Legal address and contact person are must have when opening a company in Estonia.

An address

Following the Estonian legislation, it is compulsory to have a legal address on the country’s territory to register a company. So that, if necessary, state institutions could send information letters to this particular address.

The main difference between a virtual address and a physical address is that a legal address is simply a registered address and a company mailbox. Let’s imagine your company needs a physical/real office with further receipt of invoices in the name of a company or a company with activity in Estonia. In that case, our specialists will be happy to help rent or purchase business premises for a physical office in Estonia.

It is important to note that the founder or founders draw up the legal address in the Estonian Business Registry. The address will be indicated in the decision on the establishment of the company, the Articles of Association, and the registration card. Only real addresses can be added. A step-by-step guide is added to your order confirmation.

So, in that way, the official Estonian Business Registry (e-Business Register) will contain all the data about your company, including the legal address. If desired, the official data can be saved as a PDF document, or we can also give you a certificate. You will be required to confirm the legal address in some exceptional cases, which you can download from the Business Registry.

Also, be aware that If you decide to change information regarding your business address in Estonia, you must pay a state fee of 25 EUR to the Estonian Ministry of Finance. It could happen if the legal address has changed or the company no longer has the right to use it.

Contact person

As of January 15, 2018, the Estonian Commercial Code stipulates that all companies that do not have a Republic of Estonia resident to sit on the Board of Directors must designate a contact person.

Moreover, if you decide to open your company using e-Residency, you need to have a legal address and contact person beforehand.

The contact person can only be represented by:

• a Notary Office,
• a Law Office,
• a Certified Audit Office or
• a company that has the necessary license to provide contact person services.

A contact person is responsible for accepting procedural and other documents from the Republic of Estonia’s administrative authorities and sending these documents to the addressee. A contact person’s primary function is intermediary, aiming to provide a continuous communication channel between government bodies and the Company’s Management. Upon receipt of procedural documents or other official statements by the contact person, the relevant procedural documentation is deemed to have been delivered to the Board of the company.

A digital signature or a notarised agreement is required for the appointment of a contact person. A corresponding statement must be submitted to a Board of Directors to remove the authority from a contact person, which in turn undertakes that a new contact person will be designated and registered. A Management Board ensures that the data entered is correct. If a company has not entered a new contact person in the register (even if it has this obligation since the Board is located abroad), there will rise the right to impose a fine on the company.

The registrar sets a deadline for a contact person’s appointment, which must be at least one month, but not more than three months. If a contact person has not been designated thus far, the registrar may decide to forcibly dissolve a company or remove a branch of a foreign company from the register. It is possible if a company has not complied with the requirement to appoint a contact person even after receiving a corresponding ruling from the authorities.

Please also be aware that FIE does need to have a contact person but must have a legal address.