Company services in Latvia from Lex & Finance
SIA Lex & Finance is a private firm in Riga, not a government body. The state Register of Enterprises registers companies; we prepare the documents and submit them with your authorisation.
We help founders and owners outside Latvia, in the EU or beyond, with a Latvian company from set-up to closure, including its address in Latvia, VAT registration and changes to shareholders or the board. We work with you in English.
Or call: +371 25155167
Our privacy policy explains how we handle your data.
- In practice since2009
- Consultations inEN, LV, RU
- Services for companies8
Starting up, running or closing down: where Lex & Finance helps
We cover eight company services in Latvia, grouped below by situation. Select ‘Add to my enquiry’ to put your choice straight into the form.
Starting out
Company registration in Latvia
You need a new Latvian limited liability company (SIA). We confirm the shareholders and board members and identify the beneficial owners from the information you provide. Then we prepare the incorporation documents in Latvian and submit them to the Register. Each founder signs with a qualified electronic signature or before a sworn notary in Latvia.
A founder can instead authorise a representative to sign by a notarised power of attorney.
Ready-made companies
You are looking at an already registered Latvian company instead of incorporating a new one. We help you decide what to check before you commit. Then we prepare the share transfer documents and what the Register needs for the new shareholders and any board changes.
A share transfer does not erase the company's debts or disputes.
Address and VAT
Registered office address
A Latvian company needs a registered office in Latvia that it has a legal right to use, and its management board must make sure correspondence sent there is received. If you have no premises in Latvia, we can provide the address and let you know when post arrives.
VAT registration
Whether a company must register for VAT depends on its turnover, the kind of transactions and where its customers and suppliers are. Based on what you tell us about your plans, we advise whether registration is required or voluntary and from when. Then we prepare the documents for the State Revenue Service (VID).
Making changes
Changes to company documents
Your company already exists and you need to change its management board, shareholders, address, name, share capital or articles of association. We prepare the resolutions and other documents in Latvian, explain in English what you are signing, then submit them to the Register of Enterprises.
Changing hands
Buying and selling companies
You are buying into a Latvian company or selling your shares in one. For a buyer, we agree the scope of due diligence before the deal. For either side, we can draft the share purchase agreement and the company documents that go with the transfer.
Closure or insolvency
Company liquidation
You want to close a company that can still meet its obligations. We explain how a voluntary liquidation works and prepare the documents. We then help the appointed liquidator with notices to creditors and dealings with the authorities, up to the request to remove the company from the commercial register. Our accountants can prepare the liquidation accounts.
Insolvency proceedings
Your company is in financial difficulty, or a company owes you money and has not paid. We go through the figures and documents with you and explain the options open to a debtor or a creditor. If the legal conditions for insolvency proceedings appear to be met, we help the debtor or the creditor prepare the court documents.
Not sure where to start?
Tell us where you live, whether the company already exists, what it does or plans to do, and where its shareholders and board members are based. We work out which step comes first and what information we need.
Outside Latvia, we also work on company matters in four countries: Slovakia, Sweden, Armenia, the UAE.
- Residence through investing in share capital is only for non-EU nationals, and not all of them: residence permits and visas
- For bookkeeping, payroll, annual reports or liquidation accounts, see accounting services
How Lex & Finance works with clients abroad
Most matters go through these stages, though the details depend on your case.
First conversation
After your enquiry, a specialist gets in touch, asks about your situation and the documents you already have, and arranges a consultation.
Agreeing a plan
We explain what has to be done, who signs which documents and how, and what we need from you. We start on the documents once you confirm the scope.
Documents in Latvian
We prepare documents in Latvian where required and explain each in English. We check which foreign documents need an apostille or legalisation and which need a certified Latvian translation.
Submission and follow-up
We submit the documents to the Register of Enterprises or the State Revenue Service (VID), follow up until a decision is made and help you respond to any queries.
Who makes the decision
The Register of Enterprises decides on registering companies and recording changes, VID on VAT registration and the court on insolvency proceedings. The decision is always theirs: we prepare and check the documents, but we cannot promise the outcome.
Send an enquiryLex & Finance in Riga: our office and company details
Lex & Finance is a legal and accountancy firm in Riga. A senior legal specialist works alongside our accountants, so your company's legal paperwork and its accounting can stay under one roof.
- Company
- SIA Lex & Finance
- Registration number
- 40203239265
- VAT number
- LV40203239265
- Office
- Kalpaka bulvāris 10, Riga, LV-1050
- Phone
- +371 25155167
What people abroad ask Lex & Finance
Do I have to come to Riga to sign the company documents?
Not necessarily. For a new company, each founder signs with a qualified electronic signature or before a sworn notary in Latvia, or authorises a representative by a notarised power of attorney to sign. We check whether your electronic signature can be used and what formalities a power of attorney signed abroad needs before advising whether anyone has to travel.
Does the company need a board member living in Latvia, or an address there?
It needs an address, but not a board member living in Latvia. Any individual with legal capacity who is not disqualified from the role can sit on the management board of an SIA, wherever they live. Appointment to the board does not, by itself, give the right to live or work in Latvia.
Can Lex & Finance open a bank account for the company?
No. A bank, or another payment service provider offering a payment account, opens it and alone decides whether and when, so we cannot promise one. If the share capital is contributed in money, the founders open a payment account in the name of the company being formed and pay in the full capital before the documents go to the Register.
Is Lex & Finance a government body?
No. SIA Lex & Finance is a private firm, registered in Latvia under number 40203239265. The Register of Enterprises decides on registering companies and recording changes, and the State Revenue Service (VID) on VAT registration. We advise, prepare documents and submit them, but those decisions are not ours.
Can I work with you in English?
Yes. We consult in English, Latvian and Russian. We prepare the documents for the Register of Enterprises in Latvian and explain each one to you in English before you sign. This page summarises Latvian law in English for guidance only; if it differs from the Latvian text of the law, the Latvian text prevails.
Can you also handle VAT and the company's accounts?
Yes. We advise on VAT and prepare the registration documents for the State Revenue Service (VID). Our accountants can then keep the books, run payroll and prepare the annual report. Since 1 July 2023, outsourced accounting in Latvia has required a VID licence; we hold licence No. AGL0001078.
Should I buy an existing company rather than start a new one?
Sometimes. You avoid incorporating a new company, but you take on the existing one's past. Before you sign, we agree the checks (typically tax debts and VID status, filed accounts, shareholders and beneficial owners, charges over assets, court cases, VAT status, bank accounts and sanctions screening) and tell you what we verified and what rests on the seller's word.
Ask Lex & Finance about your next step
Mention where you live, what you want to do and whether you will sign from abroad. For an existing company, add its name.
Or call: +371 25155167
Our privacy policy explains how we handle your data.
.svg){kind=small}