Railway undertakings in Estonia: activity licence, safety certificate and safety authorisation

Carrying passengers or goods by rail, managing public railway infrastructure, and maintaining, repairing or building railway vehicles are licensed activities in Estonia under the Railways Act (raudteeseadus)¹⁶. The activity licence comes from the Estonian Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet) or the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Amet, TTJA); train operators and infrastructure managers also need a safety document^10111718.

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

The Railways Act covers track gauges of 1520, 1524 and 1435 millimetres¹. A railway not connected to the public railway is covered only if used for rail transport; cable ways and tram lines are not railways². Only RdtS §§ 10, 11 and 35 apply to narrow-gauge (750 mm) railways³.

"Rail transport" means the carriage of goods or passengers and the provision of locomotive services on a railway, or locomotive services alone⁴. A railway undertaking (raudtee-ettevõtja) is a sole trader or company whose activity is rail transport or who performs the tasks of an infrastructure manager⁵. Managing railway infrastructure covers building, repairing, maintaining and administering infrastructure and traffic control systems and organising traffic and shunting⁶.

Managing a non-public railway requires a safety operating certificate; freight transport on a non-public railway requires a safety operating certificate or a single safety certificate⁷.

The legal act and the authority

• Act: Railways Act (raudteeseadus, RdtS), redaction in force from 1 October 2026⁸, together with the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, MSÜS) for the general licence procedure⁹.
• Activity licence for managing public railway infrastructure, passenger transport and freight transport on the public railway: decided by the Estonian Competition Authority¹⁰.
• Activity licence for maintenance and repair of rolling stock and for building rolling stock: decided by TTJA¹¹.
• Safety authorisation (ohutusluba) of a public infrastructure manager and safety operating certificate (tegutsemise ohutustunnistus) for a non-public railway: decided by TTJA¹².
• Single safety certificate (ühtne ohutustunnistus) of a train operator: issued by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA); if the area of operation is limited to Estonia, TTJA may issue it at the operator's request¹³. Applications go through ERA's one-stop shop¹⁴.
• Register: licences are entered in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, MTR), whose controller is TTJA¹⁵.

Who must apply

An activity licence is required for¹⁶:

1. managing public railway infrastructure;
2. passenger transport on the public railway;
3. freight transport on the public railway;
4. maintenance and repair of rolling stock used on the public railway or for rail transport;
5. building rolling stock.

In addition, an infrastructure manager may manage the public railway only with a safety authorisation¹⁷, and a train operator needs a valid single safety certificate to carry goods or passengers on the public railway¹⁸.

Exemptions the act itself names:

• no maintenance licence is needed if the company holds an entity-in-charge-of-maintenance (ECM) certificate¹⁹;
• no freight licence is needed if rail transport is not the undertaking's main activity²⁰;
• an activity licence issued in another EU Member State is valid in Estonia²¹;
• a foreign operator entering a border station needs no licence where cross-border carriage is agreed under an international agreement²².

Requirements for the applicant

Good repute and management. For the infrastructure, passenger and freight licences, the undertaking and its managing persons may not have criminal records for first-degree, economic, official or certain other listed offences; they may not be bankrupt; and they must meet the good-repute requirements of Article 19 of Directive 2012/34/EU²³. The person responsible for the licensed activity must have professional knowledge or work experience to ensure safe operation and reliable organisation and control²⁴.

Financial fitness. The undertaking must be able to meet its actual and potential obligations for at least the next 12 months and have no large or repeated tax arrears²⁵. Whether a minimum share capital applies is specified for the client's situation.

Seat. An undertaking from a third country must be registered in a commercial register of a European Economic Area state²⁷.

Maintenance, repair and building of rolling stock. The board must approve the technological process descriptions, and the undertaking must have production space and equipment in use²⁸.

Liability insurance. The holder must have liability insurance for the whole validity of the licence and conclude it before starting the activity²⁹. The minimum sum insured for one year is EUR 1,917,349 for rail transport on the public railway, of which at least EUR 639,116 for passengers' direct property damage and bodily injuries³⁰; EUR 639,116 each for maintenance, repair and building of rolling stock³¹; for a railway holder, by agreement up to 5,000 m of track and EUR 191,734 to EUR 3,195,582 above that³².

Safety management. A railway undertaking operating on the public railway must establish and document a safety management system and report on safety to TTJA by 31 May each year³³. The infrastructure manager's staff responsible for railway safety and traffic management must hold a relevant occupational qualification³⁴.

Accounting separation. Infrastructure managers and public-service-contract passenger operators keep separate accounts³⁵.

AML/CFT. Whether anti-money-laundering requirements apply is specified for the client's situation.

