A foreign company or entrepreneur who enters the Estonian and EU market goes through the same steps every time: checking whether the activity needs a licence, choosing a new or a ready-made company, the registered address and contact person, VAT and EORI registration, a bank account, accounting and the yearly costs. This guide lists the steps in order and links each one to its own guide.
The guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Each licence, registration and account is decided by the competent authority or the bank.
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1. Check whether your activity needs a licence or a notice
Some activities in Estonia need an activity licence or a notice of economic activities before they start. The list by field, each marked clearly, is in Activities that need a licence or a notice in Estonia.
2. Choose a new company or a ready-made one
A new private limited company (OÜ) is formed step by step, and VAT registration is a separate application — see New Estonian company formation. A ready-made company can be bought in person at a Tallinn notary — see Buying a ready-made company in person in Tallinn.
3. Registered address and contact person
An Estonian company with a foreign management board needs a legal address and a contact person in Estonia. What a licensed provider includes, and what happens when the term ends: Registered address and contact person in Estonia. A board member of an Estonian OÜ need not be Estonian or live in Estonia: Can a foreigner be a director of an Estonian company?
4. VAT number and EORI number
When VAT registration is mandatory or voluntary, and what the Tax and Customs Board checks for a company managed from abroad: Estonian VAT registration. A company that imports or exports goods needs an EORI number: EORI number and LEI code for an Estonian company.
5. Bank and payment account
Banks are cautious with foreign-owned Estonian companies; how to prepare a consistent application is in Business bank account for an Estonian company. The bank alone decides on an account.
6. Accounting, the annual report and the yearly costs
The accounting obligations, the monthly declarations and the annual report deadline: Accounting for an Estonian OÜ. What a company costs to keep each year: What it costs to keep an Estonian company.
7. Where the company is resident for tax
A company managed from another country can be taxed there. Whether your Estonian OÜ creates a permanent establishment abroad is a question for your own tax adviser; the rules are explained in Tax residence and permanent establishment of an Estonian company.
Market Entry Estonia: all steps in one package
We do the work for you within one month, and continue from the second month for €8,500 / month. The company itself is formed or bought separately according to our published packages; state fees are paid separately; we do not promise any decision of an authority and the service does not include tax advice. See Market Entry Estonia and the price list.
Ready to start? We set your Estonian business up and running within one month: analysis, administration, one licence application, VAT and EORI, business meetings. Order.
To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.