) applicable from the maturity date if the debtor fails to pay on time. Under Ley N° 18.010 Article 6, both rates must not exceed the TMC published by the CMF. If no interest rate is specified, the Ley N° 18.010 default applies: the pagaré accrues the tasa de interés corriente as of the default date.

Parties' Identification Data (RUT, Domicilio): Full identification of the suscriptor (RUT, cédula de identidad number, nationality, civil status, domicile) and the beneficiario (RUT, domicile) — these are not mandatory Article 102 elements but are essential for juicio ejecutivo and tax compliance purposes. Forms-legal.com recommends including complete identification for all parties in every pagaré simple executed in Chile. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.