Documents filed with the application

Activity licence from the Competition Authority (infrastructure, passengers, freight)³⁷:

• the general MSÜS data: name and registry code, contact details, activity name and code, signatory³⁸;
• a copy of an interim accounting report if there is no annual report or it was approved more than six months before the application, plus the data listed in Annex III of Directive 2012/34/EU where the reports do not show them separately;
• the list of management board members and other managing persons with personal data, and documents proving the professional knowledge or experience of the responsible person.

Activity licence from TTJA (maintenance, repair, building of rolling stock)³⁹:

• the general MSÜS data;
• the board-approved technological process descriptions;
• documents proving the production space and equipment.

Safety authorisation (TTJA)⁴⁰: list of safety and traffic staff with qualification certificate numbers; conformity inspection reports; safety management system documentation; proof of the state fee.

Single safety certificate: documents showing a safety management system that meets RdtS § 40, and compliance with the national rules⁴¹.

State fee and processing time

State fees (Riigilõivuseadus, State Fees Act)⁴²:

When ERA issues the certificate, its fees under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/764 apply⁴³.

Time limits set by law⁴⁴:

• Activity licence: 30 days from the submission of all required data; the authority may extend this once by up to 30 days. A railway activity licence is not deemed granted if the authority misses the deadline.
• Safety authorisation: decision within four months after the required information is received.
• Single safety certificate: decision within four months after all required information is received, by ERA or TTJA.

The authority may ask for additional information⁴⁵. These are the law's time limits, not a promise. An operator must also notify TTJA at least two months before starting a new rail transport activity⁴⁶. The safety authorisation is valid for five years (TTJA may set a shorter term, giving reasons) and the single safety certificate for up to five years⁴⁷.

What LexorCorp Global does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ offers this through its general service "Activity licence application documentation", from €3,500 one-time (no VAT is added), for one licence of ordinary scope. It includes the act's requirements for the activity from its official text, the application and its documents, and submission through the Register of Economic Activities with written follow-up of the authority's questions. Further work, such as safety management system documents or a single safety certificate filing, is agreed in writing first.

Not included: the state fee (paid by the company), legal, tax or audit advice, and meeting the act's capital, staff or premises requirements. The authority issues or refuses the licence; LexorCorp Global cannot promise a licence, a date or a decision.

Order or request a price: order form. Overview: /guides/licensed-activities-in-estonia#railways.

Sources

1. Raudteeseadus § 1(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
2. Raudteeseadus § 1(4)–(5) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
3. Raudteeseadus § 1(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
4. Raudteeseadus § 2 p 25 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
5. Raudteeseadus § 2 p 13 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
6. Raudteeseadus § 2 p 20 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
7. Raudteeseadus § 12(1); § 22(2)–(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
8. Raudteeseadus header — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
9. Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 16, § 19, § 20 — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
10. Raudteeseadus § 14(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
11. Raudteeseadus § 14(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
12. Raudteeseadus § 22(7) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
13. Raudteeseadus § 28(1), (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
14. Raudteeseadus § 27(6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
15. Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 8(1), (4); § 53(1) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
16. Raudteeseadus § 12(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
17. Raudteeseadus § 22(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
18. Raudteeseadus § 27(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
19. Raudteeseadus § 12(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
20. Raudteeseadus § 12(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
21. Raudteeseadus § 12(6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
22. Raudteeseadus § 12(5) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
23. Raudteeseadus § 13(1) p 1–5 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
24. Raudteeseadus § 13(1) p 7 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
25. Raudteeseadus § 13(1) p 8 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
27. Raudteeseadus § 13(1) p 6 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
28. Raudteeseadus § 13(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
29. Raudteeseadus § 12(3); § 17(1), (3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
30. Raudteeseadus § 20(1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
31. Raudteeseadus § 21 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
32. Raudteeseadus § 19(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
33. Raudteeseadus § 40(1), (6) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
34. Raudteeseadus § 36(1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
35. Raudteeseadus § 9(1)–(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
37. Raudteeseadus § 14(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
38. Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 19(2) p 1; § 15(1) p 1–4, 7 — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
39. Raudteeseadus § 14(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
40. Raudteeseadus § 23(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
41. Raudteeseadus § 29(1); § 30(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
42. Riigilõivuseadus § 136^6; § 213^1(1)–(2); § 212(1), (3) — text in force from 01.11.2026 (RT I, 21.10.2026, 10)
43. Raudteeseadus § 28(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
44. Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 20(1), (3); RdtS § 14(7), § 25(4)–(4^1), § 29(5)–(6), § 30(4), (6) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
45. Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus § 19(6); RdtS § 25(4) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
46. Raudteeseadus § 27(9) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)
47. Raudteeseadus § 22(8)–(9); § 27(5) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 30.06.2026, 26)

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.