Bus passenger transport licence in Estonia: the Community licence and its certified copies

A company that carries passengers by bus for payment in Estonia needs a Community licence and a certified copy of it for each vehicle⁵¹⁴. This page sets out the legal requirements and LexorCorp Global OÜ's service.

Information as of 11 November 2026. Every numbered statement of this page was checked in the official text named below and re-checked by a second reviewer on 2026-11-11. The page is general information, not legal advice; the authority decides on every application.

What the activity is

Under the Public Transport Act (ühistranspordiseadus, ÜTS), public transport is the carriage of passengers for payment, mainly as regular (line) services, occasional services or taxi services¹. Bus transport means carrying passengers by bus or by a passenger car with six to nine seats². Occasional services are carriage of groups of passengers put together on the initiative of the customer or of the carrier itself, which is neither a line service nor taxi service³.

The Community licence (ühenduse tegevusluba), a document under Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, gives its holder the right to run, for payment, domestic and international line services under a line licence or a contract, domestic and international occasional services, and other domestic paid passenger transport — except taxi transport⁴. The certified copy (tõestatud koopia) gives the right to use the vehicle whose registration number is entered on it⁵.

Not covered here: taxi transport, road haulage of goods, and rail, water and air passenger transport, which the act leaves to other laws⁶.

The legal acts, the authority and the register

• Public Transport Act (ühistranspordiseadus), chapter 7, wording in force from 1 April 2026.
• Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 on the conditions to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, applied to bus passenger transport in addition to the act⁷.
• Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 on access to the international market for coach and bus services, under which international carriage requires a Community licence issued by the Member State of establishment⁸.

The Community licence and its certified copies are issued by the Transport Administration (Transpordiamet) on the authority of the Ministry of Climate (Kliimaministeerium)⁹. The act allows the Ministry to delegate the issue, suspension and withdrawal of these documents to a non-profit association by an administrative contract¹⁰.

The issuer enters the data of the Community licence and of each certified copy in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, MTR)¹¹. The licence and copies follow the model in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 and carry serial numbers that are recorded in the national electronic register of road transport undertakings¹².

A line service also needs a line licence and an approved timetable, or a public service contract. Line licences are issued and timetables approved by the municipality (municipal lines), the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture (county, long-distance and international lines) or an authorised regional public transport centre¹³.

Who must apply

Paid passenger transport by bus — except by trolleybus — is prohibited without a Community licence and a certified copy¹⁴. Paid transport by a passenger car with up to nine seats (other than taxi) also needs them, except in two cases involving a local authority¹⁵.

Exemptions named in the acts:

• Own-account transport in road traffic falls under the Road Transport Act (autoveoseadus), not the Public Transport Act¹⁶.
• Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 does not apply, unless national law provides otherwise, to undertakings that carry passengers exclusively for non-commercial purposes or whose main occupation is not road passenger transport¹⁷.

The licence holder must be entered in the Estonian commercial register or in the register of non-profit associations and foundations¹⁸.

Requirements for the applicant

The four conditions. The applicant must meet Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 — an effective and stable establishment, good repute, appropriate financial standing and the requisite professional competence — and the conditions of ÜTS § 43¹⁹.

Establishment and seat. The undertaking must, among other things, have premises with access to the originals of its core business documents, run its administration and business from premises in Estonia, have a vehicle registered in Estonia once authorised, and have vehicles and drivers based at an Estonian operational centre²⁰. If the address where the main business documents are kept differs from the registered address, the applicant must notify it to the issuer, and must report a change within 28 calendar days²¹.

Good repute (management). The repute of the applicant and of its managing person (tegevjuht) is good if they have not been punished for a first-degree criminal offence, or more than once for an intentional second-degree offence or for the misdemeanours listed in ÜTS § 43(4); expunged punishments are not counted²².

Transport manager. The applicant must designate at least one transport manager (veokorraldusjuht) of good repute who meets Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and ÜTS § 44²³. The manager must effectively and continuously manage the transport activities, have a genuine link to the undertaking and be resident in the EU; an external manager under contract is possible within the limits of Article 4(2)²⁴. Professional competence means completing passenger transport manager training, passing a written final exam and holding a certificate of professional competence²⁵.

Financial standing. The undertaking must be able to meet its financial obligations throughout the accounting year and show, on the basis of annual accounts certified by an auditor or a duly accredited person, capital and reserves of at least EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle and EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle over 3.5 tonnes²⁶. The authority may accept or require a bank guarantee or insurance instead, and must accept such a certificate in the year of registration when no certified annual accounts exist²⁷. For carriers using only passenger cars with up to nine seats, equity must be at least EUR 1,250 per vehicle²⁸.

Vehicles. A certified copy is issued only for a motor vehicle entered in the traffic register that has passed its roadworthiness check²⁹.

Other. Whether AML/CFT, IT or outsourcing conditions apply is specified for the client's situation. The issuer checks for tax debt and may refuse the licence for, among other grounds, a business ban, listed unexpunged punishments of drivers or false data³⁰.

