Company Incorporation

How to register a company in Latvia 2026

How to register a company in Latvia in 2026

Most founders who ask how to register a company in Latvia end up with a SIA, the Latvian private limited company. You pay in EUR 2,800 of share capital, or less if you qualify for the reduced-capital SIA. The money goes in before you file. Then you file with the Register of Enterprises (Uzņēmumu reģistrs). The state fee is EUR 75. Review takes 1 to 3 working days. You do not need to fly in. A notarised power of attorney lets us sign and file for you.

Latvia sets no residency rule for shareholders or board members. It is in the EU and the eurozone, so your SIA sells into the single market from day one. Our estimate for the whole registration in Latvia, with a year of registered address, is 15 business days. Costs, documents and 2026 tax rates follow below.

Who can register a company in Latvia as a non-resident

Almost anyone can register a company in Latvia. There is no bar on nationality or residence. The requirements below are what matter.

You need at least one shareholder. A person or a company will do, from any country.
You need at least one board member, from any country. No local director is required.
A foreign company can be the shareholder, but then it needs the standard SIA with EUR 2,800.
You can register a SIA in Latvia from abroad. A notarised power of attorney lets TKEG Expat sign and file for you.
You pick the standard SIA at EUR 2,800, or the reduced-capital SIA if every founder is a person, not a company.

SIA at a glance
Entity type	SIA, Sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību, a private limited liability company
Liability	Limited liability
Public share offering	Not allowed; that is the AS form
Shareholders, directors and secretary
Minimum shareholders	One, a natural person or a legal entity
Minimum directors (board members)	One, of any nationality
Residency or nationality rule	None; no local director required
Company secretary	Not required; nor a separate legal representative
Share capital
Standard minimum	EUR 2,800
Reduced-capital SIA	Any amount below EUR 2,800 (the law sets no floor); up to five natural-person founders; every board member a shareholder
Payment before filing	Paid in full into a payment account in the company's name before filing

SIA, AS or a branch: choosing your Latvian entity

The SIA is the default for foreign founders, but not the only form.

Entity types compared
SIA (standard)	Private limited company; EUR 2,800 capital paid in full before filing; individual or corporate shareholders; state fee EUR 75
Reduced-capital SIA	Capital below EUR 2,800; up to five natural-person founders; every board member a shareholder; state fee EUR 20; 25% of each year's profit goes to a reserve
AS (Akciju sabiedrība)	Joint-stock company; EUR 25,000 capital paid in full before registration; can offer shares publicly
Branch	Part of the foreign parent, not a separate company; the parent stays liable; no share capital
Representative office	Promotion and market contact only; not a separate company; does not trade

For a foreign founder the SIA wins in almost every case: limited liability, EUR 75 to register, no local director. A branch keeps the parent on the hook. See the Latvia SIA company details page for the rest.

Documents required to register a company in Latvia

The documents you need to register a company in Latvia depend on who the shareholder is. A person and a company file different sets. All foreign papers need a certified Latvian translation. Public documents also need an apostille or legalisation, unless issued in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland.

Two requirements founders often miss
Legal address in Latvia	Mandatory; the application carries the board's notice of the address, its cadastral designation, and its confirmation of a lawful basis such as a lease or the owner's consent (the consent itself is not filed)
Beneficial owner (UBO) declaration	Any natural person with more than 25% of capital or votes, or control by other means; named in the application; changes within 14 days

Documents by shareholder type

Documents must be fresh: proof of address under one month old, with an English translation. Passports and the power of attorney go in as notarised copies. A corporate shareholder adds its own papers, translated and notarised.

Natural-person shareholders and directors
Passport	Notarised copy for every shareholder and board member
Proof of address	Under one month old, with an English translation
Power of attorney	Drafted by TKEG Expat, signed and notarised
Legal-entity shareholders
Articles of association	Translated and notarised copy of the articles
Proof of registration	Business licence or registry extract, translated and notarised
Passports of the representative and owners	Notarised copies for the legal representative and every owner above 25%
Proof of address of the entity	Parent's address proof, under one month old, with an English translation

Step by step: how to register a company in Latvia

This is how to register a company in Latvia in six steps. The capital must sit in the account before you file, so keep the order.

