Private limited company (OÜ) Public limited company (AS) Limited partnership (Usaldusühing)

Self-employed person (FIE) General partnership (Täisühing) Commercial association (Tulundusühistu)

Read more about forms of enterprise

The selection of a business name is one of the most important steps in founding a company. A distinguishable and memorable business name contributes to the company’s reputation and success. A company may have only one business name. The business name of a company cannot be similar to other business names entered in the commercial register in Estonia.

The business name of a self-employed person cannot be similar to the business names entered in the commercial register in the service area of the same registrar.

The name of a non-profit association and a foundation cannot be similar to the names of other non-profit associations and foundations entered in the register in Estonia.

Trademarks

In addition to the business name, each company has the right to register trade marks in its own name that would help your company and the offered services/products stand out from those of your competitors. For instance, you can trade mark words, numbers, images, or their combinations. If you have developed trade marks, they have to be registered at the Patent Office so you would have the sole right to use them.

A trade mark’s distinctiveness

The most important aspect of selecting a trade mark is its uniqueness and distinctiveness from other trade marks in the same field. Before applying for a trade mark, check whether an identical or similar symbol has been submitted or registered as a trade mark in the same field in Estonia or the European Community.
If the fields of activity coincide, the company who first defended or submitted the trade mark has the rights to it. In case the fields of activity coincide, the trade mark cannot be identical or similar with another business name either.
As the purpose of a trade mark is to distinguish the company and the provided products/services from the competitors, the trade mark should be memorable, striking, and understandable to the clients.

Checking the trade mark

You can check with the Patent Office’s electronic database whether the desired trade marks are still available. As legal protection in Estonia applies to all trade marks protected in the European Community, it is reasonable to submit queries to both local and Europe-wide databases. Check with the Patent Office’s website whether the desired trade marks are available.

Source: https://www.eesti.ee/est/teemad/ettevotja/ettevotte_loomine/ettevotte_asutamise_toimingud/ettevotte_kaubamarkide_valik_ja_kontroll

Additional information:

• Chapter 2 of the Commercial Code. BUSINESS NAME
• Patent Office

• What is a license, what is an operating permit?
• Which areas of activity are licensed?
• Registration in the register of economic activities
• Application of operating permits and related costs
• You can find the company’s field of activity from the List of Estonian Economic Activities
• Guidelines for applying for activity licences

Enter the business register’s Company Registration Portal, using an ID card, mobile ID, or Internet Bank for authorisation. From the menu, choose “Registering of an enterprise and changing its data” >> “Registration of a new enterprise” and complete the required forms. In the same environment you can also begin the process of opening a start-up account in the bank.

You could also ask a notary for help with foundation documents.

Company Registration Portal

Startup account is a current account of the company opened by the founder and used to transfer the monetary contributions to the share capital.

Opening a Startup account in bank, payment for shares, payment of state duty.

• To open a Startup account (cost – according to the price list of the bank), the founders present to the bank a notarised memorandum of association (or, in case of one founder, a foundation resolution) and identity documents of the founders.
• The founders transfer monetary contributions according to their holding to the Startup account.
• The founders must pay for shares in full before they file an application for entry in the commercial register, unless the memorandum of association prescribes an earlier date.
• The management board must file an application for entry in the commercial register within six months of signing the memorandum of association.
• The funds transferred to the Startup account become available for the company after the receipt of a registration resolution from the commercial register (conversion of the Startup account in a regular account).

Source: Aktiva.ee

The following documents must be submitted in the business register’s Company Registration Portal in order to register: application for registration, memorandum of association along with articles of association, list of members of the management board, numbers of telecommunications of the company, statement of the bank on making a monetary contribution, operating license (if the activity specified in the articles of association of the company is included in the list of areas of activity subject to licensing), receipt on payment of state duty.

You can submit the application in the business register’s Company Registration Portal, a local branch (Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, and Lääne-Viru County) of the business register, or at a notary who also provides legal consultation.

The notary public checks and approves the information you have supplied and forwards them to the commercial register.

Additional information: company registration portal

After the Startup account is converted to a current account, the funds transferred there become available for transactions.