Companies in Latvia are registered by the Latvijas Republikas Uzņēmumu reģistrs (Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia), a state institution that keeps the komercreģistrs (Commercial Register) together with more than a dozen other public registers. Register entries and the documents behind them are published online in the institution's information portal, and since 1 August 2021 the whole public part of a company's registration file has been available there free of charge. The same institution registers merchants, sole traders, associations, foundations, political parties, commercial pledges and insolvency proceedings.

The company registry in Latvia

The registering authority is the Latvijas Republikas Uzņēmumu reģistrs (Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia), and the register in which companies are entered is the komercreģistrs (Commercial Register). Under Article 6 of the Komerclikums (Commercial Law) the Commercial Register records the information prescribed by law and stores the documents of merchants and their commercial activity, and it is kept by the state institution authorised for that purpose. Decisions on entries are taken by valsts notāri (state notaries) of the Register of Enterprises — officials of the institution, not sworn notaries in private practice. Applications are examined within a few working days and are submitted electronically through the official e-adrese or by e-mail with a secure electronic signature, or on paper at a customer service centre, in which case the signatures must be certified.

Data are published through the register's information portal at info.ur.gov.lv. Under Article 1 of the law Par Latvijas Republikas Uzņēmumu reģistru (On the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia) the same institution also registers cooperative societies, European Economic Interest Groupings, European Companies and European Cooperative Societies, branches and representative offices of foreign merchants, associations and foundations, religious organisations, trade unions, political parties, mass media, arbitration courts, commercial pledges, matrimonial property agreements, decisive influence and insolvency proceedings, and it maintains the register of beneficial owners of legal arrangements.

Sole traders and the register journal

Latvia does not keep a separate registry for individual entrepreneurs in the sense of a separate institution or portal. An individuālais komersants (individual merchant) is a natural person entered in the same komercreģistrs as companies, and under Article 1 of the Komerclikums such a person is a merchant on exactly the same footing as a partnership or a capital company.

Two older forms sit in a second register kept by the same institution, the Uzņēmumu reģistra žurnāls (Register of Enterprises journal): the individuālais uzņēmums (individual undertaking) and the zemnieka vai zvejnieka saimniecība (farmer's or fisherman's holding), for which the journal records details such as the area and location of the land. A farm may also apply to be entered in the Commercial Register as an individual merchant. Both registers are searched through the same information portal, so in practice a single search covers companies and sole traders alike.

Legal forms that can be registered in Latvia

The Komerclikums divides merchants into individual merchants, partnerships and capital companies; alongside them the Register of Enterprises holds the older enterprise forms, the European legal forms, branches and the non-profit legal persons of Latvian law. The following forms can be registered:

  • Sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību (SIA) — private limited company. The dominant form in Latvia. The members are not personally liable for the company's obligations; the minimum share capital is 2,800 euros.
  • Mazkapitāla SIA — low share capital private limited company. A SIA whose capital is below the statutory minimum, permitted where the founders and members are at most five natural persons, every board member is also a member, and each member belongs to only one such company; the company must build up a statutory reserve.
  • Akciju sabiedrība (AS) — joint stock company. A capital company whose capital is divided into shares and which must have a supervisory board; the share capital may not be less than 25,000 euros. Used by larger businesses and listed companies.
  • Individuālais komersants (IK) — individual merchant. A natural person entered in the Commercial Register who trades in their own name and answers for the obligations of the business with all personal assets.
  • Pilnsabiedrība (PS) — general partnership. A partnership of two or more persons trading under a common firm name, in which all partners are jointly and severally liable with all their assets.
  • Komandītsabiedrība (KS) — limited partnership. A partnership with at least one fully liable partner and at least one limited partner whose liability is confined to the contribution.
  • Zemnieka vai zvejnieka saimniecība (ZS) — farmer's or fisherman's holding. A family-based agricultural or fishing undertaking recorded in the Register of Enterprises journal, which may also register as an individual merchant.
  • Individuālais uzņēmums (IU) — individual undertaking. The older form of a one-person business, likewise held in the Register of Enterprises journal.
  • Kooperatīvā sabiedrība — cooperative society. A member-based undertaking that serves the economic needs of its members, widely used in agriculture, forestry and housing management.
  • Eiropas komercsabiedrība (SE) — European Company. The EU-wide public company form, registered by the Register of Enterprises under a separate register of European Companies.
  • Eiropas kooperatīvā sabiedrība (SCE) — European Cooperative Society. The EU cooperative form, registered in the same way.
  • Eiropas ekonomisko interešu grupa (EEIG) — European Economic Interest Grouping. A cross-border grouping intended to support the economic activity of its members, who carry unlimited joint liability.
  • Filiāle — branch. A branch of a Latvian merchant, of a merchant from another EU member state or of a third-country merchant; a branch is not a separate legal person and the merchant answers for its obligations.
  • Ārvalsts komersanta vai organizācijas pārstāvniecība — representative office of a foreign merchant or organisation. A presence that may represent and promote the foreign entity but may not carry on commercial activity in its own right.
  • Biedrība — association. A membership organisation established for a non-profit purpose, registered in the register of associations and foundations.
  • Nodibinājums — foundation. A body of assets set aside for the purpose stated in its articles, without members.
  • Reliģiskā organizācija, arodbiedrība, politiskā partija — religious organisation, trade union, political party. Non-profit legal persons each held in their own register maintained by the same institution.

One point prevents outdated expectations: the higher share capital threshold that applied to joint stock companies offering shares publicly was removed by the amendments in force from 1 July 2023, so the single statutory figure for an AS is now 25,000 euros.

