Radiation practice licence and registration in Estonia

A business in Estonia that uses X-ray equipment, radioactive substances or other sources of ionising radiation needs a radiation practice licence or a registration of the practice from the Environmental Board (Keskkonnaamet)⁶¹³¹⁴. Which one depends on the hazard level of the practice; very small sources are exempt⁵¹³¹⁴.

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

A radiation practice (kiirgustegevus) is any activity that increases or may increase the exposure of people to radiation from artificial or natural radiation sources¹. The Radiation Act names among others: producing, processing, using, holding, storing and transporting radioactive substances; using an electrical device that emits ionising radiation and works at a potential difference above 5 kilovolts; and operating a nuclear installation². An electrical radiation device is a device that generates ionising radiation such as X-rays, neutrons, electrons or other charged particles³.

A licence is needed, among other things, for using and holding electrical radiation devices and for installing, repairing and servicing radiation sources⁴. Not covered: work with a radioactive source whose activity or activity concentration is at or below the exemption level, and an electrical radiation device working at up to 30 kilovolts if the dose rate 0.1 metres from its surface does not exceed one microsievert per hour during operation⁵.

The legal act and the authority

The act is the Radiation Act (kiirgusseadus, RT I, 28.06.2016, 2; the wording in force from 1 October 2026). The licence and the registration are granted by the Environmental Board (Keskkonnaamet)⁶. The procedure follows chapter 5 of the General Part of the Environmental Code Act (keskkonnaseadustiku üldosa seadus), with the special rules of the Radiation Act⁷. The licence and the decision granting it are drawn up and digitally signed in the environmental decisions information system (keskkonnaotsuste infosüsteem)⁸. State fees are set by the State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus)⁹.

Who must apply

Starting or carrying on a radiation practice that requires a licence or a registration without one is prohibited¹⁰. The Act sorts radiation practices into four hazard levels: very low, low, moderate and high¹¹; the Environmental Board determines the level during the licensing or registration procedure under the rules set by the minister's regulation¹².

Radiation practice licence (kiirgustegevusluba) — needed for low, moderate and high hazard practices, among them: producing, using, storing and transporting radioactive substances and products containing them; using and storing electrical radiation devices; handling and transporting radioactive waste; activities with enhanced natural radiation; and installing, repairing and servicing radiation sources¹³.
Registration of the radiation practice (kiirgustegevuse registreering) — needed for very low hazard practices; the list of these is set by the minister's regulation¹⁴.

A practice with a high-activity sealed source, the operation of a nuclear installation, the operation, closure and decommissioning of any nuclear fuel cycle facility, and the interim storage and disposal of radioactive waste are always high hazard¹⁵. The holder of a licence or registration (the "practitioner") is a legal person or a self-employed person (FIE)¹⁶. For what is not covered, see the first section⁵.

Requirements for the applicant

Whether a minimum share capital or anti-money-laundering (AML/CFT) requirements apply is specified for the client's situation.

Staff. The applicant must have radiation workers with the required professional training; otherwise the licence or the registration is refused¹⁸. The practitioner must provide radiation safety training and instruction suited to the work¹⁹. No person under 18 may be assigned to radiation work²⁰.
Radiation safety specialist. The practitioner may appoint a radiation safety specialist (kiirgusohutuse spetsialist); this is mandatory for a high hazard practice or where the practitioner has more than ten radiation workers²¹. A licence holder who intends to take on a new radiation safety specialist must file an application with the Environmental Board²².
Radiation expert. A radiation expert (kiirgusekspert) advises licence holders, for example on facility design, monitoring programmes and the quality management system; only a certified or recognised natural person may act as such²³. In a high hazard practice, the design of the facilities and the commissioning of new sources must have been approved by a radiation expert²⁴. Only a natural person holding an authorised biomedical engineer's or equivalent professional certificate in diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine or radiotherapy may act as a medical physics expert (meditsiinifüüsika ekspert)²⁵.
Premises. The location and other conditions must allow radiation safety requirements to be met; otherwise the application is refused¹⁸.
Quality management and duties. The practitioner must develop and apply a radiation safety quality management system²⁶ and carry out the general duties of the Act, including keeping records of each source, an annual inventory, working rules for radiation work, health checks of radiation workers and calibration of measuring instruments²⁷.
Financial guarantee. The Environmental Board may require a financial guarantee; it decides on the need within 20 days of registering the application, and the guarantee is proven by a guarantee of a credit or financial institution accepted by the Board²⁸.
Good standing. Through the General Part of the Environmental Code Act, a licence is also refused, for example, if the applicant has been punished once for an environmental crime, or two or more times for a misdemeanour, in the environmental fields named in that Act and the record has not been deleted from the criminal records database²⁹.

