BUSINESS REGISTRATION LLC, TOV REGISTRATION | UBC JSC

Registration of a new enterprise - TOV, LLC, PP, ChP for business, including online electronic registration in Ukraine in 2026, is available to anyone wishing to start a new business in Ukraine in just a few hours! When registering an enterprise, it matters how and with whom you start it.

How to start your business in Ukraine?

We have helped thousands of successful enterprises start business in Ukraine - we will help you too. Where to open an enterprise or register a limited liability company is a normal and correct question. In Ukraine or in Europe? We recommend both options to diversify risks and maximise profit from your business.

To order registration, tell us the proposed type of activity, the owners, director, address, chosen name and method of management of the enterprise. If any founder is a non-resident, attach their identification documents and state the preferred language for preparing materials. A UBC specialist will check the initial information, agree the list of documents and calculate the cost before work starts. After registration, the client receives information about the enterprise in the Unified State Register, an electronic extract, the articles or a decision to operate under the model articles depending on the chosen option, as well as the prepared corporate documents. KEP, opening a bank account, accounting support, registration as a payer of the selected tax and documents for the first employees can be ordered separately. As a result, the owner will have an enterprise ready to enter into contracts, receive payments and conduct business activities in the selected areas.

In exactly the same way, the answer to the question of which bank is better for opening an account will not be a recommendation of a particular bank, but advice to open accounts with at least 2-3 banks, distribute financial flows between them and, preferably, diversify the jurisdictions where the banks are located.

Considering company registration from the point of view of conducting business activities and tax regimes, all forms of private enterprises, whatever they were previously called at different times - TOV, JSC, LLC, CJSC, OJSC, VAT, PJSC, AT, DP, PP, ChP, SP - are absolutely equal under Ukrainian legislation. Some types of business, such as registration of a pawnshop, have a limited range of legal forms, for example a full-liability partnership (TPV) or an additional-liability company (TDV), while registration of a financial company, insurance company or bank in the form of a joint-stock company, JSC, PJSC (OJSC), may be the only possible option.

Registration of an enterprise in Europe or the United Kingdom (a UK Ltd company) is also possible online with our assistance in many cases: your company will be ready to operate within 24 hours after approval of the name and composition of founders/directors. A European company or UK LTD will give your business new opportunities to find clients from European countries and around the world who, for certain reasons, are not yet ready to work with Ukrainian business. Banking services for companies in Europe are simple and convenient; in terms of service they are closest to Privat24.

The essence of the difference between forms of enterprises is exclusively "internal": the management procedure, relations and liability of founders, mechanisms of control and formation of the charter fund (share capital), recognition and the level of consumer trust in one or another legal form, including for government and large corporate customers, and so on.

The difference between conducting business through an enterprise - a legal entity - and through an FOP (a private entrepreneur who is an individual) is quite significant, especially if you plan to work in the corporate sector and sell your goods or services not only to individuals but also to enterprises of all forms of ownership. An enterprise is a completely different business instrument and gives you, as an owner and businessperson, much greater opportunities for growth and, naturally, a different level of income. Starting a business by registering an enterprise is always the right decision!

What has changed in company registration in Ukraine in recent years? It has become simpler. Indeed, many processes have been digitalised, most paper forms have been removed or their use is not mandatory in many cases when starting a business.

• in 2026 in Ukraine, when registering an enterprise, the use of a seal is determined by the company’s internal and contractual needs; however, this rule has already been in force for quite a long time.
• in 2026 there is no requirement to pay the founding capital before registration of an LLC.
• in 2026 all company documents are held only in the state register: you do not have originals that you could lose; at any time you can print a copy of all documents from the register of enterprises of Ukraine.
• in 2026, standard online registration with Ukrainian founders and a Ukrainian manager is carried out using KEP or Diia.Signature without a separate notarial stage for registration and account opening in the standard situation (the founders and directors are individuals, citizens of Ukraine, and all have Diia or an electronic digital signature/KEP): bank signature specimen cards are certified by a bank employee, who independently obtains all information about the company from the register when opening the account - notarised copies of documents are no longer required, nor are paper extracts and statements.
• In 2026, residents and citizens of Ukraine continue to have the option of online electronic registration of an enterprise without a notary - using a personal electronic digital signature (EDS) when signing registration forms and certifying the founding documents of the newly created enterprise. This possibility brings Ukraine closer to developed EU countries in terms of the ease of starting a new business.

