Operating permit for a dangerous enterprise or a major-accident hazard enterprise in Estonia

A site in Estonia where hazardous chemicals are handled above set quantities may operate only under an operating permit (käitamisluba) issued under the Chemicals Act (kemikaaliseadus)¹⁴²⁶. The permit is issued by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA); the Rescue Board (Päästeamet) approves the emergency plan¹¹¹². This page explains who needs the permit, the documents the act requires, the state fee and the authority's time limits.

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

"Handling" a chemical means making, producing, processing, packaging, storing, transporting, making available and any other activity connected with the chemical¹. A hazardous chemical is a substance or mixture that meets the physical, health or environmental hazard criteria of Annex I, parts 2–5, of the EU CLP Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging)².

The Chemicals Act regulates the site, called an installation (käitis): the area under the operator's control where a hazardous chemical is handled in one or more buildings, including the related infrastructure and processes³. Depending on the quantities, an installation is:

• a dangerous enterprise (ohtlik ettevõte, category C): chemicals are handled above the lower limit (ohtlikkuse alammäär) but below the threshold quantity (künniskogus)⁴;
• a major-accident hazard enterprise (suurõnnetuse ohuga ettevõte): chemicals are handled above the threshold quantity; these are divided into category B and, the most hazardous, category A⁵.

The rules of this chapter of the act do not apply, for example, to defence installations, to hazards from ionising radiation, to transport of hazardous chemicals outside the installation (including by pipeline), to mineral extraction in mines and quarries, to offshore exploration and to landfills⁶. The act implements, among other EU acts, Directive 2012/18/EU (Seveso III) on major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances⁷.

The legal act and the authority

• Chemicals Act (kemikaaliseadus, KemS), chapter 3, §§ 20–32, in the wording in force from 1 July 2026⁸.
• Regulation No 10 of the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure of 2 February 2016, "Kemikaali ohtlikkuse alammäär ja ohtliku kemikaali künniskogus ning ettevõtte ohtlikkuse kategooria määramise kord", which sets the lower limits and threshold quantities in its annex tables, in the wording in force from 6 September 2025⁹.
• State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus) § 217 for the fee¹⁰.

The permit is issued by TTJA, which also approves the mandatory documents¹¹. The Rescue Board takes part in the permit procedure and approves the enterprise's emergency plan¹². TTJA makes the permit public through its supervision information system (Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Ameti järelevalve infosüsteem, the database named in § 12(1) of the Equipment Safety Act / seadme ohutuse seadus), and informs the Rescue Board, the Environmental Board and the local municipality¹³.

Who must apply

The operator of an installation where a hazardous chemical is handled in a quantity greater than the lower limit or the threshold quantity may do so only under an operating permit¹⁴. The operator itself determines the category of its enterprise from the maximum possible quantity of chemicals handled¹⁵, using the annex tables of Regulation No 10; under the regulation, a ratio sum of 1 or more means the limit is reached¹⁶. A quantity of up to 2 per cent of the relevant limit is left out of the sum if its location in the installation cannot cause an accident¹⁷.

Exemption named in the act: no separate permit under the Chemicals Act is needed when the chemical is handled under an integrated environmental permit under the Industrial Emissions Act, or a permit under the Explosives Act or the Weapons Act, whose procedure already covered the matters checked for an operating permit. The other duties under the Chemicals Act still apply¹⁸.

Requirements for the applicant

Whether share capital, own funds, a fit-and-proper test for managers or anti-money-laundering (AML/CFT) rules apply is specified for the client's situation. The requirements of the Chemicals Act set out below concern the installation and the handling:

• Conditions for the permit. TTJA grants the permit if operating the installation is possible considering its surroundings and the hazard and risk it creates, the mandatory documents meet the act's requirements, and the installation is in line with the spatial plan¹⁹.
• Competence. Anyone handling a hazardous chemical must know its properties, be able to assess the hazards and risks from the safety data sheet and labelling, be able to use first-response equipment and give first aid, and know occupational safety, health and environmental protection methods²⁰.
• Records. A business that handles hazardous chemicals keeps records of them and keeps the records for ten years²¹.
• Liability insurance. The operator must hold liability insurance with an insurer entitled to insure risks located in Estonia; the sum insured may not be less than EUR 400,000²².
• Exercises. An operator of a major-accident hazard enterprise holds an exercise at least once every three years and informs the Rescue Board at least 20 working days in advance²³.
• Public information. An operator of a major-accident hazard enterprise informs the public in advance²⁴.
• Accidents. An accident is reported by the chemical handler without delay to the Emergency Response Centre (Häirekeskus)²⁵.