Information available from the Register of Enterprises

Publicity is the rule. Article 7 of the Komerclikums gives everyone the right to examine Commercial Register entries and the documents submitted to the register, and to receive extracts and copies of them on request. The law on the Register of Enterprises adds that anyone may request information from the registers it keeps, and that the data and documents in the public part of a registration file are provided online, including bulk download, free of charge. Since 1 August 2021 entries and registration file documents have been published on the register's own portal, becoming visible the day after the entry is made; entries made up to 31 July 2021 were published in the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis and remain available electronically.

A company record shows the firm name, registration number and legal address, the legal form and the date of registration, the share capital, the members of the management board and the supervisory board with the scope of their right of representation, the members or shareholders recorded in the register of members, procuration holders, branches, reorganisations and liquidation, insolvency and legal protection proceedings, commercial pledges over the company's assets, markers showing that a person is a subject of sanctions or that restrictions on commercial activity have been imposed, and the articles of association and other documents of the registration file.

Beneficial owner data are part of the same public layer. The law expressly places ziņas par juridisko personu patiesajiem labuma guvējiem (data on the beneficial owners of legal persons) in the public part of the registration file, so in Latvia they can be checked without proving a legitimate interest, although some views in the portal require the user to identify themselves with an electronic signature, Smart-ID or internet banking. Bulk users are served by the open data sets that the Register of Enterprises publishes on the Latvian open data portal. Financial statements are the one thing not held here: the gada pārskats (annual report) is filed with the Valsts ieņēmumu dienests (State Revenue Service) and published in its public database.

What is restricted

Every registration file is divided into a public and a non-public part. The public part covers register entries, the registered information listed in the law — including shareholder data, beneficial owners, sanctions markers and security measures — and the documents on which entries are based. Everything else is placed in the non-public part and is treated as restricted-access information.

The non-public part is available without restriction to law enforcement authorities, to the Finanšu izlūkošanas dienests (Financial Intelligence Service) and to the supervisory bodies in the field of anti-money-laundering; other institutions must submit a reasoned request, and private persons must follow the procedure for requesting restricted-access information under the Freedom of Information Law. A separate rule allows a journalist to apply for permanent access to the non-public part on a reasoned request. Data on natural persons who are not recorded in the registers are issued only where the applicant justifies the request or the person concerned has consented.

Documents that can be obtained from the register

  • Izziņa par reģistra ierakstiem (certificate on register entries). An official statement of the current or historical registered data of a merchant, association, political party or other registered entity — the standard evidence of a company's existence, address, capital and representatives.
  • Negatīvā izziņa (negative certificate). A certificate that a particular entry has not been amended, or that certain information has not been registered and certain documents have not been submitted, issued under Article 7 of the Komerclikums.
  • Izziņa par lietvedībā iesniegtajiem dokumentiem (certificate on documents pending). Confirmation of which applications and documents have been filed and are still under examination — used to see changes that are not yet entered.
  • Reģistrācijas lietas dokumentu kopijas (copies of registration file documents). Copies of the documents held in the file, issued in paper or electronic form and certified where the recipient asks for certification.
  • Statūti un dibināšanas dokumenti (articles of association and foundation documents). The constitutional documents in force and the founding decision or agreement, showing how the entity is governed and how it was set up.
  • Dalībnieku (akcionāru) reģistra nodalījums (section of the register of members or shareholders). The record of who holds the shares of a capital company and of changes in that holding.
  • Ziņas par patiesajiem labuma guvējiem (beneficial owner data). The natural persons who ultimately own or control the entity and the manner of that control — used for customer due diligence under anti-money-laundering rules.
  • Izziņa no komercķīlu reģistra (certificate from the commercial pledge register). Information on pledges established over a company's assets, including the pledgee and the status of the pledge, used to check whether a business is encumbered.
  • Gada pārskats (annual report). The financial statements filed with the State Revenue Service and published in its public database; used to assess a counterparty's financial position and reporting discipline.
  • Dokuments ar apostille (document certified with an apostille). Latvian sworn notaries certify public documents, including register certificates, with an apostille so that they can be used before authorities in other states party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the business register in Latvia called?

The institution is the Latvijas Republikas Uzņēmumu reģistrs (Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia) and the register that holds companies is the komercreģistrs (Commercial Register). Data from both are published in the register's information portal at info.ur.gov.lv.

Is the Latvian company register free to use?

Yes for the public part. The law provides that data and documents in the public part of a registration file are issued online, including bulk download, free of charge, and since 1 August 2021 entries and registration file documents have been published on the register's portal. Certificates issued by the institution and copies certified on request are chargeable services.

Are sole traders registered separately in Latvia?

No separate institution or portal exists for them. An individuālais komersants is entered in the same Commercial Register as companies, while the older individuālais uzņēmums and zemnieka vai zvejnieka saimniecība are recorded in the Register of Enterprises journal, which the same institution keeps and the same portal displays.

What is the minimum share capital of a Latvian SIA?

The general minimum is 2,800 euros. A company may be registered with less under the low share capital regime, but only if the founders and members are no more than five natural persons, every board member is also a member and each member belongs to only one such company; a joint stock company needs at least 25,000 euros.

Where can I find the annual report of a Latvian company?

Annual reports are not filed with the Register of Enterprises. They are submitted to the Valsts ieņēmumu dienests (State Revenue Service) and published in its public database, from which the financial data of Latvian companies can also be downloaded as open data.

Can I look up the beneficial owner of a Latvian company?

Yes. Data on the beneficial owners of legal persons belong to the public part of the registration file, so they can be consulted without demonstrating a legitimate interest; certain views in the portal require the user to log in with an electronic signature, Smart-ID or internet banking.

Sources

Keywords

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