Choose a company name and the legal form, then check the name against the Register.
Secure a legal address in Latvia, backed by a lease or the owner's consent.
Prepare the founding documents and sign them with a qualified e-signature or before a notary.
Open a payment account in the company's name and pay in the full share capital.
File with the Register of Enterprises, pay the state fee and declare the beneficial owners.
Open the permanent corporate bank account and pass the bank's KYC review.

1. Choose a company name and legal form

Your name must differ clearly from every name in the Commercial Register and other UR registers. It cannot mislead people about your business. It cannot contain "Latvijas Republika" or the name of a state or city body. The word SIA goes at the start or the end. Check the name in the Register's own search at info.ur.gov.lv and in the trademark register. A clear search is not a reservation. Pick the form here too.

2. Secure a legal address in Latvia

You cannot file without a Latvian legal address. The board tells the Register the address and its cadastral designation. It also confirms the company can be reached there under a lease or the owner's consent. Our SIA bundle includes a year of registered address in Latvia, so this step is done for you.

3. Prepare and sign the founding documents

The founding set is the memorandum of association, the articles and the founding decision. Anything not in Latvian gets a certified translation. With an EU qualified e-signature under eIDAS you sign online. The Register's portal accepts no other e-signatures, so a non-EU founder signs before a notary and the power of attorney lets us do the rest.

4. Pay in the share capital

Open a payment account in the new company's name. Pay in the whole capital, EUR 2,800 for a standard SIA. Below EUR 50,000 no bank statement is needed. You declare in the application that the account exists and the capital is in. Above that, you attach the payment provider's statement. Once registered, the money is the company's working capital.

5. File with the Register of Enterprises and pay the state fee

Company registration in Latvia is filed with the Register of Enterprises (Uzņēmumu reģistrs, UR). The state fee is EUR 75 for a standard SIA and EUR 20 for the reduced-capital SIA. A bank-transfer fee must land at least two working days before you file. Standard review takes 1 to 3 working days. A single-founder SIA gets a one-working-day review at the normal fee. With two or more founders, the one-day review costs triple. You get the Register's decision and an electronic extract, with no paper certificate.

6. Open a permanent corporate bank account

The permanent business account is opened after registration. For non-resident owners the bank runs an AML and KYC review. In our experience that usually takes several weeks and is the slowest part of the timeline, so start early.

Latvia company registration cost and timeline

Company registration in Latvia has two cost layers: what the state charges and what we charge. Our SIA company formation Latvia bundle is EUR 1,700. It covers the incorporation and a year of registered address. No travel is needed. The Latvia SIA company incorporation pricing page has the current quote. The EUR 2,800 capital and the EUR 75 state fee come on top.

Running costs in Latvia start after registration: monthly tax returns, the annual report and VAT compliance. Our Latvia Basic Accounting package is EUR 2,700. See Latvia accounting and bookkeeping for what it covers. Address renewal is EUR 950 and VAT registration EUR 1,250.

Government costs
State fee, standard SIA	EUR 75
State fee, reduced-capital SIA	EUR 20
Expedited review	One working day; at the normal fee for a single-founder SIA; triple the fee (EUR 225 standard, EUR 60 reduced-capital) with two or more founders
TKEG Expat service fees
SIA incorporation bundle	EUR 1,700, incorporation plus one year of registered address
Corporate shareholder surcharge	EUR 1,200 extra when a shareholder is a company
Notarised power of attorney	EUR 575 supplement
VAT registration	EUR 1,250 if you need a VAT number
How long it takes
Registration estimate	15 business days for the SIA plus address bundle; Register review alone is 1 to 3 working days
Bank account	In our experience usually several weeks after registration, set by the bank's AML and KYC review

Corporate tax and VAT after registering a company in Latvia

Figures verified September 2026 against the Latvian Commercial Law, Cabinet Regulation No. 664, the Register of Enterprises (ur.gov.lv) and PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (reviewed 30 June 2026).

A company in Latvia pays corporate income tax only when it pays out profit. Profit kept in the business is taxed at 0%. The headline rate is 20%. The base is divided by 0.8, so the real cost is 25% of the net dividend. VAT is 21%. VAT registration is mandatory once taxable sales pass EUR 50,000 in a calendar year. We handle Latvia VAT registration with the State Revenue Service (VID).

