Maritime services in Estonia

Some technical and training services for ships, small craft and ports may only be provided in Estonia with an activity licence from the Transport Administration (Transpordiamet); two others only need a notice of economic activities¹³⁷. This page explains which activities the Maritime Safety Act and the Ports Act cover, what the application must contain, the state fee and the time limit, and what LexorCorp Global OÜ prepares for the client.

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

"Maritime services" here means the activities that the Maritime Safety Act (meresõiduohutuse seadus, MSOS) and the Ports Act (sadamaseadus, SadS) themselves make subject to an activity licence (tegevusluba) or a notice of economic activities (majandustegevusteade).

An activity licence is required for¹:

underwater diving inspection and underwater repair of the hull of a ship;
repair, inspection and shore-based maintenance of ship radio equipment;
repair, inspection and testing of ship life-saving equipment;
building small craft (väikelaev);
organising training of small craft skippers;
professional training of ship crew members under Chapter 5 of MSOS, except training of ship's cooks²;
organising training of jet ski drivers;
organising training of company security officers (reederi turvaülem — the shipping company's security officer).

A notice of economic activities to the Transport Administration is required for surveys of cargo operations of chemical tankers and for ship agency³.

Under the Ports Act, an activity licence is required for a security company (turvaettevõtja) that performs the security tasks set out in that act⁴, and for organising training of port and port facility security officers⁵.

Not covered: building, repairing or servicing equipment in fields that MSOS § 7 no longer lists (several earlier fields were repealed with effect from 1 June 2021)¹; registering a port in the port register (sadamaregister), which is a separate procedure of the port operator under SadS § 40⁶.

The legal act and the authority

Maritime Safety Act (meresõiduohutuse seadus): § 7 (licence obligation), § 9 (application) and § 10 (notice obligation)¹³⁷.
Ports Act (sadamaseadus): §§ 18–18² (security company) and § 20¹ (training of port and port facility security officers)⁴⁵⁸.
General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, MSÜS): the general rules on notices, licence applications and the register⁹²³.

The competent authority under all of these provisions is the Transport Administration (Transpordiamet)³⁷⁸. Licences and notices are entered in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, MTR), whose data are available to everyone free of charge on its website⁹.

Who must apply

Every undertaking that wants to provide one of the licensed services in Estonia must hold the licence before starting; it may start the activity from the grant of the licence (or a later date or condition stated in it)¹⁰. Providing goods or services in a field listed in MSOS § 7 without a Transport Administration licence is a misdemeanour; the fine for a legal person is up to EUR 20,000¹¹.

Main exemptions and special cases named in the acts:

An undertaking that holds a licence in a field does not also have to file a notice for the same field¹².
A holder of a valid licence issued before 1 June 2021 under the earlier wording may continue in the corresponding current field on the same licence (MSOS § 95⁷ sets out which old licence covers which current field)¹³.
A provider licensed in another EEA state may apply for exemption from the Estonian licence obligation, and a provider of temporary services may in some cases need no licence (MSÜS § 22); whether this applies is specified for the client's case¹⁴.

Requirements for the applicant

A licence under MSOS is granted if the undertaking meets the requirements of MSOS and of the international conventions on maritime safety¹⁵. For a port security company, the Ports Act requires that the company meets Annex III point 4.5 of Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 and Annex IV of Directive 2005/65/EC, operates in the guarding or security audit field under the Security Services Act (turvategevuse seadus), and has employees who meet the qualification requirements¹⁶.

Capital / own funds: whether a minimum capital applies is specified for the client's situation.
Management: under MSÜS, a licence is refused where, among other grounds, a prohibition of economic activity in the field (imposed by a court judgment or arising from law) applies to the undertaking, or it intentionally gave false data in the application that could affect the decision¹⁷.
Staff and key functions: qualified specialists, shown by copies of diplomas and certificates; for training activities, a list of teachers or trainers⁷¹⁸¹⁹.
Equipment: a list of the technical equipment used; for radio and life-saving equipment, the manufacturer's authorisation; for life-saving equipment, compliance of the service station with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)⁷²⁰²¹.
Seat and place of business: a licence is valid throughout Estonia unless limited to a place or area²².
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT): whether AML/CFT requirements apply is specified for the client's situation.

