Company Incorporation Guide
Latvia company registration for founders abroad
Applicable country/region: LV - Latvia
Published: Updated:
- Written by our advisory team
- Latvia rules and requirements
- Checked against official sources
Guide overview
What to decide, and in what order
Latvia company registration means forming a private limited liability company (SIA), which becomes a legal person on the day the Register of Enterprises (Uzņēmumu reģistrs, UR) enters it. Setting up a company in Latvia from abroad starts with which version of the SIA the ownership allows. Next is why the file reaches the people behind the shares, and how papers are signed without a qualified e-signature the Register accepts. Before registering a company, the legal address, the paid-in capital and the state fee must be in place. Incorporation settles some tax questions and leaves others open. Last comes what the Register issues and the dates a firm in Latvia keeps from then on.
COMPANY TYPES
The standard SIA or the reduced-capital SIA
At formation, ownership decides between two kinds of limited liability company (SIA). Both are a Sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību, the Latvian LLC: a legal entity, unlike a sole proprietorship. Public share offers need a joint-stock company (AS), another business structure. The Commercial Law (Komerclikums) lets the reduced-capital SIA go below the standard minimum share capital while its conditions hold: at most five shareholders, all natural persons, none in another such company, every board member a shareholder. A corporate shareholder rules it out. In return, a reserve takes at least 25% of yearly profit, a lapsed condition leaves three months to reach the standard minimum, and shareholders' insolvency liability stops at the missing capital.
Reading the company types
Rows cover ownership, shareholder and director rules, capital and notes for each company type.
Latvia SIA Basic Information
Ownership:
Consolidated Ownership
Limited Liability:
Positive
Publicly Participates In Capital Market:
Negative
Latvia SIA Registered Capital Requirement
Minimum Registered Capital Requirement:
1. Starting from 2800 euro.
Capital Injection Not Required:
Negative
Capital Injection Requirement:
The whole share capital is paid before the registration application is filed; cash goes into a payment account in the company's name.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
The owners behind the shares, and signing from abroad
Every registration application names the company's beneficial owners (UBOs), the individuals who own or control it, and changes must reach the Register within 14 days. A bank runs its own anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer (KYC) review of them. Because indirect ownership counts, a corporate shareholder passes both questions to the people behind it, which adds to its required documents. For signing, the Register's portal takes only a Latvian eID or a listed EU state's qualified e-signature. A founder without one signs before a notary, or a representative signs under a notarised power of attorney. Public documents from outside the EU, the EEA, the UK or Switzerland need an apostille or legalisation, depending on origin.
Reading the documents
Rows are document types grouped by who provides them; each entry ends with its process and format.
Legal Entity Shareholders's Required Documents
Proof of Address:
Official address proof of the legal person of the holding company and shareholders owning more than 25% of the shares: scanned water, electricity, and utility bills or bank statements. An English translation is required, and the document must clearly indicate the name, address, and date of the legal person, and it must not be older than one month.
Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Scan Copy
Company Bylaw:
The English translation of the company's articles of association + English notarization of the holding company;
Process: NotarizationFormat: Scan Copy
Proof Of Registration / Business License:
The business license of the holding company shall be translated into English and notarized in English.
Process: NotarizationFormat: Scan Copy
Passport:
The legal representative of the holding company and shareholders holding more than 25% of the shares need to provide passport notarization.
Process: NotarizationFormat: Scan Copy
Natural Person Shareholders & Directors's Required Documents
Passport:
Shareholder and director passport notarization;
Process: NotarizationFormat: Scan Copy
Proof of Address:
Shareholders and directors' address proof: scanned copies of water, electricity, and gas bills or bank statements. It needs to be translated into English, and the document should clearly indicate the name, address, and date of the shareholder/director, and should not be older than 1 month.
Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Scan Copy
Power of Attorney:
Registering for a general SIA requires an authorization letter (provided by our company) and needs to go through notarization.
Process: NotarizationFormat: Scan Copy
REQUIREMENTS AND ESTIMATED COST
Latvia company registration requirements before filing
For the legal address in Latvia, the Register receives the board's notice with the cadastral designation. The notice also confirms that the company can be reached there and has a lawful basis, such as a lease or the owner's consent, which it keeps but does not file. The address must work for the company's whole life, because mail sent there counts as received, so a fixed-term local arrangement brings renewal costs. Other conditions apply too: before filing, the whole share capital must be paid, any cash into a payment account in the company's name. Government fees are paid ahead, and a state fee sent by bank transfer outside the portal must go at least two working days before applying.
Reading the requirements
Base cost is the service and government fees; each requirement shows if it is included and what solving it costs; the estimate adds them up.
Base Cost
Service Fee:
EUR 1,700
Requirements
Registered Address: A Business Address in Latvia Is Required
Incorporating a company in Latvia requires a business address in Latvia If you do not have a business address in Latvia, you can choose the Registered Address Service provided by TKEG Expat™ (DE).
