Every Estonian company must keep the data of its ultimate beneficial owners — the natural persons who in the end own or control it — correct in the commercial register. Many owners abroad discover that they cannot simply submit or correct the data for a fellow board member. This guide explains the obligation, why a notarised power of attorney is needed when someone else submits the data, and how we do it.
The guide is general information, not legal advice.
Who is a beneficial owner
A beneficial owner is a natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company — as a rule, a person holding more than a quarter of the shares or votes directly or through other companies, or controlling the company in another way. If no such person can be identified, the members of the management board are recorded as beneficial owners. The rules come from the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act.
What the company must do
- submit the beneficial owner data to the commercial register and keep it correct;
- update it when the owners or the control of the company change;
- confirm it every year when the annual report is submitted.
Data that is missing or wrong can delay the annual report, a bank account, and other register entries.
Why a notarised power of attorney is needed
In the commercial register nobody can submit the beneficial owner data on behalf of another board member. If the board member cannot or does not want to submit the data personally, the board member authorises LexorCorp with a notarised power of attorney; we prepare the report and submit it to the register through an Estonian notary.
The power of attorney is always signed in your home country, notarised by a local notary there and, as a rule, also apostilled. An apostille is not needed when the power of attorney is signed in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland or Ukraine. The fee of the notary in your home country and the apostille are not included in our price — you pay them locally.
Price
- preparation and submission of the report: €450;
- power of attorney surcharge, always part of this order: €300.
Estonian state and notary fees are included. We do not provide services to citizens of Russia or to companies from Russia.
How it works
- You order the report and tell us who owns and controls the company.
- We draft the power of attorney and send it to you with signing instructions.
- You sign it before a notary in your home country and, where required, have it apostilled, then send us the original.
- We prepare the beneficial owner report and submit it to the commercial register through an Estonian notary.
- We confirm by email when the register shows the new data.
Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email. See also: commercial register entries, annual obligations of an Estonian company.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone else submit the beneficial owner data for my company?
Not directly: in the commercial register nobody can submit the beneficial owner data on behalf of another board member. The management board member authorises LexorCorp with a notarised power of attorney; we prepare the report and submit it to the register through an Estonian notary.
Why is the power of attorney surcharge always part of the beneficial owner report?
Because we can submit the data for you only on the basis of a notarised power of attorney. Drafting it and working on its basis is part of every such order; the fee of the notary in your home country and the apostille are paid by you locally.