Company registration in Latvia

Registration fee is from 2000 €

Registration period — 2 weeks

Minimum authorized capital - from EUR 2,800

Remote opening — yes

Financial statements — Yes

Latvia is a Northern European country, a member of the European Union, NATO, and the Schengen Area. Its capital is Riga.

Maira Consult helps non-residents register a company in Latvia to run international business, trade, and provide services within the EU. The most common form is SIA (Sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību), the equivalent of a limited liability company.

  • For a standard SIA, the minimum share capital is 2,800 EUR. There is also a reduced-capital SIA starting from 1 EUR, but it comes with special legislative restrictions (only individuals, up to 5 founders, can establish it).

  • There is no requirement to employ Latvian citizens. The company must have a legal address in Latvia.

  • In 2026, the minimum wage is 780 EUR. Under certain conditions, if a company operates without an employee or board member receiving appropriate remuneration, a special taxation rule for board member income may apply. One of the criteria is a monthly turnover of at least 3,900 EUR (five times the minimum wage).

  • A Latvian company can apply to open a corporate account with a bank or another financial institution (an EMI / neobank). The decision depends on the results of the KYC/AML check.

  • If a full set of documents is prepared, company registration in Latvia can be completed within 1-3 business days after the documents are submitted to the Enterprise Register.

Maira Consult specialists will help you register a company in Latvia, prepare the documents, and provide advice on all corporate, tax, and banking matters.

Latvia advantages

1

CIT is not paid until profit distribution

2

Low maintenance cost

3

Geographic location

4

Registration speed

5

Possibility of opening an account in Latvia

General Information

Registration Features

In Latvia, there are several legal forms of business organization:

  • Individual Merchant (IK);
  • Limited Liability Company (SIA);
  • Joint Stock Company (AS).

The most common and flexible form for foreign business is SIA (equivalent to an LLC).

Company Name

To open an SIA in Latvia, your company name must end with a word, phrase, or abbreviation indicating limited liability, namely "SIA." Correct SIA registration in Latvia requires compliance with this company name requirement.

Authorized Capital

There are two share capital options for registering an SIA in Latvia:

  • Small-capital SIA (Mazkapitāla SIA): from EUR 1 to EUR 2,799 (an ideal option for a fast and low-cost start).
  • Standard SIA: from EUR 2,800 (at least 50% paid at registration, the remainder within a year).

Director

At least one individual is required. There are no residency requirements for the director, who may be a non-resident (including a citizen of Ukraine).

Shareholders

At least one person is required, with no residency requirements.

  • Founders of a small-capital SIA (from EUR 1) can only be individuals (a maximum of 5 people).
  • If the founder is a legal entity, a standard SIA with capital of at least EUR 2,800 must be registered.

Financial Reporting

A Latvian company is required to submit annual financial statements to the State Revenue Service of Latvia. For micro and small companies, the filing deadline is generally up to 5 months after the end of the reporting year; for medium and large companies, up to 7 months.

Taxation

  • Corporate tax on undistributed profit is not paid until the profit is distributed.
  • When profit is distributed, the standard CIT rate is 20% of the tax base, which is calculated using a coefficient of 0.8.
  • From 2026, companies whose shareholders are exclusively individuals may also opt for an alternative regime: 15% CIT on distributed profit and 6% PIT on the individual's dividends.
  • VAT is 21%.
  • Registration as a VAT payer is generally linked to reaching the statutory turnover threshold of EUR 50,000 in the previous or current calendar year. Certain transactions may trigger a registration obligation regardless of whether this threshold has been reached.

Confidentiality

The Latvian Enterprise Register is open to the public and contains information on a company's registration date, board members, the amount of share capital, and its status. Information on the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) must be submitted to the Enterprise Register. The UBO is determined based on direct or indirect ownership and actual control over the company.

Stages of company registration

01

Choosing the name and form of the company

To register a company in Latvia, you need to provide several company name options. The name must be original, unique in Latvian, and must not contravene Latvian legislation.

02

Preparation and collection of documents

At this stage, you provide scanned copies of the passport of the company's founder and director, along with proof of residence. If there are several founders, the division of capital shares between them must be specified. We prepare the first set of documents for signing.

03

Identification of company participants

Company registration in Latvia can be done remotely or by traveling to Latvia in person. If the company's founder has an electronic signature, or in the case of a personal visit, company registration in Latvia can be completed within 1 week.

04

Formation of the share capital (if necessary)

The share capital must be paid in during the registration of a company in Latvia. The funds are deposited into a special temporary account of the Latvian company.

05

Company registration

After the share capital has been paid in, we submit the documents for company registration in Latvia to the Register of Enterprises.

06

Receiving of corporate documents

After the company is registered in Latvia, we receive a set of documents from the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia.

07

Legalization of documents (if necessary)

If necessary, after the company is registered in Latvia, the company's documents can be submitted for legalization and apostille. This also applies to the process of registering a SIA in Latvia if international-level confirmation is required.

08

Delivery of corporate documents

The original corporate documents of the company in Latvia are sent by courier service, ensuring fast and secure delivery for your business.

