Heritage conservation works in Estonia: notice of economic activities and the competent person

A company that designs, researches, conserves, restores or supervises work on protected cultural monuments in Estonia must, in seven fields, file a notice of economic activities in the Register of Economic Activities before it starts⁵¹². The work must be done, checked or directed by a competent person holding a professional certificate or a certificate of competence from the National Heritage Board⁸¹¹¹⁷.

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 Heritage Conservation Act (muinsuskaitseseadus, MuKS), a monument is a thing, part of a thing, set of things, area of land or building complex of cultural value placed under state protection under the Act¹. A heritage conservation area is a protected area of land, historic settlement or part of one, or a cultural landscape².

Conservation stops further decay of a monument or a building in such an area while keeping the valuable layers and leaving missing parts unrestored³. Restoration fixes the authentic condition and restores missing or damaged parts on a scientific basis, relying on original documents and research⁴.

The notice duty covers only the seven fields listed in section 3⁵; maintenance and repair of an immovable monument need no works permit⁶.

The legal act and the authority

• Heritage Conservation Act (muinsuskaitseseadus), Chapter 5, § 68–73 (duties of persons working in the heritage field, competent person, certificate of competence)⁵⁸.
• General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, MSÜS), which governs the notice, its content and the register¹²¹³.

The competent authority under the Heritage Conservation Act is the National Heritage Board (Muinsuskaitseamet, "the Board")⁷. It issues certificates of competence¹⁷, and a notice not filed through the state portal eesti.ee is filed with the Board, which enters it in the register¹⁵.

The notice shows in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, MTR), whose controller is the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Amet, TTJA)¹⁴. Certificate data are kept in the Cultural Monuments Register (kultuurimälestiste register), controlled by the Board²⁷; supervision is exercised by the Board and the local authority²⁸.

Who must apply

A notice of economic activities is filed for these seven fields⁵:

1. preparing a building design for conservation and restoration;
2. preparing an action plan for such conservation and restoration;
3. preparing a research plan and carrying out research;
4. preparing heritage conservation special conditions for a spatial plan;
5. conservation and restoration;
6. heritage conservation supervision;
7. providing diving services to underwater monuments.

A ministerial regulation sets the finer division of these fields by type and material of monument⁹. Under the General Part, the notice is filed before the activity starts¹². There is no notice duty for an undertaking subject to an activity-licence requirement in the same field, or for a service provider established in another contracting state that provides services in Estonia only temporarily, except for the services named in Article 17 of the Services Directive¹⁶.

Requirements for the applicant

An undertaking working in the heritage field must have a legal relationship with a competent person, or, as a sole proprietor, be the competent person itself¹⁰. Whether capital, management, seat or anti-money-laundering requirements apply is specified for the client's situation.

The competent person is an expert who does, checks or directs the work in the field of their competence and is responsible for it¹¹. They may act in a field listed in section 3 if they hold a professional certificate (kutsetunnistus) proving the qualification or a certificate of competence (pädevustunnistus) under the Act⁸. A competent person whose work includes directing others must hold a professional level that covers directing others, or a certificate of competence¹⁸. A person with a foreign professional qualification may act once that qualification is recognised; the recognising authority is the Board¹⁹. One person may not be the competent person of several undertakings if the workload does not allow them to do the work properly²⁰.

A certificate of competence is not needed by a person whose profession under the Professions Act (kutseseadus) has a standard that includes heritage conservation competence²¹. An applicant for the certificate must have²²:

• state-recognised higher education matching the field, or an equivalent foreign qualification;
• worked continuously in the field for at least the last four years.

To work on architectural monuments, historical cemeteries and churchyards, the applicant must also have completed in-service training for that field²³. The Board may waive the higher-education and training requirement for conservation and restoration of immovable monuments and World Heritage buildings where the work does not include directing others²⁴. For diving services to underwater monuments, the applicant needs a diving permit from the Board and an internationally recognised diving-instructor licence²⁵.

The certificate is issued by the Board for five years and may be extended for five years at a time; the Board may limit it to certain types and materials of monument¹⁷.

