Establishment
Establishing a company is conducted via the Company Registration Portal or with the help of a notary.
Before establishing a company, determine:
- company name;
- corporate structure (private limited company, public limited company, limited partnership, general partnership, foundation, non-governmental organisation);
- the area of activity of the company;
- owners;
- the amount and method of share or equity capital deposit;
- business location.
If desired, also determine:
- trademark;
- internet domain (internet address for the website).
Before confirming the company name, you need to check the possible limitations for this company name and its distinctness from existing company names. If there are any limitations, the commercial register may reject the company name registration.
In addition to the company name, the availability of using the trademark also needs to be checked. Upon choosing a trademark, the most important factor is its distinction and distinguishability from other trademarks of the same field.
Before registering a domain, you need to make sure that the desired domain is available.
In certain fields of activity, you need to consider special requirements as you may need to apply for a specific activity licence or registration. Such fields of activity are, for example, tourism (acting as a tour operator, providing accommodation service), construction (building, design, owner supervision, performing construction expertise, issuing energy-performance labels, performing energy audit), financial services (lending, lease transactions, providing pawnshop service), security services, transportation (passenger transport, taxi service permit), social care (babysitting service, special welfare), different industries (electrical works, installing an elevator, lifting equipment works), gambling, retail and wholesale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, etc. You can read further on conducting business with special requirements here.
The following registers and databases might also be helpful: Register of economic activities, Name inquiry of commercial register, Trademark database of the Patent Office, Estonian Internet Foundation (domain database).