Nonprofit Organization in Estonia – Formation

If you want to establish an organization in Estonia involved in community development, education, sports, or raising public awareness, then you need to register your organization as a Nonprofit Organization (NPO). Non-profits are also known as Mittetulundusühing (MTÜ) in Estonia. At least two members need to be present in an MTÜ, and they can be either private persons or legal entities. All members of an MTÜ must have equal voting powers at the general meeting, known as the highest body of management in non-profits. MTÜs cannot make profits, and any revenue generated must be spent on the objectives of the MTÜ.

Requirements for Registering nonprofit organization in Estonia

While non-profits cannot earn an income from activity directly through the economy, they can still hold bank accounts, enter into contracts, and pay salary wages to employees. Because MTÜs must achieve any goals specified by their organization, they cannot pay dividends to their members. All nonprofit organizations in Estonia must provide:

• Two members (natural or legal entities);
• One board member needs to be a real person;
• One registered address in Estonia with proof and documentation;
• A designated NPO email address;
• The copies of passports, addresses, and email addresses of all board members and all other legal persons involved.

The Registration Process for nonprofit organization in Estonia

The timeline for registering non-profits usually takes up to 1 week. Our policy is to create your NPO and transfer membership to shareholders. From there, we switch the board member organization structure to the interested party so the real directors can do work in the organization. Transferring memberships takes a single day if you are physically present. Otherwise, the process will take a few weeks if you need to make the transfer remotely from another country. Any changes to the registration process would take up to one week before being finalized.