Documents filed with the application

For the Community licence (ÜTS § 46(1))³¹:

• the application;
• name and registry code of the company;
• documents on financial standing under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009;
• the data and documents on the transport manager;
• the other data and documents listed in ÜTS § 46(1).

For each certified copy (ÜTS § 46(2)): the application and financial-standing documents, and the vehicle use contract if the applicant is not the owner or user under the registration certificate³².

Data already in an Estonian state database need not be filed again³³.

State fee and processing time

The state fee is paid before the application is filed³⁴:

• Community licence: EUR 210³⁵;
• each certified copy: EUR 18³⁶.

Time limits set by the act: the decision on the Community licence is notified within 30 days after all data and documents under ÜTS § 46(1) have been filed, and on a certified copy within 15 days after all documents under § 46(2)³⁷. If documents are deficient, the issuer sets a reasonable time to remedy them and the time limit stops until then³⁸. Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 caps the examination at three months from receipt of all documents, extendable by one month in justified cases³⁹. These are legal time limits, not a promised date; the decision is the authority's alone.

The Community licence is issued for ten years unless a shorter period is requested; a certified copy for ten years but not beyond the licence⁴⁰.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

For this licence LexorCorp Global OÜ offers "Road transport operator licence — application preparation, including transport manager and financial standing evidence", €3,500, one-time; no VAT is added⁴¹. It is for companies carrying goods or passengers for hire and includes:

• the application for the licence (and the Community licence for international carriage);
• the evidence of establishment, good repute, financial standing and professional competence;
• filing the application and managing the procedure until the decision.

Under the service terms, the state fee, the notary fee and the licence fee are included in the price. A transport manager contract under a written agreement is a separate service: €350, one-time; no VAT is added⁴².

The client provides information, capital and people meeting the legal requirements: the vehicle list and registration documents, the premises and parking agreement, the transport manager's certificate of professional competence, criminal record certificates of the manager and the transport manager, and a balance sheet or bank guarantee. Vehicles and insurance are excluded.

The service prepares the documents and manages the process; it is not legal, audit or tax advice. The authority decides; no licence, date or decision can be promised.

Order: order form

Sources

1. ÜTS § 2 — text in force from 2026-04-01
2. ÜTS § 3(1) — text in force from 2026-04-01
3. ÜTS § 5 — text in force from 2026-04-01
4. ÜTS § 39(1) — text in force from 2026-04-01
5. ÜTS § 39(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
6. ÜTS § 1(6) — text in force from 2026-04-01
7. ÜTS § 1(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
8. Reg. (EC) 1073/2009 Art. 4(1) — text in force from 2013-07-01 (latest consolidated version)
9. ÜTS § 42(1) — text in force from 2026-04-01
10. ÜTS § 42(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
11. ÜTS § 77(1) — text in force from 2026-04-01
12. ÜTS § 51(1); Reg. (EC) 1073/2009 Art. 4(2) — text in force from 2013-07-01 (latest consolidated version)
13. ÜTS § 40(1)-(2), § 42(3) — text in force from 2026-04-01
14. ÜTS § 41(1) — text in force from 2026-04-01
15. ÜTS § 41(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
16. ÜTS § 1(7) — text in force from 2026-04-01
17. Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 1(4)(b) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
18. ÜTS § 43(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
19. ÜTS § 43(1); Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 3(1) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
20. Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 5(1)(a),(e),(f),(g) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
21. ÜTS § 43(3) — text in force from 2026-04-01
22. ÜTS § 43(4)-(5) — text in force from 2026-04-01
23. ÜTS § 43(7) — text in force from 2026-04-01
24. Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 4(1)-(2) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
25. ÜTS § 44(3) — text in force from 2026-04-01
26. Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 7(1) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
27. Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 7(2), 7(2a) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
28. ÜTS § 43(8) — text in force from 2026-04-01
29. ÜTS § 46(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
30. ÜTS § 47(1), § 48(1) — text in force from 2026-04-01
31. ÜTS § 46(1) p 1-5, 21 — text in force from 2026-04-01
32. ÜTS § 46(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
33. ÜTS § 46(6) — text in force from 2026-04-01
34. ÜTS § 46(7) — text in force from 2026-04-01
35. Riigilõivuseadus § 120^1 — text in force from 2026-11-01
36. Riigilõivuseadus § 120^2 — text in force from 2026-11-01
37. ÜTS § 47(1)-(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
38. ÜTS § 47(7) — text in force from 2026-04-01
39. Reg. (EC) 1071/2009 Art. 11(3) — text in force from 2022-02-21 (latest consolidated version)
40. ÜTS § 50(1)-(2) — text in force from 2026-04-01
41. LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)
42. LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)

Official sources

The laws this article names, each linked to its official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.

• Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 — EUR-Lex
• Road Transport Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation

Sources in the text are named without links; the official texts are linked under Official sources. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.