A Latvian SIA may use a residential apartment as its registered office. The founder does not have to rent a separate office or commercial premises. However, the management board must certify that the company has a legal basis for using the address and can be reached there.
The application to the Enterprise Register must include the cadastral designation of the relevant property object. In an apartment building, this will normally be the cadastral designation of the specific apartment or group of premises.
Can the registered office of an SIA be located in an apartment?
Yes. Latvian Commercial Law does not prohibit an SIA from being registered in a residential apartment. The address must appear in the State Address Register, and the company must be registered in a building or a group of premises rather than on an undeveloped land property alone.
Registering an SIA in an apartment does not itself change the authorised use of the property. Customer service, storage, production or other activities carried out there may be subject to separate requirements.
Must the founder own the apartment?
No. The founder, shareholder or board member does not have to own the property.
If the apartment belongs to the founder or a board member, ownership may provide the required legal basis. If another person owns it, the company must have another valid right to use the address.
Registration does not transfer any ownership rights to the company and does not by itself make the apartment owner liable for the company’s debts.
What constitutes a legal basis for using the address?
A legal basis may include:
- ownership by the company or its representative;
- a lease or rental agreement;
- a gratuitous-use agreement;
- written authorisation from the owner;
- a registered-office service agreement.
If a tenant rather than the owner grants access to the address, the lease should be checked for subletting or address-use restrictions. In a co-owned property, it is also important to establish who may legally grant the right of use.
The supporting agreement is not normally filed with the registration application, but keeping written evidence is advisable in case of a dispute.
Must the owner’s consent be submitted to the Enterprise Register?
Normally, no. Since 1 August 2021, a separate owner-consent document is no longer a mandatory attachment to an application for registering a legal address.
This does not allow a company to use someone else’s address without permission. The board certifies in the application that the company has a legal basis for being located there. A board member may be held responsible for submitting false information.
What does being reachable at the address mean?
The company must be able to receive and process correspondence sent to its registered office regularly and without undue delay.
In practice, it should provide:
- access to the mailbox or another reliable collection procedure;
- regular checks for new correspondence;
- prompt delivery of documents to the management board;
- registration of a new address when the existing right of use expires.
Displaying the company’s name on the mailbox is a useful practical precaution. The registered office also remains relevant when the company uses Latvia’s official electronic-address system.
How does a registered office differ from the actual place of business?
The registered office is the company’s official address entered in the Commercial Register. The actual place of business is where employees work, customers are served, goods are stored or production takes place.
The two locations may be the same, but they do not have to be. An SIA may be registered at a board member’s apartment while operating remotely or using other premises.
Registration in an apartment does not by itself authorise every type of business activity in residential premises.
What happens if correspondence is not received?
Courts, public authorities, creditors and business partners may send important documents to the registered office. Failing to collect a letter does not necessarily prevent it from producing legal consequences.
If the company cannot be reached, the Enterprise Register may issue a written warning and allow time to remedy the deficiency. If the company does not do so within the prescribed period, proceedings to terminate its activities may follow.
A single undelivered letter does not result in automatic removal from the Commercial Register, but continued unreachability creates a serious legal and reputational risk.
What should be checked before choosing the address?
- Verify the address in the State Address Register.
- Obtain the exact cadastral designation of the building or apartment.
- Confirm who owns the property and may authorise its use.
- Put the right to use the address in writing.
- Agree on how incoming correspondence will be handled.
- Review lease, co-ownership and permitted-use restrictions.
- Remember that the registered office will be publicly visible.
- Plan what happens when the agreement ends or the property is sold.
When is a registered-office service useful?
A registered-office service may be useful when the founder does not want to publish a home address, has no suitable premises or needs professional mail handling.
Before selecting a service, check the provider’s authority to offer the address, the cadastral information, notification times, mail-forwarding arrangements and the consequences of ending the agreement.
Komercreģistrs.lv offers registered-office addresses in Riga, the surrounding area and other Latvian regions. The conditions and correspondence procedures of the selected address should be reviewed before signing.
Company formation and the registered office
The registered office is only one of the details that must be entered correctly in the incorporation documents. The company must also prepare its foundation decision or agreement, articles of association, shareholder-register division and application to the Enterprise Register.
The Komercreģistrs.lv company-formation service helps prepare registration documents for a new low-capital SIA. The documents and instructions for the next steps are delivered by email.
Frequently asked questions
Can an SIA be registered at a board member’s home?
Yes, provided the company has a legal basis for using the address and can be reached there.
Must the apartment owner become a shareholder?
No. The owner may authorise use of the address without becoming a shareholder, board member or guarantor of the company’s obligations.
Can several companies use the same apartment?
There is no general statutory limit of one company per address. Each company must have a legal basis for using it and must be reachable there.
Does registration give the company rights of ownership?
No. Registration does not make the company an owner of the apartment or turn the apartment into company property.
Is the registered office publicly visible?
Yes. The legal address entered in the Commercial Register is publicly available information.
What happens when the address agreement expires?
The company must obtain a new legal basis or register a change of its legal address without delay.
Information updated on 8 September 2026. This article is general information; individual assessment may be required for specific lease, co-ownership or business-use situations.
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