What You Need to Know About Virtual Offices in Estonia

Your e-resident business in Estonia needs to meet certain business requirements; one of which is having a registered Estonian address, which is usually provided through a virtual office.

The idea of a "virtual office" might seem like something out of a simulation computer game, or it might resemble the way you describe your attempts to create a place to get things done in an overcrowded living space - but it's a real thing! You don't need a special headset or a metaverse portal to get there, and it doesn't mean attending a business meeting as a cute avatar, although these new technologies provide expanded modes for e-resident business people to collaborate.

In this context, the word "virtual" does not mean something missing or unreal. It's a convenient way to separate a significant part of legal compliance from the place where you already do your business.

What is a Virtual Office in Estonia?

You may or may not do your business in your own country or at a desk-like place while on the road, but you don't need bricks and mortar to define your professional activities.

What are the Requirements for an Estonian Virtual Office?

Even in Estonia, there are occasional requirements for interaction with certain people or even documents at a physical location. Therefore, it is a legal requirement for every Estonian business to have a physical address and a contact person.

For e-resident companies founded by a non-Estonian citizen, this contact person must be an Estonian citizen. They must be appointed before you proceed to register your e-resident business; this is specified in the Estonian Commercial Code. In fact, only residents of Estonia can use the online company formation service without subscribing to a virtual office and contact person service - you cannot fill out and submit the form without entering this information where required.

Who or what is the contact person at my Estonian virtual office?

It is useful to clarify here that we use the definition of 'person' in a legal sense, and therefore, when you appoint a licensed business to provide your virtual office, the business entity itself acts as your 'contact person'.

You might have a regular contact who deals with your daily bookkeeping and customer service inquiries, and you might develop a great personal relationship with them. Various team members will provide different operational services as needed. In the same way, your business is a legal entity - a limited company - and in some respects, it acts as a legal person.

Becoming an e-Resident of Estonia

Why is it called a "virtual office" in Estonia?

At this point in your reading, you would be forgiven for concluding that this 'virtual office' address is therefore actually a physical office! The place where you actually do your business might be more metaphysically defined…

But the terminology reflects the fact that your assigned virtual office is only virtually connected to your e-resident business as a legal formality, and indeed you may never set foot on the premises of the office. You don't work there! Because your business is not a place.

Some virtual offices may literally be a mailbox anyway, so you wouldn't want to hold any big meetings there! They are significant business places in their own right, carrying out a range of activities for clients all over the world.

The Purpose of a Virtual Office in Estonia

The minimum legal requirement is to have a physical address and a contact person where legal documents can be served. This person or business is appointed as your official contact person and is shown in the public records in the Estonian Commercial Register as part of the transparent business infrastructure for which the country is famous.

Therefore, you should consider the importance of appointing a virtual office provider with a good reputation that has a reliable presence and track record, as well as being in good standing with all authorities and regulatory bodies because they will be publicly and transparently associated with YOUR business. The cheapest is not always the best, and it is not always easy to compare like for like service.

Existing as an address and entity geographically located within the borders of Estonia is sufficient for legal compliance. However, when you appoint a virtual office, your provider will usually provide a range of ancillary support services that allow you to run your business completely virtually from anywhere in the world.

Using the address of your virtual office in Estonia

Every invoice you issue will also bear the address of your virtual office, as this is part of the requirement for a legally valid invoice. However, your customers will undoubtedly pay you electronically. Wherever your customers are doing business, it is highly likely that a geographically different address on a supplier invoice is also a legal requirement for them to account for the funds leaving their business.

In some parts of the world, there is a precedent related to paying for 'fancy addresses' that imply your company is located in a prestigious postal district or trade zone, and that you have luxurious offices that are very expensive per square meter. In our current digital-first, work-from-anywhere business culture, we hope this is less important. However, providing a virtual office address in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, will add credibility to your business presence, especially in the tech startup space for which the city is world-renowned — even if you are operating without a fixed physical location for delivery.

Additionally, your business address will be used for banking and credit, although your bank may not send you physical mail in Estonia and is very savvy about sending things like replacement cards to other locations for e-resident customers. Other financial services and network gateways such as Paypal, Stripe, Wise, etc., will also use your virtual office address as the legal location of your limited company in Estonia.

You will also find that you use it every time you make a contract, for example, when you need to sign an NDA before working with a new client or even when you sign up for an online subscription service as a business expense.

Get Information on Becoming an E-Resident and Opening a Company in Estonia

Choosing a Virtual Office in Estonia

Some virtual office service providers listed in the e-Residency marketplace are geared towards specific types of commercial activities that need to deal with special licenses, physical goods, or employment payroll, and even provide call services. In addition, there are also regulated industries that have to deal with a higher volume of paperwork and documents to maintain compliance with certain institutions.

Obviously, the associated costs will reflect the level of activity required to provide the contracted service, and if this includes processing a large amount of mail or answering the phone for you, then you will face a significant cost. In this case, your virtual office team can become a daily extension of your overall business operation. This can be a cost-effective way to scale your team depending on your business plan, and there are many other ways to grow and develop your business flexibly, such as using contractor networks.

The virtual office in Estonia provides the legal back-end to provide everything that typical solo entrepreneurs need, whether they are a micro-business in their early days or a lifelong sole operator. It will act for you behind the scenes in the unlikely event that any paper mail arrives for you in Tallinn, where all of your invoices and accounting will show correct, valid information.

When you initially register your e-residency business, you will most likely have appointed your virtual office in Estonia without much thought, and it is worth noting that you can change the appointed provider at any time.

What is the Cost of a Virtual Office in Estonia?

The cost of a virtual office in Estonia varies according to your commercial activities, location, and all the processes. However, most of the services on the market bundle this provision as part of a general service package, and therefore, it is the total package that you need to consider initially. Make sure you are not subscribing to services you will never need, such as a fax number or multilingual call management, if these are just excess to requirements. All you officially need is the physical address and contact person, and for many independent trades, this will be easily and simply arranged through your preferred business service provider.