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Fastest way to start a company in Estonia

start a company in estonia

Fast and Efficient Process for Starting a Company in Estonia

Estonia offers one of the most streamlined processes for starting a company, making it an attractive option for entrepreneurs. The country’s digital infrastructure supports a swift and efficient company formation process.

Benefits of Establishing a Business in Estonia

Starting a business in Estonia comes with numerous benefits. It include access to the European market, a favorable tax system, and a highly digitalized government. Entrepreneurs can manage their businesses remotely through Estonia’s e-Residency program.

Step-by-Step Guide to Company Formation

  1. Obtain e-Residency: Apply for Estonian e-Residency to access the country’s digital business environment.
  2. Find a service provider: The minimum you need is a legal address and contact person. But there are many offers available starting from single services up to full-service packages.
  3. Register the Company Online: Use the e-Business Register to officially register your company. You can do this alone or have service provider, such as Silva Hunt, to help you set up everything.
  4. Open a Bank Account: Choose from several banks that cater to e-residents and open a business account. Here is an article to learn more about opening a traditional bank account. And here is an article about recommended FinTech providers.
  5. Fulfill Tax Obligations: Register for VAT and other necessary taxes through the online tax system. This is also something a service provider can help you with.

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Required Documents and Legal Requirements

Prepare the necessary documentation, including the company’s articles of association and proof of identity for all founders. Ensure compliance with Estonian legal requirements to avoid any delays. To simply this process, there are sample documents readily available, moreover, the online registering process already guiding you through all the important questions. Unless you have a very specific case, you do not need to spend money on a notary or a lawyer.

Support and Resources Available

Estonia offers extensive support for new businesses, including online resources, government support programs, and a network of validated service providers (e-Residency Marketplace). Utilize these resources to navigate the company formation process smoothly.

Starting a company in Estonia is a straightforward process that leverages the country’s advanced digital infrastructure. With the right preparation and understanding of the steps involved, entrepreneurs can quickly establish and run a successful business in Estonia.

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FAQ: Starting a business in Estonia

How to register a company in Estonia as an e-Resident?

Registering a company in Estonia as an e-Resident is 100% online. It takes up to 3 working days, including getting confirmation from the e-Business Register that your new Estonian company is registered. Actually, the world record in establishing a company in Estonia was a mere 15 minutes.

While it is possible to register a company in Estonia yourself, it’s generally recommended to use a service provider to incorporate on your behalf. Silva Hunt can help and we have a business license ( FIU000284) to do so. All that is required is information about the company you’re forming and your digital signature to confirm the application to register. After that, the Estonian Business Registry will process your application and you will get notified when there has been a registry number issued for your new company.

If my business has multiple shareholders should all co-founders join e-Residency?

If you want to form your company fully online all founders must have either: an e-Residency digital ID card or an Estonian national ID card, in order to give your digital signatures in the e-Business Register.

Also, without an e-Residency (or Estonian) digital ID card, only a notary can facilitate changes in the Business Registry. This means wasting extra time and money, which you could use for your business instead.

In addition, you wouldn’t be able to use the e-Notary system if one or more founders can’t log into the system and provide a digital signature.

How to register a company in Estonia when you’re not an e-resident (or you haven’t yet collected your digital ID)?

The good news is that even if you’re not yet an e-Resident, there is another way to incorporate a company in Estonia. Plus, if you have applied for e-Residency but haven’t yet collected your card, this option might work better for you too.

The alternative process to incorporate a company is to use the services of a public notary office in Estonia. Either come to a notary office in Estonia yourself or appoint a service provider such as Silva Hunt to represent you by power of attorney (POA).

And if you initially form your company using a notary and/or the POA service and then later become an e-Resident, you can simply add the Estonian personal code.That will come with your e-Residency digital ID card to the e-Business Register to gain access to the e-services and your company’s data online.

These are the steps of Silva Hunt’s POA service to form a company:

  1. We send you the necessary documents for the POA process.
  2. Go to your local notary to get these documents apostilled.
  3. Send the documents to our office in Estonia via post.
  4. Scan a copy of your passport and send it to us by email.
  5. We organize sworn translation to Estonian (additional fee)
  6. We book a notary’s time (we cannot do it without having received your apostilled documents).
  7. We’ll represent you and go to the notary to incorporate your company.
  8. The notary sends your company information to the business registry for confirmation.
  9. Your company is confirmed to be registered in the Estonian Business Registry within 5 working days.

PS! Our Power of attorney expert says that in 99% of cases there is going to be a translation service needed.

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What happens when a company wants to form a branch or subsidiary company? 

Other scenarios when you’d need to use a notary to register a company in Estonia:

  1. When the share capital contribution is not monetary but rather a monetarily appreciable thing, like intellectual property or technical equipment.
  2.  If a foreign company wants to form a branch or subsidiary in Estonia.

The POA service will be similar to what we’ve set out above for an individual but with a few variations:

  1. Documents needed from your side are: the founding company’s registry certificate and Articles of Association. Additionally we will also send you documents that will allow us to be your POA. All of these documents need to be confirmed by your local notary with an apostille.
  2. Send the apostilled documents to Estonia. The foreign company’s registry card and its Articles of Association should be available at least in English or translated by a sworn translator.
  3. When a legal entity forms a company in Estonia the share capital payment must be paid in right away. For this you need to open a business banking account at a traditional Estonian bank or other EEA bank. If it’s not possible to open a traditional account, we advise to either make a non-monetary contribution. Or form a company as an individual and sell the shares to the foreign company later.

Company formation using Silva Hunt’s POA service starts as soon as you have paid our invoice and signed a service agreement. The process can take 2-7 weeks.

Keep in mind that if you’re from a third party country, which is not a member of the Hague convention, your notarized documents will not be recognized in Europe. Therefore you’d have to fly to another country that is a member of the convention to notarize your documents there. Here you’ll find the list of countries who haven’t joined the Hague convention. A notable example is the United Arab Emirates (although luckily there is an e-Residency card pick up location in Abu Dhabi).

Other aspects that might prolong the POA service:

  1. Postal delivery times from your country to Estonia
  2. Available notary times in Estonia or your country
  3. Translation time, depending on the language and how many translators are in Estonia.

Which process is faster: registering a company as an e-resident or using the POA service?

Well – it’s clear that incorporating a company in Estonia is quickest if you already are an e-resident with a valid digital ID card.

But, if you are not an e-resident or haven’t been able to collect your card, there is another way and will take on average 3 weeks using the services of a public notary in Estonia and delegating POA to a service provider such as Silva Hunt!

One more thing – since you´ll need to start using the e-Residency digital ID card for managing your company remotely anyway, we highly recommend applying to become an e-resident as soon as possible (even if you decide to start your company with the POA service). Otherwise, you’ll have to get documents apostilled by the notary every time you make a business decision that requires notifying the business registry, which includes any changes you might want to make to your articles of association. Here is a useful blog post on how to apply.

Remember: as an e-resident, you can do all of this online, so it’s worth joining!

Get started with your Estonian business right now – get in touch to get started!

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PS! Check out this list of things you MUST know before choosing the right service provider for you.

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