Occupational health services in Estonia

A company that provides occupational health services to Estonian employers must file a notice of economic activities before it starts⁸¹⁷. If the service includes the work of an occupational health doctor or nurse, the Health Services Organisation Act also applies⁹. That Act can require an activity licence from the Health Board (Terviseamet)¹⁰¹².

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 Occupational Health and Safety Act (töötervishoiu ja tööohutuse seadus, TTOS), every employer must arrange occupational health services for its employees¹. The service is provided by an occupational health doctor (töötervishoiuarst), who brings in other specialists when needed². When providing the service, the doctor reviews the employer's workplace risk assessment, carries out health checks of employees based on that risk assessment, proposes improvements to working conditions and advises the employer and employees on health promotion³.

Besides the doctor, an occupational health nurse, occupational hygienist, occupational psychologist, occupational physiotherapist and ergonomist (together, occupational health specialists) may provide further occupational health services. These are the workplace risk assessment (including measuring hazard parameters), advice on adapting work to an employee's health, advice on work equipment and personal protective equipment, organising rehabilitation, and psychological counselling of the employer and employees⁴.

The employer must arrange an employee's health check within six months of starting work⁵. After that, it is repeated at the interval set by the occupational health doctor, but at least once every three years, and at least once a year for minors⁶.

The employer arranges the service and bears its costs, and the occupational health doctor and the other specialists provide it¹²⁷.

The legal act and the authority

Occupational Health and Safety Act (TTOS), sections 13¹ and 19–19². A legal person or a sole proprietor that wants to act as an occupational health service provider must file a notice of economic activities (majandustegevusteade) under section 14(1) of the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, MSÜS)⁸.
Health Services Organisation Act (tervishoiuteenuste korraldamise seadus, TTKS). Occupational health services that cover the duties of an occupational health doctor and an occupational health nurse are subject to this Act⁹. Under TTKS, an activity licence is needed for providing specialist medical care and for independently providing nursing care, among other fields¹⁰. Outpatient specialist medical care may be provided only by a company, sole proprietor or foundation holding the relevant licence¹¹. Terviseamet decides the licence application¹². Among its activity-licence requirement sheets, Terviseamet publishes one for outpatient occupational health services ("Nõuded ambulatoorsele töötervishoiuteenusele")¹³. Which licence fits a particular provider is specified for the client's case.
Registers. A notice of economic activities is entered in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, MTR). Its controller is the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA)¹⁴. Licence data under TTKS are processed in the Health Care Organisation Information System (tervishoiukorralduse infosüsteem), whose controller is Terviseamet¹⁵.
Supervision. The Labour Inspectorate (Tööinspektsioon) supervises compliance with TTOS. Terviseamet supervises occupational health service providers on the provider-specific requirements of TTOS¹⁶.

Who must apply

Every legal person or sole proprietor that acts as an occupational health service provider files the notice⁸. A notice is filed before economic activity starts¹⁷. A provider whose service includes the duties of the occupational health doctor or nurse must also meet TTKS and hold the licence that TTKS requires for that field⁹¹⁰.

Exemptions the acts themselves name:

No notice is required from a business that is subject to a licence obligation in the same field of activity¹⁸.
No notice is required from a service provider established in another EEA contracting state that wants to provide services in Estonia temporarily, except a provider of the services referred to in Article 17 of the Services Directive¹⁸.
A person qualified in an EEA member state or Switzerland may provide health services in Estonia temporarily without TTKS registration and without the TTKS activity licence¹⁹.

Requirements for the applicant

Specialists. A natural person who holds a diploma, specialisation or further-training certificate proving the specialist's professional competence must work for the provider under a contract²⁰. Doctors and nurses are health care professionals only when registered with Terviseamet. They may provide only the health services for which they are registered²¹.

Measurements. If the service includes measuring workplace hazard parameters for which the law requires a competent measurer, the provider must be a competent measurer within the meaning of the Metrology Act²².

Licence conditions under TTKS. Terviseamet grants the licence if the staff, premises, furnishings and equipment for specialist medical care meet the requirements set under TTKS; for independent nursing care, so must the work tools, medicines and the nurse's competence. The applicant's IT readiness must also meet the requirements for data exchange with the health information system²³. A health service provider must meet the duties of compulsory liability insurance. The service may start from the beginning of the insurance period or from the time entered in the information system, whichever is later²⁴.