Incorporating a company in Latvia requires a business address in Latvia If you do not have a business address in Latvia, you can choose the Registered Address Service provided by TKEG Expat™ (DE).
Included: Yes ×1.00
Estimated Cost
Estimated Cost:
EUR 1,700
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TAX
When corporate income tax and VAT start to apply
Corporate income tax waits until profit is paid out, as dividends or as what the law treats as a distribution, such as non-business spending. The base is the payout divided by 0.8, so the tax equals 25% of the net dividend. From 2026, a company owned only by natural persons may opt for 15% on the dividend divided by 0.85, plus 6% personal income tax withheld. A month with nothing taxable needs no return, except the financial year's last month. The company's registration number doubles as its tax code, but VAT registration is a separate application to the State Revenue Service (VID), mandatory once taxable supplies in Latvia pass EUR 50,000 in a calendar year.
Reading the tax data
Rows cover corporate income, withholding, value-added and capital gains tax, plus effective rates, for each jurisdiction.
Corporate Income Tax (CIT)
General CIT Rate:
20 (only payable when distributing profits).
CIT Return Due Date:
The tax deadline is one month. If taxpayers are allowed to pre-order proof documents quarterly, the tax period is one quarter. The return is filed by the 20th day of the month after each tax period; a period with no taxable object needs no return, except the one covering the last month of the financial year, which is always filed.
CIT Payment Due Date:
If there is a tax base, the tax payable should be paid on or before the 23rd day of the next tax filing period each month.
CIT Estimated Payment Due Date:
No estimated CIT payment.
Withholding Tax (WHT)
Non-Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):
0/0/0
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
General VAT Rate:
21
Capital Gain Tax (CGT)
General Capital Gain Tax Rate:
Capital gains are constrained by the normal corporate income tax rate.
Effective Tax Rate (ETR)
Composite Effective Average Tax Rate:
17.00%
Composite Effective Marginal Tax Rate:
0.00%
Conclusion
Once the Register has entered the company
The Register answers in its e-service or at the company's official e-address, which must be checked because state bodies send documents there. No paper certificate follows: the entry is the proof, and a free e-sealed statement from the Register shows it. The compliance calendar holds tax returns and the annual report, the company's financial reporting, filed through the VID's Electronic Declaration System (EDS) within five months of year-end for micro and small companies. So does any renewal date of the legal address. Opening a corporate bank account for daily business turns on the bank's due diligence on who owns and controls the company, so gather what it will ask for while the Register is processing the file.
Jurisdiction Overview
About Latvia
Latvia offers a strategic Baltic location with EU and eurozone membership, 20% corporate tax with zero tax on reinvested profits, a multilingual workforce, and strong IT and logistics sectors.
View Complete InformationFrequently Asked Questions
The Latvian government does not impose any nationality or status restrictions on foreigners registering Latvian companies, nor does it require EU residency as a nominated director.
At least one shareholder is required to register a Latvian company. This can be a natural person or a company. The Latvian government does not have any requirements or restrictions regarding the nationality or legal belonging of the shareholders of a Latvian company.
It depends on the jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions, or the banks involved, require each shareholder to pay its contribution from an account in its own name; others regulate only the account that receives the capital and the confirmation that proves the payment; and some have no capital verification at all. Check the rules that apply to the company before paying in any capital.
The company's registered capital belongs to the company, not to its shareholders, so the shareholders cannot simply withdraw it after incorporation. The company may spend it on its business. Returning capital to the shareholders requires a procedure the applicable company law provides, such as a formal capital reduction, and profits can be paid out to them only as a lawful distribution.
References
likumi.lv · 5490 komerclikumsur.gov.lv · compare business typesur.gov.lv · explanation beneficial ownersur.gov.lv · documents foreign languageur.gov.lv · valsts nodevas samaksaifm.gov.lv · uznemumu ienakuma nodokla likmeslikumi.lv · 253451 pievienotas vertibas nodokla likumslikumi.lv · 277779 gada parskatu un konsolideto gada parskatu likumslikumi.lv · 283229 oficialas elektroniskas adreses likumsur.gov.lv · biezak uzdotie jautajumi buj par registresanuapraksti.ur.gov.lv · pieteikumu iesniegsana un nodevas 0likumi.lv · 178987 noziedzigi iegutu lidzeklu legalizacijas un terorisma un proliferacijas finansesanas noversanas likumslikumi.lv · 292700 uznemumu ienakuma nodokla likumslikumi.lv · 33946 par nodokliem un nodevamlikumi.lv · 56880 par iedzivotaju ienakuma nodokliur.gov.lv · uznemumu registrs nodrosina bezmaksas izzinas kas apliecinatas ar ezimogu
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