Documents filed with the application

Licence application — in addition to the general data of an environmental permit application (applicant, contact person, purpose and description of the activity, location, technology and equipment, monitoring plan)³⁰, it contains³¹:

data on the radiation source, technology and equipment;
data on radioactive waste and discharges and their handling, and on the waste storage room;
the plan for making the source safe after its use ends;
a radiation safety assessment with the protection and safety measures and the expected doses;
for moderate and high hazard practices, dose constraints for workers and the public;
for high hazard practices, an emergency response plan;
data on the financial guarantee;
a description of the quality management system;
data on radiation workers and their training;
the rules for radiation work;
the radiation monitoring plan and data on monitoring equipment.

Attached are the site plan of the activity and, where the applicant does not own the land, documents showing its right to operate there³².

Registration application — it contains the data listed in § 69¹(1) of the Radiation Act³³.

Both applications are filed with their annexes through the environmental decisions information system and confirmed with a digital signature³⁴. The minister's regulations specify the data set in more detail³⁵.

State fee and processing time

Procedure	State fee
Radiation practice licence application	EUR 630³⁶
Amendment of a licence	EUR 315³⁶
Registration application	EUR 200³⁷
Amendment of a registration	EUR 150³⁷

Where a state fee is due, it is paid before the application is filed³⁸.

The Environmental Board decides on a licence within 90 days of receiving a compliant application; for a high hazard practice it may extend this by up to 90 days. A registration is decided within 30 days of receiving a compliant application³⁹. Time spent remedying deficiencies in the application is not counted in the time limit⁴⁰. These are the time limits set by law, not a promise of the procedure's length; the time runs from a compliant application. A licence for a moderate or high hazard practice is granted for up to five years; a registration is indefinite unless a fixed term is requested⁴¹.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ prepares the application documentation under its service "Activity licence application documentation", which covers licensed activities that have no page of their own on the site. The service includes:

the requirements of the Radiation Act for the client's practice, from the official text;
the application and the documents it needs;
the written follow-up of the Environmental Board's questions.

Not included: the state fee, legal advice, a promise of the licence, and meeting the staff, premises or radiation safety requirements of the Act; the technical radiation safety content comes from the client and its specialist or expert. LexorCorp Global OÜ does not give legal, tax or radiation-safety advice or audit services, and it cannot promise a licence, a registration, a date or the Environmental Board's decision — the authority decides.

The price is from €3,500 for one application of ordinary scope; more work is agreed in writing before it starts. LexorCorp Global OÜ is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added. The state fee is paid by the client separately.

Order: order form

Sources

Kiirgusseadus § 4 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 4 (2) p 1–3 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 7 (1¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 68 (1) p 2, 3, 6 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 68 (4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 69 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 2 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 75 (2¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 79¹ — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 68 (4¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 34 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 34 (3)–(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 68 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 68 (2)–(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 34 (5) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 4¹ — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 74 (1) p 3–4, (2) p 3–4 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 48 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 47 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 46 (1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 78 (1) p 6 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 89 (1)–(2), § 90 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 32 (2) p 2 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 95 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 35 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 32 (1) p 4–7 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 98 (1), (2), (5) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 74 (1); KeÜS § 52 (1) p 1¹ — text in force from 01.09.2026
KeÜS § 42 (1); Kiirgusseadus § 70 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 70 (1) p 1–11 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 70 (2); KeÜS § 42 (3) — text in force from 01.09.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 69¹ (1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 69¹ (3), § 70 (3¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 69¹ (2), § 70 (4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Riigilõivuseadus § 131 (1)–(2) — text in force from 01.11.2026
Riigilõivuseadus § 131¹ (1)–(2) — text in force from 01.11.2026
KeÜS § 42 (4) — text in force from 01.09.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 73 (1)–(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
KeÜS § 49 (1¹) — text in force from 01.09.2026
Kiirgusseadus § 76 (2), § 76¹ — text in force from 01.10.2026

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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