Professional ethics and data. Occupational health specialists must keep employees' health and private data confidential²⁵. The employer receives only the health data that it strictly needs and has no right to diagnosis data²⁶. The provider keeps data on the services it provided for 30 years²⁷.

Capital, management and AML/CFT. Whether capital, management or anti-money-laundering requirements apply is specified for the client's case.

Documents filed

Notice of economic activities (MTR):

the general data of MSÜS: the business's name and registry code, contact details, the field of activity and its classification code, the start date and the signatory²⁹;
the occupational health service to be provided³⁰;
the name and contact details of each occupational health specialist³⁰;
data on the specialist's diploma, specialisation or further-training certificate³⁰;
a written confirmation that the specialist works for the provider under a contract³⁰;
a written confirmation that the provider meets the competent-measurer requirement where it applies³⁰.

The notice may be filed through the Estonian state portal (eesti.ee) or through a notary³¹.

Activity licence application under TTKS (Terviseamet), in addition to the data required by MSÜS:

the list of health services for which the licence is sought³²;
the written consent of the health care professionals to work for the applicant³²;
the medical-technology part of the premises project³²;
data on compliance with the requirements for data exchange with the health information system³².

Terviseamet states that the application is filed electronically in its self-service portal. All employees listed in the application must be entered in the Tax and Customs Board's employment register (töötamise register)³³.

State fee and processing time

Notice. The State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus) charges a fee of €10 when the notice is filed other than through the single point of contact (the state portal or a notary)³⁴.

TTKS licence. The State Fees Act sets €290 per place of activity for an outpatient specialist medical care licence. It sets €170 per place of activity for an independent nursing care licence (other than inpatient nursing)³⁵.

Time limit. Terviseamet decides a TTKS licence application within 60 days of the application¹². Terviseamet states that the 60 days run from the receipt of all required data and that it gives first feedback within 3 working days³³. The authority may ask for further information needed to check the requirements³⁶. These are the law's time limits for the authority, not a promise of a date or of the outcome.

What LexorCorp Global does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ prepares the application documentation for an activity licence or notice. The work covers the requirements of the act for the activity, taken from its official text, and the submission and written follow-up of the authority's questions³⁷. LexorCorp Global gives no legal advice, audit or tax advice. It does not promise the licence, a date or any decision of Terviseamet or another authority.

The service row is "Activity licence application documentation": from €3,500, one-time. LexorCorp Global OÜ is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added. State fees are paid by the client³⁸.

Order: order form

Sources

TTOS § 13¹ (1) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (2) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (3) p 1–6 — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 19 (1) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (6) (wording in force from 26.10.2026) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (8) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (11); § 13 (1) p 7 — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 19¹ (2) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 19¹ (1) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTKS § 40 (1) p 3–4 — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTKS § 21 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTKS § 41 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Terviseamet, Tegevusload — text in force from page last updated 03.07.2026
MSÜS § 8 (2), (4) — text in force from 01.09.2025
TTKS § 26⁴ (3) p 5, (6) — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTOS § 25 (1), (2) — text in force from 26.10.2026
MSÜS § 14 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
MSÜS § 14 (3) p 1–2 — text in force from 01.09.2025
TTKS § 33 — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTOS § 19 (4) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTKS § 3 (1); § 27 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTOS § 19 (3) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTKS § 42 p 2, 5, 6 — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTKS § 4⁴; § 42¹ (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
TTOS § 19² (1) p 2 — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (14) — text in force from 26.10.2026
TTOS § 13¹ (16) — text in force from 26.10.2026
MSÜS § 15 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
TTOS § 19¹ (3) p 1–6 — text in force from 26.10.2026
MSÜS § 9 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025
TTKS § 41 (2) p 2, 3, 8, 10 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Terviseamet, Tegevusload — text in force from page last updated 03.07.2026
RLS § 345; MSÜS § 9 (6), § 58 (1) p 1 — text in force from 01.11.2026
RLS § 287 (1) p 3–4 — text in force from 01.11.2026
MSÜS § 19 (6) — text in force from 01.09.2025
LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)
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.

Occupational health services in Estonia: notice and activity licence