Corporate income tax (CIT)
General rate	20% on distributed and deemed-distributed profits; base is the net amount divided by 0.8, so an effective 25%; from 2026 a company owned only by individuals may opt for 15% on the amount divided by 0.85, plus 6% income tax on the dividend
Retained or reinvested profits	0%
Filing and payment	Monthly return by the 20th, payment by the 23rd of the next month; quarterly if allowed to book documents quarterly; the financial year's last month is always filed
VAT
VAT rates	21% standard; 12% and 5% reduced
VAT registration threshold	Mandatory above EUR 50,000 of taxable supplies in a calendar year; apply by the 15th of the next month; intra-EU goods purchases above EUR 10,000 in a calendar year also trigger it; voluntary below
Withholding tax
WHT on payments to non-residents	0% on dividends, interest and royalties; 20% on management and consulting fees; 20% on any payment to a blacklisted jurisdiction

Common mistakes when registering a company in Latvia

Forgetting that the legal address expires after one year. Budget for registered address renewal at EUR 950 so the Register always holds a valid address.
Picking the reduced-capital SIA when one of its four conditions fails, usually a corporate shareholder. Then you need the standard SIA with EUR 2,800. If a condition stops holding later, the capital must reach EUR 2,800 within three months, and on insolvency the shareholders cover the shortfall to EUR 2,800 themselves.
Treating the Register and the tax office as one body. The Register of Enterprises (UR) creates the company and the tax office lists it as a taxpayer on its own. VAT registration is a separate application, and tax returns and the annual report go to the State Revenue Service (VID) through its EDS system.
Sending documents in the wrong shape. Foreign papers need a certified Latvian translation. Public documents from outside the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland need an apostille or legalisation. Passports and the power of attorney must be notarised.
Leaving the bank until the end. In our experience the KYC review of non-resident owners usually takes several weeks. Gather the bank's papers while the Register reviews your file.

FAQ: registering a company in Latvia

Can a non-resident register a company in Latvia remotely?

Yes. You can register a SIA in Latvia without setting foot there. You sign a notarised power of attorney and we file for you. With an EU qualified e-signature you can sign the documents online instead. The bank's KYC review comes later.

What is the minimum share capital for a Latvian SIA?

EUR 2,800 for a standard SIA, paid in full before you file. A reduced-capital SIA can start with any amount below EUR 2,800. The conditions: all founders are natural persons, five at most, every board member is a shareholder, and each owns shares in only one such company.

How long does company registration in Latvia take?

The Register reviews a Latvian SIA registration in 1 to 3 working days. A single founder gets a one-day review at the normal fee; two or more founders pay triple for it. Our estimate for the SIA and address bundle is 15 business days. In our experience the bank account adds several weeks.

What documents are needed to register a company in Latvia?

The requirements depend on the shareholder type. A natural-person founder sends a notarised passport copy and a notarised power of attorney. Add proof of address under one month old, with an English translation. A corporate shareholder adds translated and notarised articles, its registry extract, and passports of the legal representative and owners above 25%.

What is the corporate income tax rate for a Latvian company?

20%, charged when profit is paid out or deemed paid out. After the 0.8 divisor the real cost is 25% of the net dividend. Profit kept in the company is taxed at 0%. From 2026 a company owned only by individuals can opt for 15% on the amount divided by 0.85, plus 6% income tax on the dividend.

Does Latvia restrict foreign shareholders or directors by nationality?

No. Shareholders and board members can come from any country and live anywhere. No local director, company secretary or legal representative is required. The only limit is in the reduced-capital SIA, whose shareholders must be natural persons.

What do I have to file after the company is registered?

Corporate income tax returns by the 20th of each month, payment by the 23rd. VAT returns once registered. The annual report goes through the VID EDS system: micro and small companies within five months of year end, larger ones within seven. UBO changes go to the Register within 14 days. Watch the company's official e-address for notices.

Who must be declared as a beneficial owner (UBO) of a Latvian company?

Any natural person who holds more than 25% of the capital or the votes, or who controls the company in another way. You declare them in the registration application. Any later change is filed with the Register within 14 days.

Register your Latvian company with TKEG Expat

You now know how to register a company in Latvia. Company registration in Latvia is simple on paper. The timing and the paperwork are where founders lose weeks. We draft the documents, arrange the legal address, file with the Register, then handle VAT and accounting compliance. Our Latvia company incorporation services cover the whole path. The SIA company formation Latvia bundle is EUR 1,700. Send us a passport scan and a short note on the business.

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