The card gives you the ability to register a company. It does not give you one, and the two steps are separated by more decisions than most founders expect.
What registration costs and takes
A private limited company - an osaühing, or OÜ - is registered through the Company Registration Portal. The state fee is €265 for the expedited electronic registration, and approval usually comes within one business day. Some applications are held for manual review, which adds a few days.
You will decide, in the form:
- The company name, which must be unique in the register and is checked as you type
- The business activity classification, which sounds bureaucratic but affects how banks and payment providers assess you later
- The board members, and whether anyone besides you is on it
- The share capital and whether you pay it in now
- The legal address and contact person in Estonia
Share capital: the rule changed
Estonia abolished the old €2,500 minimum. A company can now be founded with share capital as low as €0.01, and most one-person companies are founded with a nominal amount.
There is a practical caveat worth knowing. Very low share capital is legal but it is visible in the public register, and banks, payment providers and larger counterparties do look. A company with €1 of capital reads as untested. Many founders set something modest but not trivial - a few hundred to a few thousand euros - purely because it makes the company easier to bank.
The contact person requirement
If no board member is resident in Estonia, the company must appoint an Estonian contact person and have a legal address there. This is a statutory requirement, not an optional service.
The contact person receives official correspondence on the company's behalf. It costs roughly €200 to €400 a year from a service provider. It is not a nominee director, it carries no management authority, and it does not make the company Estonian-managed for tax purposes - a point worth being clear about, because it is sometimes sold as though it does.
VAT: usually not immediately
VAT registration is mandatory once your Estonian taxable turnover crosses the threshold, and voluntary before that. Most new companies do not register on day one, and should not by reflex: registration means monthly declarations from that point on, whether or not you had any activity.
Register early if you sell mainly to VAT-registered EU businesses, or if you have significant Estonian input VAT to reclaim. Wait if you sell to consumers and are nowhere near the threshold.
The step that actually delays people
Banking. Registration is fast and predictable; getting an account is neither. Estonian traditional banks apply real substance tests to non-resident-owned companies and decline plenty of them - a company with no Estonian customers, no Estonian staff and an owner who has never visited is a difficult case for them, regardless of how legitimate the business is.
Most e-resident companies therefore operate on EU fintech providers instead. That works, and it is normal, but it is worth choosing before you register rather than after, because some providers will not accept certain business activities or countries of residence at all. Discovering that after registration means a company you cannot bank.
Order of operations that saves a month: decide the business activity and the likely payment provider first, check that provider accepts your activity and your country, then register. Founders who register first and shop for banking afterwards are the ones who spend six weeks stuck.
What starts the day you register
Obligations begin at registration, not at first revenue. From that date the company must keep accounting records, and it will file an annual report for its first financial year even if it never trades. A board member fee, if you pay yourself one, triggers monthly payroll declarations. There is no grace period for a company that has not started yet.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to register an Estonian company?
The state fee is €265 for expedited electronic registration. Budget separately for a contact person and legal address, roughly €200 to €400 a year, if no board member lives in Estonia.
What is the minimum share capital for an Estonian OÜ?
€0.01 since the old €2,500 minimum was abolished. Very low capital is legal but visible in the public register, and it can make banking harder.
Do I need a contact person in Estonia?
Yes, if no board member is an Estonian resident. It is a statutory requirement. The contact person receives official correspondence and has no management authority.
Do I need to register for VAT straight away?
Usually not. Registration is mandatory once Estonian taxable turnover crosses the threshold. Registering early means monthly declarations from that point, so it is worth doing only if you have input VAT to reclaim or sell mainly to VAT-registered businesses.
Tagsregister company EstoniaOÜ registrationcontact personshare capital
General information, not tax advice
This article reflects Estonian law as it stands on the date shown. Rules change and individual circumstances differ - confirm your own position with us before acting.