Documents filed with the application

The application is filed with TTJA together with the mandatory documents the act requires²⁶. Which documents are needed depends on the category²⁷:

The documents are approved by different authorities: the information sheet and the safety management system description by TTJA; the emergency plan by the Rescue Board; the risk analysis and the safety report by TTJA together with the Rescue Board²⁸. They are submitted through the TTJA supervision information system²⁹. Once approved, the documents must be kept up to date and reviewed at least every five years, and the emergency plan at least every three years, as well as after significant changes or a major accident³⁰.

State fee and processing time

The state fee for reviewing the application is EUR 1,030 for a category A enterprise, EUR 900 for category B and EUR 640 for a dangerous enterprise (category C)³¹.

TTJA decides the application within 60 working days from the day all required documents have been received. This period may be extended once by up to 30 working days, and further until the decision on an environmental impact assessment report if one proves necessary. If TTJA does not decide in time, the permit is not deemed granted³². Within the procedure, the Rescue Board approves or refuses the risk analysis, safety report and emergency plan within 30 working days (extendable once by up to 30 working days)³³, and the local municipality gives its opinion on compliance with the spatial plan within 30 working days³⁴. The permit procedure may be suspended until the planning procedure ends³⁵.

These time limits are set by the law; they are not a promise of when a decision will be made or what it will be.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ offers this as its general service "Activity licence application documentation"³⁶. Under that service we:

• set out the requirements of the act for the activity, from its official text;
• prepare the application and the documents it needs, based on the information and technical data the client provides;
• follow up the authority's questions in writing³⁷.

The service is application preparation, not legal advice; it also does not include audit or tax advice. TTJA alone grants or refuses the permit, and we do not promise a permit, a date or an authority's decision. The state fee is paid by the client³⁷.

The price is from €3,500, one-time; LexorCorp Global OÜ is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added³⁶. The starting price covers one licence of ordinary scope; more work is agreed in writing before it starts³⁷.

Order here: order form

Sources

1. KemS § 3(3) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
2. KemS § 3(2) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
3. KemS § 21(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
4. KemS § 21(3) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
5. KemS § 21(4) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
6. KemS § 20(2) p 1–7 (p 8: offshore underground gas storage; § 20(3) exceptions) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
7. KemS footnote 1 (act-level list of transposed directives); § 35 p 5 — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
8. KemS header — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
9. Regulation nr 10 header and § 2(1) — text in force from 06.09.2025 (RT I, 03.09.2025, 5)
10. RLS § 217 — text in force from 01.11.2026
11. KemS § 35 p 1 — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
12. KemS § 34 p 1; § 23(2) p 2 — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
13. KemS § 31(1)-(2); SeOS § 12(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38); SeOS 01.07.2025
14. KemS § 26(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
15. KemS § 22(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
16. Regulation nr 10 § 2(11), §§ 3–5 — text in force from 06.09.2025 (RT I, 03.09.2025, 5)
17. Regulation nr 10 § 2(4) — text in force from 06.09.2025 (RT I, 03.09.2025, 5)
18. KemS § 26(2) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
19. KemS § 28 — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
20. KemS § 8(3) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
21. KemS § 9(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
22. KemS § 25(1)-(3) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
23. KemS § 22(5) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
24. KemS § 24(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
25. KemS § 10 — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
26. KemS § 27(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
27. KemS § 22(2) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
28. KemS § 23(2) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
29. KemS § 23(3); SeOS § 12(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
30. KemS § 23(1) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
31. RLS § 217(1), (1^1), (2) — text in force from 01.11.2026
32. KemS § 27(3) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
33. KemS § 27(5) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
34. KemS § 27(4) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
35. KemS § 27(7) — text in force from 01.07.2026 (RT I, 12.05.2026, 38)
36. LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)
37. 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.

• State Fees 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.