Do You Really Need a Contact Person for Your Estonian OÜ?

Not in every case.

Section 24(2) of the Commercial Register Act states that a contact person must be appointed when the address of the legal person is in a foreign country.

For an Estonian OÜ, this means:

• Company legal address in Estonia: there is no obligation to appoint an additional contact person merely because the directors are foreign.
• Company legal address outside Estonia: a contact person who meets the legal requirements must be appointed.

The Estonian Commercial Register (RIK) expressly confirms this rule in the guidance it published after the February 2023 reform.

So before paying for both services, check where your OÜ's address is actually registered.

Although many providers sell both services as one package, they serve different purposes.

An important legal detail

The contact person is not automatically a director or legal representative of your company.

Their role relates to receiving certain documents.

When a communication is validly delivered to the registered contact person, it may be legally deemed delivered to the company.

So even when it is not mandatory, this role can serve a meaningful legal function.

Do not confuse an optional service with a useless one.

This is where the difference becomes clear.

Example A: an OÜ with a legal address in Tallinn

Imagine you are a Spanish entrepreneur living in Madrid.

You have set up an Estonian OÜ and contracted a valid legal address in Tallinn.

Your company is listed in the Commercial Register with that Estonian address.

Even though you live in Spain and run the business from there, the company's registered legal address is in Estonia.

Result: the director's foreign residence does not, on its own, require an additional contact person.

You must keep the address valid and have a reliable way to receive communications.

Example B: an OÜ with a legal address in Portugal

Now imagine you live in Lisbon.

Your company is an OÜ incorporated in Estonia, but you have registered a Portuguese address as the company's legal address.

In that case, the legal person's address is outside Estonia.

Result: you must appoint an authorised contact person in Estonia under section 24.

So what is the difference?

It is not the owners' nationality.

It is not holding an e-Residency card.

Nor is it simply living outside Estonia.

The difference is where the OÜ's legal address is registered.

Legal address in Estonia

A contact person is not mandatory solely because the directors live abroad.

Legal address outside Estonia

The OÜ must appoint an authorised contact person under section 24.

Part of the confusion comes from changes in the law.

Previously, the rules linked the obligation to appoint a contact person to the location of the management board.

The new Commercial Register Act, in force since 1 February 2023, uses the criterion of the legal person's address being abroad.

The Commercial Register published specific guidance on applying this obligation and on appointment deadlines.

This helps explain why some general guides and commercial pages may use different wording or rely on earlier criteria.

When you find conflicting information, always check which law is being cited and whether it reflects the legislation currently in force.

This is probably the most important question once you understand the legal obligation.

An OÜ without a registered contact person can still not afford to miss official communications.

The company must keep its registry data up to date and respond to documents sent by the authorities.

There are several channels:

RIK offers an electronic notification service for registry proceedings.

However, not all official notices are received exclusively by email.

Receiving an electronic alert should also not be confused with the legal rules on when a communication is formally deemed delivered.

What to ask your legal address provider

Before contracting a virtual address, check:

• Do they receive official mail addressed to the company?
• Do they scan and forward letters?
• How quickly do they report incoming documents?
• Are there limits or extra charges?
• What happens with urgent communications?
• How is continuity of service guaranteed?

An inexpensive legal address may be enough, but it must keep your company reachable.

You can do a first check directly in the Commercial Register.

Step 1. Find your company

Go to the Estonian e-Business Register. Enter your OÜ's name or registry code.

Step 2. Check the legal address

Find the company's official registered address. The key is whether that address is in Estonia or abroad.

Remember that a company can be incorporated in Estonia and still have a foreign address registered.

Step 3. Review the contact person

Check whether a contact person is registered. Where the information is available, also review the start and end dates of the appointment.

The law provides for the contact person's data to be removed when the appointment expires. If the company is still required to have one, it must maintain a valid appointment.

Step 4. Check the services you are paying for

Review your current contract. Identify whether you are paying for:

• Legal address.
• Contact person.
• Mail receipt and scanning.
• Other administrative services.

Check whether there is a breakdown and what you would lose by changing the package.

Step 5. Verify the changes before cancelling

If you decide to switch providers:

1. Contract a new valid address.
2. Obtain the authorisation needed to use it.
3. Update the details in the Commercial Register.
4. Confirm the new address has been registered.
5. Make sure communications can still be received.
6. Cancel the previous service once the transition is complete.

Never leave your OÜ without a valid legal address or a proper channel for receiving communications.

In some cases, yes. But it depends on your situation.

If your OÜ has a valid address in Estonia and you pay for an additional contact person that is not legally required, you can consider whether you need to keep that service.

However, do not assume all commercial packages are the same. Some providers include additional services such as formal document receipt, administrative support or tracking of communications.

Before switching, compare what you are paying for and which functions you need to keep.

If your company's legal address is abroad, a contact person remains mandatory for an ordinary OÜ under section 24.

The goal is not to cut every possible service, but to pay only for the ones you actually need.

The legal address and contact person are only part of an Estonian company's obligations.

Even if an OÜ has no business activity, it must keep proper accounting records and file its Annual Report. That does not necessarily mean paying for monthly accounting.

To learn about the obligations and compare annual costs across providers, read our guide: Dormant Company in Estonia: What Does It Really Cost to Keep Your OÜ?

That article explains how to maintain an inactive OÜ, its tax and accounting obligations and the costs of different services.

If your company is active, see how we work on our accounting for Estonian companies page.