Other duties follow on each job. Research that physically interferes with a monument needs a research plan by a competent person, notified to the Board at least ten days before it starts²⁹. Works on an immovable monument generally need the Board's works permit, which may be refused if the design was not prepared by a competent person or the contractor or supervisor lacks one⁶³⁰. The supervision report is filed within six months after the works end³¹. Research or works without a required Board permit, or without duly notifying the Board, can bring a legal person a fine of up to 32,000 euros³².

Documents filed with the application

The notice of economic activities states²⁶:

• the heritage field from the list in section 3;
• the undertaking's general data under MSÜS § 15(1)¹³;
• the competent person's data under MSÜS § 15(2), including the number, place and date of issue and validity of the professional certificate or certificate of competence¹³.

The notice counts as filed only once the register holds the competent person's confirmation¹⁵. If the competent person withdraws that confirmation and was the only competent person in the field, the undertaking is deemed not to have met its notice duty³³.

The certificate of competence application (filed by the person, with the Board) contains³⁴:

• the application, with the personal identification code, type of monument and field;
• a document proving education;
• a list of works done, with descriptions and photographs;
• a document proving the in-service training;
• data on payment of the state fee.

For diving services, the education document and list of works are not required³⁴.

State fee and processing time

The State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus) sets a state fee of 50 euros for reviewing an application for the grant or extension of a certificate of competence under the Heritage Conservation Act³⁵. Whether a state fee applies to the notice is specified for the client's situation.

The Board decides on an application for a certificate of competence or its extension within 30 days³⁶. When a notice is filed through eesti.ee, the undertaking itself enters the data in the register³⁷; a notice filed with the registrar is entered no later than the working day after it is filed³⁸. These are the law's time limits, not a promise; the notice counts as filed only after the competent person's confirmation¹⁵.

For a material breach of the requirements, the authority may prohibit economic activity in a field for one year³⁹.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ prepares the documents for a notice of economic activities in a heritage conservation field and manages the process: it checks the act's requirements, drafts the documents, assembles and files the notice and follows up the authority's questions in writing. The certificate of competence is applied for by the competent person personally. LexorCorp Global OÜ gives no legal, tax or audit advice and cannot promise registration, a date or any decision of an authority.

The service is "Activity licence application documentation", from €3,500 for the standard scope (no VAT is added); state fees and authority fees are paid by the client. Order it on the service page: Activity licence application documentation. See also our guide Licensed activities in Estonia.

Sources

1. MuKS § 8 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
2. MuKS § 9(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
3. MuKS § 7(4) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
4. MuKS § 7(5) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
5. MuKS § 68(2); chapter 5 § 68–73 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
6. MuKS § 52(1) and (7)(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
7. MuKS § 12(3); § 74(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
8. MuKS § 69(2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
9. MuKS § 68(3) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
10. MuKS § 68(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
11. MuKS § 69(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
12. MSÜS § 14(1) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)
13. MSÜS § 15(1)–(2) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)
14. MSÜS § 8(4) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)
15. MuKS § 68(5)–(6) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
16. MSÜS § 14(3) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)
17. MuKS § 71(8)–(9) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
18. MuKS § 69(3) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
19. MuKS § 69(4) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
20. MuKS § 69(5) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
21. MuKS § 70(2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
22. MuKS § 71(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
23. MuKS § 71(2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
24. MuKS § 71(3) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
25. MuKS § 71(4) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
26. MuKS § 68(4) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
27. MuKS § 78(3)–(4) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
28. MuKS § 80 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
29. MuKS § 46(4), § 47(2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
30. MuKS § 54(5) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
31. MuKS § 56(1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
32. MuKS § 85(1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
33. MuKS § 68(8) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
34. MuKS § 71(5)–(7) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
35. RLS § 143 (7. ptk 1. jagu 'Muinsuskaitseameti toimingud', which contains only § 143 and § 143^1) — text in force from 01.11.2026 (consolidated text RT I, 21.10.2026, 10)
36. MuKS § 71(10) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 12.07.2025, 20)
37. MSÜS § 58(2) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)
38. MSÜS § 59(2) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)
39. MSÜS § 36(1), (6) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (consolidated text RT I, 02.01.2025, 26; valid until 31.12.2026)

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

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