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. We have had a founder blocked by exactly this, so we confirm the level before starting.

The law lets a small-capital SIA have less than the standard minimum of €2,800 and, in the provision we checked (Komerclikums, Article 185.¹), does not fix a smaller amount. In our experience founders most often choose €100. That is common practice, not a rule: you can choose another amount, and paying in more reduces the owners' extra liability.

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.

No. Both the founders and the shareholders must be individuals. If an owner is a company, you need a standard SIA.

At most five founders and five shareholders, all individuals. The board has one or more members, and every board member must also be a shareholder, so it cannot have more board members than owners. Each owner can be an owner of only one such company.

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: a temporary account in the future company's name receives the share capital before we submit the registration. We guide you on choosing a bank and dealing with it.

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.

We can't promise a total. Our checks and documents take a few working days, the Register's standard review period is three business days, and the bank stage is the big unknown: usually one to two weeks, sometimes three. See the full timeline.

We handle the follow-up and ask you for anything only you can provide. It can add time. In one case we handled, it added about three weeks.

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.

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

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