Registering a company in Latvia: your questions

You do, directly to the signing provider (for example Dokobit, or your national provider). We do not pay for signing services or add them to our fee. We tell you which route applies to you, and roughly what the provider charges if we know, before you commit.

Yes. In our experience the Register of Enterprises does not require a particular nationality or residence. What it needs is a qualified electronic signature, which is how your identity is confirmed without a notary. See how it works and check which countries we work with by default.

A QES is a qualified electronic signature. It is the kind of signature the Register of Enterprises accepts as proof of who signed, so no notary is needed. Founders from the EEA countries and Switzerland can get one through the signing platform we work with, using a video identity check, or with their national eID where it is qualified. We tell you which route applies to you when you message us. See how it works.

Often yes, but it depends on whether a qualified signature is practically available to you. It might be a national certificate you already hold, or a different signing provider. We check that first, in writing, before you pay for anything.

Only if it is qualified. Many national tools are "advanced" level, which is not accepted: in dealings with state institutions the law asks for a secure electronic signature, which it defines as a qualified electronic signature, plus a time stamp (Elektronisko dokumentu likums, Articles 1 and 3). An advanced signature is not made with a qualified signature creation device, so the Register does not accept it. We have had a founder blocked by exactly this, so we confirm the level before starting.

A standard SIA needs at least €2,800 of share capital and can have any owners. A small-capital SIA may have less capital, but only with individuals as owners (at most five), every board member also an owner, at least 25% of each year's profit set aside in a reserve while the capital is below the standard minimum, and extra joint liability for the owners if the company becomes insolvent. See the side-by-side comparison.

A small-capital SIA tends to suit one to five individuals who run the company themselves and want to put in less capital. A standard SIA is the route when an owner is a company, when there are more than five owners, or when investors who are not on the board will own shares. Tell us who the owners will be and we'll say in writing which one fits.

A standard SIA needs a minimum share capital of €2,800 (Komerclikums, Article 185). The owners pay it into the temporary bank account before we submit the registration. A small-capital SIA may have less, on stricter conditions.

In practice, yes. Where the share capital is paid in money and the payment does not exceed EUR 50,000, the founders confirm in the application that a payment account in the future company's name is open and the capital is paid into it (Komerclikums, Article 149(4)). Above EUR 50,000 paid in money, a payment service provider's certificate or another document on the payment is attached instead (Article 149(3), point 2). That is the temporary account. We guide you on choosing a bank and dealing with it.

Each founder has to pay for their own share at its nominal value (Komerclikums, Article 155). For the registration the law asks for one more thing. Where the money contributions do not exceed €50,000, the founders confirm in the application that a payment account has been opened in the future company's name and that the capital has been paid into it. Above €50,000, a certificate from the payment service provider (or another document on the payment) is attached instead (Article 149). Which payments and which accounts the bank accepts is between you and the bank. In our experience the capital is paid by bank transfer, and we do not arrange cash payments: they raise questions about where the money came from, and the bank decides what it accepts.

Not necessarily. In our experience Latvian banks let founders open the temporary account remotely. Turning it into the company's regular account usually needs either a visit to a branch or a video identification call, depending on the bank. In our experience some banks offer both steps remotely, and we tell you which before you choose one, so you can avoid a trip. The bank decides.

No. The bank runs its own checks on you and decides. We can advise and prepare you, but we can't open the account or speed it up.

A board member must be a natural person with legal capacity (Komerclikums, Article 221). In that article we found no requirement about residence or citizenship, so a foreign founder can sit on the board. Some people cannot: for example someone a court has banned from holding company positions, including bans imposed in other EU or EEA states, or whose legal capacity a court has restricted (Articles 4.2 and 4.3), and someone who is also a council member or the auditor of the same company (Article 221). Everyone goes through our identity and compliance checks first. We checked this text on 26 September 2026. The law can change, so treat it as a summary.

