Contact Person in Estonia for Non-Resident Companies

Contact Person in Estonia: Receiving Official Documents on Your Behalf

Why Your Company in Estonia Must Appoint a Local Contact Person: Key Legal Requirements Explained

Since 2018, Estonian companies whose registered address is abroad have been expected to appoint a local contact person, entered in the Business Register, for receiving official documents and notices. Following the 2023 reform this is no longer strictly obligatory in every case, but it remains highly advisable. Below we explain what the service involves, when it is needed, what a contact person can and cannot do, who may act as one, and what it costs.

• Entered in the Business Register as your official contact person

• Receipt of procedural documents and declarations of intent

• A legally valid delivery address for your company in Estonia

• Provided by a licensed TCSP under FIU oversight (FIU000144)

• Keeps a remotely managed company fully compliant with the Commercial Code

• Fixed annual fee with no hidden charges

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Contact Person in Estonia: Key Facts

A quick summary for non‑resident directors and e‑residents.

What Is a Contact Person in Estonia?

The institution of the contact person was introduced because Estonian companies can have a registered address abroad and be managed entirely remotely, with their management bodies located in another country. Estonia has become a popular jurisdiction for non‑residents — partly thanks to its e‑Residency programme — and tens of thousands of Estonian companies are now owned by foreigners and e‑residents.

The requirement first came into force through 2018 amendments to the Commercial Code. It was later refined by the Commercial Register Act of 1 February 2023, which clarified that only companies registered in Estonia with a foreign address are legally required to appoint a contact person. The address of the appointed contact person becomes the official Estonian address through which the company can be reached.

When Is a Contact Person Required?

Since the Commercial Register Act reform of 1 February 2023, appointing a contact person is no longer strictly obligatory in every case — but it remains highly advisable whenever your company’s registered address is located abroad, for example when an Estonian OÜ is owned and managed by non‑residents whose management board sits outside Estonia. In practice, a licensed contact person in Estonia is what keeps such a company reliably reachable for the authorities, courts and counterparties.

If your registered office is already in Estonia — for instance, through a legal address service in Tallinn — a contact person is generally not needed, since the company is already reachable at an Estonian address. When the company keeps its address abroad, however, going without one carries real risk: official correspondence cannot be reliably delivered, and the Business Register may record and publish a note that the company cannot be reached at its registered address — a measure available to the registrar since early 2023.

The Powers of a Contact Person

A contact person acts as a representative of the company in a strictly limited capacity, and their details appear on the company’s registration card. The role is passive: the contact person is only authorised to accept official documents addressed to the company and holds no right to take any legally significant action on its behalf.

Importantly, delivery of any notice or document to the contact person is legally equivalent to delivery to the company’s management board members or directors. Once appointed, the contact person’s details become part of the company’s official contact information, and the contact person’s address becomes the official address of the foreign-managed company.

Who Can Serve as a Contact Person?

The law restricts who may act as a contact person, granting this right only to professionals already held to high standards of qualification and due diligence. Under current legislation, the following may serve:

• Notaries and notary’s offices.
• Advocates and law offices.
• Sworn auditors and tax representatives of non‑residents.
• Licensed trust and company service providers (TCSP) — such as Eesti Firma.

Our Strengths

For more than a decade, we have supported Estonian and international businesses with structured corporate and compliance solutions, including legal address and virtual office services. Our team has assisted with company formation in Estonia and the ongoing administration of over 5,000 entities for local and foreign entrepreneurs across many industries.

We act in accordance with Estonian AML and corporate regulatory requirements applicable to licensed TCSPs, ensuring stability, legal certainty and predictable administrative support for companies maintaining a presence in Estonia.

How Appointing a Contact Person Works: Step by Step

Setting up the service is quick and fully remote, and once it is active everything runs in the background. Here is how it works from start to ongoing use:

1. 1

   Confirm the scope and sign the agreement

   We agree on the service and prepare the contact person agreement.

2. 2

   We are entered in the Business Register

   as your company’s contact person — whether you are forming a new OÜ or updating an existing company.

3. 3

   Official documents arrive on your behalf

   Letters from the Business Register, the Tax and Customs Board and other authorities are received in Tallinn.

4. 4

   We notify you and forward the documents

   Incoming correspondence is digitised and sent to you, with the original stored or couriered on request.

5. 

   You run the company from anywhere

   Your Estonian OÜ stays compliant and reachable while you operate entirely online.