How it works
How to register a company in Latvia remotely
Forming a Latvian SIA takes six stages, almost all of them done from wherever you are. Here is what happens at each one, and which parts we can't control.
The stages
Message us and share the details
Tell us who the owners and board members will be, and where they live. We confirm in writing what we need from you and what it will cost. This usually takes one to two days, and mostly depends on how quickly the details come back to us.
We run our checks and prepare the documents
We carry out identity and anti-money-laundering checks on the owners and board members, which takes about a day. We then draft the founding documents. We quote up to two working days for this, and it is often quicker.
You sign online
You sign the documents with a qualified electronic signature (QES) and send them back. There is no notary and no trip to Latvia. How long this takes depends on you and on how easily you can get a QES.
You open a temporary bank account
In practice, the share capital is paid into a temporary account opened in the future company's name before we submit anything. We advise on which bank to approach and how to talk to it, but we can't open the account for you. This is the longest and least predictable stage: usually one to two weeks, and up to three weeks in cases we have seen. It is entirely the bank's own process, and we can't speed it up.
You pay in the share capital
Once the account is open, you transfer the share capital and send us the proof of payment.
We submit to the Register of Enterprises
We file the registration and handle all communication with the Register. You give us the information and sign what we prepare. The Register decides within three business days, or within one business day for a higher state fee (three times the base fee, the same with one founder or several), which we add to the invoice as a separate line; the amounts are on the pricing page. The Register can take longer if it has questions or needs to check something with the tax authority, and it may extend its decision period. If it postpones the entry and asks for clarifications, they have to arrive by the deadline it sets, otherwise the state fee is paid again (Cabinet Regulation No. 664, point 8).
Why no notary is needed
The Register of Enterprises accepts a qualified electronic signature (QES) as proof of who signed. That is what replaces the notary, the apostille and the trip. We check identity ourselves as part of our own compliance checks, and that also needs a QES.
The signature has to be qualified. An ordinary electronic signature, or the "advanced" level (AdES) that many national tools offer, is not enough. The law asks for a secure electronic signature, which it defines as a qualified electronic signature, and a time stamp when a document goes to a state institution (Elektronisko dokumentu likums, Articles 1 and 3). An advanced signature, even one based on a qualified certificate, is not created with a qualified signature creation device, so the Register does not accept it.
For founders from the EEA countries and Switzerland (31 countries), a qualified signature is available through the signing platform we work with, Dokobit. In some countries the national eID also works. In a few, such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the national tool is advanced-level only, so we use the platform's video-identification signature instead. Outside those 31 countries it depends on the person, so ask us.
The signing service is provided by a third party, and you pay it directly. We do not pay for it or include it in our fee.
Where the rules come from
The timings, fees and the signature rule on this page come from four public sources. We checked them on 26 September 2026. The law can change, so treat this as a summary.
Law
Three business days to decide
The Register of Enterprises decides on an application within three working days of receiving it, not counting days off and public holidays (Komerclikums, Article 10(3)).
KomerclikumsCabinet regulation
The state fee for a one-day review
The annex says the state fee is paid at three times the rate when the applicant wants the application reviewed within one working day (note 1). The Register's own timing is not a guarantee.
Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 664The Register
State fees for registering an SIA
The Register's fee page lists the state fee for registering an SIA, including the higher fee for one-business-day registration.
Fee page of the RegisterLaw
Why the signature must be qualified
The law asks for a secure electronic signature, which it defines as a qualified electronic signature, plus a time stamp, when a document goes to a state institution (Articles 1 and 3).
Elektronisko dokumentu likumsWant a realistic timeline for your case?
Tell us your country and who the owners are, and we say in writing what to expect.
Cases we have handled
Details are anonymised. They show why we check the signature level and the country first.
A founder blocked by the signature level
The founder already had an electronic signature and assumed it would do. It was advanced-level, even though it was based on a qualified certificate, and not qualified, so the Register postponed the entry and set a deadline to correct the documents.
Since then we confirm the signature level, not just "do you have an e-signature", before anything else.
A founder using their own certificate
The founder already held a qualified certificate issued in their country, so there was nothing extra to buy. They registered with it directly, which was simpler and cheaper than going through a platform.
We check which signature route fits before any work starts.
A founder signing through a different provider
France is on our standard list, but in this case the process ran through a different signing provider because that was what worked for the founder.
The list is a starting point, not a limit.
A registration that took about five weeks
The Register of Enterprises extended its decision period by 10 working days because several companies were already registered at the company's address. After that it 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.
The paid-for review time is not a cap on how long the Register can take.
Not sure your case is straightforward?
Tell us where you live and who the owners are, and we say in writing whether anything needs extra care.
Questions about the process
What should I have ready before I message you?
Nothing formal. Write to us with the basics, and we confirm in writing what we need from you and what it will cost. We ask for identity documents only after that.
What happens after I send my first message?
We reply in writing, in English, with what we need from you and what the total will cost. Nothing starts until you agree. This first stage usually takes one to two days, and it depends mostly on how quickly the details come back to us, not on our side.
Do I ever have to sign in person?
No. You sign the founding documents online with a qualified electronic signature, so there is no notary visit and no trip to Latvia. The only in-person element is on the bank's side, if its own identity checks require it. We tell you what to expect from the bank you choose.
What do you check in the compliance stage?
We check the identity of the owners and board members and run our anti-money-laundering checks, as the law requires of a company formation provider. This takes about a day. If something is unclear we ask you in writing, and we start drafting the documents only once the checks are done.
What do I send you after I pay in the share capital?
The proof of the transfer, meaning a payment confirmation showing the share capital arrived in the temporary account. Once we have it, we submit the registration to the Register of Enterprises. We file it for you, and we follow up with the Register if it has questions, asking you only for what we cannot provide ourselves.
Can I speed the process up?
A little. The Register decides within three business days, or within one business day for a higher state fee: three times the base fee, the same with one founder or several, added to the invoice as a separate line (see the pricing page). The rest depends on how quickly you reply and on the bank, which we cannot influence.
How do we communicate during the process?
Everything is in writing, in English. WhatsApp is the quickest, and email works as a fallback. We do not do phone or video calls, which also means you have a written record of what was agreed at each stage. Write to us whenever you are unsure what the next step is.
Related pages
Ready to start?
Tell us who the owners will be and where they live. We reply in writing, in English.
- Published prices
- Signed online, no notary
- Professional liability insured