Yes. A change of board is registered with the Register of Enterprises: the shareholders decide it, the new board member gives their written consent, and the application goes in with the supporting documents (Komerclikums, Article 224). A state fee applies: €20 for one change, or €40 if several changes are filed together (Cabinet Regulation No. 664, annex part II point 4 and note 6, checked 26 September 2026). We can prepare the documents. Ask us, and we confirm in writing what it involves and the total.

Yes. When the address changes, the board files an application with the Register of Enterprises for the new entry. In it the board states the new address and confirms that the company can be reached there and has a legal basis to be there (Komerclikums, Article 139). The state fee is the one for any change in the register: €20, or €40 if several changes are filed together (Cabinet Regulation No. 664, checked 26 September 2026). See our legal address service.

Yes, we check the name before we submit the application. That is not a trademark search, so we also recommend that you check for yourself that the name does not conflict with someone else's trademark or other rights.

Latvian and English. Both languages are in the same document.

You receive the Register of Enterprises' decision by email, directly from the Register and independently of us.

We do. We handle all communication with the Register of Enterprises, including its follow-up questions and any decision that asks for corrections. You give us the information we ask for and sign what we prepare: the application, explanations and other documents. We tell you in writing what to send and by when.

Checks and documents take a few working days. The bank account usually takes one to two weeks and up to three weeks in cases we have seen; it is the biggest unknown and we cannot speed it up. The Register then takes three business days (one business day for a higher state fee), and can take longer if it has questions. We never promise a fixed total time. See the full timeline.

We handle the follow-up and ask you for anything only you can provide, with the exact deadline the Register has set. It can add time: the Register may extend its decision period, and in one case we handled, an address check extended the decision period by 10 working days, the Register then postponed the entry until the documents were corrected, with a deadline to do it, and the entry came about five weeks after the application was submitted. If the Register postpones the entry and the clarified documents arrive after its deadline, the state fee has to be paid again (Cabinet Regulation No. 664, point 8), so we tell you in writing what to send and by when. In our experience the questions can include asking you to explain what the company will actually do and who is behind it, because the authorities look for companies that exist only on paper.

It depends on how far the work has gone. Until we tell you in writing that we have started preparing documents, you can cancel and we refund what you paid us within 14 days, minus any third-party costs already incurred. After that, our fee for the work done is not refundable (we refund the part for stages not yet started), and state fees are not refundable once the application is with the Register. A legal address is paid in advance for the whole term you order and can be cancelled at the end of a term. The terms of service set this out in full.

We tell you in writing. Where the problem is something we prepared, we correct it at no additional fee. Where the reason is your information, your choices or a third party, further work and any new state fee are charged. See section 6 of the terms of service.

Forming a company is not a residence permit, and we don't give immigration advice. Residence rules are set by the immigration authorities and depend on your situation. Ask us and we'll tell you honestly whether it's something we can help with.

Often yes (see existing companies). We have finished registrations that stalled elsewhere, including for companies that want to expand into Latvia and whose own accountant could not complete it. Tell us where it stopped (the signing, the Register of Enterprises or the bank) and what you already have. We look at it in writing and say what is still needed and what it costs, and whether taking over or starting clean is quicker. It depends on the case, so we confirm before you pay.

Those are accounting matters, provided by our own accounting service, Balansis, not by this site.

You receive the Register of Enterprises' decision by email, directly from the Register. From there the company needs a legal address (ours, if you ordered it) and bookkeeping, which our own accounting service, Balansis, can provide. Ask us what applies in your situation.

Accounting and VAT registration (provided by our own accounting service, Balansis), immigration advice, opening the bank account on your behalf, and a trademark search on the company name. Forwarding your documents and post is available only as a paid add-on under a notarial power of attorney.

No. We accept payment in euros by bank transfer only, against an invoice and in advance. We do not accept cards, cash or other currencies. If you have a question about sending a euro transfer from your country, write to us before you pay.

We use them for the identity checks that company formation involves. The privacy policy explains what we keep and for how long.