Documents filed with the application

General data (MSÜS § 19): name and registry code, contact details, the field of activity by its statutory name and classification code, the signatory and the basis of representation, and the data named in MSÜS § 15(2)–(5)²³. A company still being founded files its founding document instead of a registry code; the licence then takes effect at the earliest when the company acquires legal capacity²⁴.

All MSOS licences⁷:

a list of the technical equipment to be used;
an overview of the activity for which the licence is sought;
copies of documents proving the qualifications of the undertaking's specialists (diplomas, certificates and similar).

Additional documents by field:

Ship radio equipment and life-saving equipment: a copy of the authorisation or certificate the manufacturer of the equipment issued to the applicant for testing, maintenance, inspection or repair²⁰; for life-saving equipment also data on the service station's compliance with SOLAS²¹.
Small craft building: an application for the small craft manufacturer's unique code under Article 4(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1; the Transport Administration issues the code together with the licence²⁵.
Small craft skipper, ship crew and jet ski driver training: curricula, a list of technical teaching aids and simulators, and a list of teachers¹⁸.
Training of port and port facility security officers: the course curriculum covering the competence requirements of SOLAS and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, and a list of trainers with copies of their qualification documents¹⁹.

State fee and processing time

State fees under the State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus)²⁶:

MSOS activity licence application: EUR 300;
port and port facility security officer training licence: EUR 300;
port security company licence: EUR 150.

The fee is paid when the application is submitted²⁷.

Time limits: the Transport Administration resolves an MSOS licence application within 20 working days of its submission²⁸. The general time limit under MSÜS is 30 days²⁹. Under MSÜS the time limit runs from the submission of all required data, the authority may ask for additional data, and it may extend the time limit once by up to 30 days where a case is complex²⁹³⁰. These are the law's time limits, not a promise of a decision date. A licence is granted without a time limit unless an act provides otherwise³¹.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ offers this work under its service "Activity licence application documentation", from €3,500 (one-time fee; no VAT is added). The service includes:

the requirements of the act for the activity, from its official text;
the application and the documents it needs;
the submission through the Register of Economic Activities and the written follow-up of the authority's questions.

The client describes the activity and provides what the act requires of the company (qualified specialists, equipment, manufacturer's authorisations, curricula). The starting price is for one licence of ordinary scope; further work is agreed in writing before it starts.

Not included: the state fee, legal advice, meeting the staff or premises requirements of the act, and any promise of the licence. The Transport Administration issues or refuses the licence; no licence, date or decision can be promised.

Order or request a price: order form

Sources

Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 7 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 7 p 11 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 10 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Sadamaseadus § 18(1); § 2 p 12 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 30)
Sadamaseadus § 20¹(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 30)
Sadamaseadus § 40(1) and (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 30)
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Sadamaseadus § 18², § 20¹(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 30)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 8(1), § 51(2) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 16(1), (4) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 94¹⁶ — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 14(3) p 1 — text in force from 01.09.2025
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 95⁷ — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 22(1), (5) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Sadamaseadus § 18¹ — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 30)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 25(1) p 1, 4 — text in force from 01.09.2025
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Sadamaseadus § 20¹(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 30)
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(3¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 21(1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 19(2), § 15(1)–(5) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 19(4) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(4¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Riigilõivuseadus § 142⁵¹, § 142⁶⁶, § 142⁶⁷(1) — text in force from 01.11.2026 (RT I, 21.10.2026, 10)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 19(7) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Meresõiduohutuse seadus § 9(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 56)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 20(1), (3) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 19(6) — text in force from 01.09.2025
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 24(1) — text in force from 01.09.2025

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.

Maritime services in Estonia: activity licences and notices