Answers to the Most Common Questions:

The cost of registering a company in Latvia starts from EUR 2,000. The registration package includes a company name check, preparation of the Articles of Association (statūti) and incorporation agreement, the state registration fee, and submission of the documents to the Register of Enterprises (Uzņēmumu reģistrs). The registered office, accounting services and corporate bank account opening are charged separately. The final cost depends on the type of company and share capital selected: a standard SIA with share capital from EUR 2,800 or a low-capital SIA (Mazkapitāla SIA) with share capital from EUR 1. The chosen structure also affects the ownership requirements and the company's ongoing obligations.
Provided that all required documents are in order, the Register of Enterprises generally registers a company within 1-3 business days after submission. The realistic overall timeframe is up to two weeks. Most of this time is usually spent on the preparatory stage rather than on the registration itself, including checking the availability of the company name in Latvian, collecting documents from all founders and depositing the share capital into a temporary account. Opening a permanent corporate bank account is a separate process and depends on the bank's KYC/AML assessment.
A non-resident can establish a company in Latvia remotely if the founder has a qualified electronic signature, such as the Latvian eParaksts or a compatible electronic signature issued in another EU country. If the founder does not have a suitable electronic signature, the documents can be signed in the presence of a notary and submitted through an authorised representative under a power of attorney. Personal attendance in Riga is therefore rarely required for company registration. However, opening a corporate bank account can be more challenging, as some banks and financial institutions require a personal meeting with a member of the management board even when the company itself has been registered remotely.
A standard SIA requires minimum share capital of EUR 2,800. At least 50% must be paid upon incorporation, with the remaining amount payable within one year. The shareholders can be individuals or legal entities, with no restriction on the number of shareholders. A Mazkapitāla SIA allows a company to be established with share capital starting from EUR 1. However, its shareholders must be individuals, with a maximum of five shareholders. The company is also required to create a mandatory reserve from its profits. If a legal entity is to be a shareholder, the standard SIA structure must be used.
To register a company in Latvia, each founder and director must provide a copy of their international passport and proof of residential address. The registration process also requires several proposed company names in Latvian, information on the distribution of shares between the founders, a registered office address in Latvia, a description of the planned business activities and information about the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) for submission to the Register of Enterprises. For an SIA registration, confirmation of the payment of the share capital into a temporary account is also required.
Yes. Latvian legislation does not impose residency requirements on either shareholders or members of the management board. A company in Latvia can therefore be established by a Ukrainian citizen or a citizen of any other country. The key mandatory requirement is that the company must have a registered office address in Latvia. There is no general requirement to employ Latvian residents. However, practical restrictions are more likely to arise when opening a corporate bank account. Banks apply enhanced due diligence to companies that have limited or no genuine economic ties to Latvia.
This is an important issue that is often overlooked when establishing a Latvian company. If a company conducts business activities but no employee or member of the management board (valdes loceklis) receives remuneration, a special tax rule may apply under certain conditions. In such cases, deemed income may be attributed to the management board member, with the relevant taxes and social security contributions becoming payable. One of the relevant criteria is monthly turnover of at least EUR 3,900 - five times the minimum monthly wage, which is EUR 780 in 2026. We assess this issue before the company is incorporated, as it can have a direct impact on the company's ongoing monthly costs.
Corporate income tax (UIN) is not generally imposed on undistributed profits. The corporate income tax liability arises when profits are distributed. The standard rate is 20% of the tax base, which is calculated using a coefficient of 0.8. As a result, the effective tax burden on distributed profits is higher than the nominal 20% rate. From 2026, companies whose shareholders are exclusively individuals may opt for an alternative tax regime consisting of 15% UIN on distributed profits and 6% personal income tax on dividends received by an individual. The standard VAT rate in Latvia is 21%.
As a general rule, a Latvian company is required to register for VAT when its turnover reaches EUR 50,000 in the previous or current calendar year. The application is submitted to the State Revenue Service (VID). Certain transactions may trigger a VAT registration obligation regardless of whether the EUR 50,000 threshold has been reached. These may include, in particular, the acquisition of services from non-residents and certain intra-EU transactions. Once a VAT (PVN) number has been obtained, the company's VAT registration can be verified by counterparties through the VIES system, and the company must submit VAT returns within the applicable deadlines.
A Latvian company must prepare and file annual financial statements with the State Revenue Service. For micro and small companies, the filing deadline is generally within five months after the end of the financial year, while medium-sized and large companies generally have seven months. Annual financial statements must be filed even if the company has had no business activity. The company must also maintain its accounting records in Latvian and retain supporting accounting documents. Information on the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) must be updated in the Register of Enterprises whenever there is a change in the ownership structure.
Following the reform of Latvia's financial sector, the country significantly tightened its approach to servicing non-resident businesses. Banks now apply enhanced due diligence to companies that have limited or no genuine economic connection with Latvia. Based on our experience, common reasons for rejection include the absence of Latvian or EU-based business counterparties, lack of a local office or employees, complex multi-level ownership structures, and discrepancies between the declared and actual business activities. A practical alternative can be licensed electronic money institutions (EMIs) and EU-based neobanks, where physical presence requirements may be less stringent. We can submit applications to several financial institutions in parallel to increase the chances of obtaining a suitable corporate account.
No. Latvia is a member of the European Union, NATO and the Schengen Area. It participates in the automatic exchange of tax information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and maintains a Register of Enterprises with information on ultimate beneficial owners. Latvian companies are required to maintain proper accounting records, file financial statements and comply with applicable tax obligations. Following the 2018 financial sector reforms and Latvia's shift away from servicing non-resident structures, the country has moved away from its former reputation as a transit jurisdiction. The main advantage of establishing a company in Latvia is the taxation mechanism under which corporate income tax is generally deferred until profits are distributed, rather than any lack of transparency.

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