In practice in 2026, not all business partners yet understand that paper and electronic company documents are identical and that their authenticity can be checked online free of charge on a government website; not everyone understands what it means to work under standard model articles without having a separate document called “articles”. Therefore, if necessary, you can always carry out classic paper registration through a notary and have paper copies of all documents from the register notarised if business partners in another country traditionally prefer or require paper documents in addition to electronic forms. In this case, the articles can also set out rights and obligations that are genuinely important for the business and for relations with co-founders, which in the standard model articles are written in a way that in practice does not solve many business issues where a company has two or more founders. Everyone’s circumstances may change, and having properly drafted articles agreed “at the outset” will always help you avoid conflicts in the future if someone wishes to leave the business or sell a share in it.

In Ukraine, when starting a business the choice is mainly between an LLC and an FOP:

• Previously there was another form, the private enterprise - ChP (PP, “pryvatne pidpryiemstvo” in Ukrainian), a form essentially close to a Private Company LTD in common-law countries (USA, England, Cyprus, offshore jurisdictions), which was often chosen for starting a business because of the simplicity of organisation and was sometimes confused with a private entrepreneur because the same ChP abbreviation was used. However, recent changes in Ukrainian legislation stopped registration of new enterprises in the ChP form, and all companies already existing in the register were given a period for reorganisation into an LLC (TOV), which in practice continues in 2026 because of force-majeure circumstances connected first with the COVID-19 pandemic and then martial law in the country.
• a limited liability company - LLC, TOV, “tovarystvo z obmezhenoiu vidpovidalnistiu” in Ukrainian - is generally functionally similar in substance to a hybrid of an American LLC (USA) and an English LTD (England), but is regulated by the Civil Code. An LLC or TOV company in Ukraine has founders but no shares; it has a meeting of founders, and they may intervene in company affairs (approve certain transactions), while the director is not completely independent in their actions in Ukraine. The absence of shares in a Ukrainian LLC means there is no right to freely sell one’s participation interest in the enterprise at any time to any person at any price. There are many such practical points for a businessperson, and there is a solution: instead of operating under the standard model articles, regulate the main issues additionally in the text of individual articles and also conclude a founders’ agreement between the partners at the start. In that case, it is your document that will have priority when decisions are made.
• FOP or SPD or PP - a private entrepreneur without forming a legal entity - is a frequent choice at the start for many people, because registration of an entrepreneur is now in practice available in one click. For many situations and a simple first business, this is indeed a convenient and even recommended solution where everything belongs to and is controlled by one person, who is often the only employee in their business.

The criteria for choosing between a private entrepreneur ChP (PP) and an LLC, TOV - a limited liability company - are mainly the following factors:

The simplicity and cost of creating a ChP, whether documents are filed on paper or online, are lower and simpler (in fact there is not even a state fee), and there are no requirements for a charter fund (capital), whereas for an LLC the maximum payment period is up to one year, although the amount may be nominal, for example 100 or 1,000 hryvnias.

But for sales - and after all you create a company with the main purpose of earning a profit and selling something to somebody, correct? - there is a difference, and it is significant. An enterprise immediately tells the buyer about the “solidity” and “standard” long-term approach to business; the LLC abbreviation has had an image of reliability formed over decades, especially among the older generation who do not always follow digital innovation and are still surprised when company documents do not carry a seal. For them, the fact that it is not legally mandatory is not much of an argument if for most of their lives they saw something different in practice. Therefore it is important to understand the purpose. Why do you need a company or an FOP? Then the choice will be easier. The possibility of fast online registration appears at first sight to be an unconditional advantage of an LLC - it significantly simplifies and accelerates the start of any business - but it is often worth spending a little more time and still drafting proper, correct articles and having them notarised, so that there are no “technical data-transfer errors” in the future. It is like modern “cold storage” or a “cold wallet” in cryptocurrencies. But the decision is yours.

For most of your future clients, consumers and partners, the abbreviation “LLC” looks clearly understandable and familiar and creates more confidence than a private entrepreneur who is an individual. For trading companies, as well as for sales to the target group of mass-market goods, it will look better on the “label” if the producer is an LLC (TOV). Believe us, such products will be bought more readily than products with the same name but produced by a private entrepreneur-individual, for example citizen Petrenko A.V., SPD (FOP). The capital of an LLC is also not limited by any minimum or maximum, but the LLC capital must be contributed within one year in money or property. Capital information is public. You may contribute even UAH 10. But your customers can easily see this as well. Modern AI assistant agents will even do this without a request when searching Google. We recommend indicating UAH 10,000-50,000: you will almost certainly need this money for the first business expenses (rent, advertising, accounting) and will spend it anyway, but at least the enterprise will look “normal” in the register and understandable to all counterparties.

Enterprises with foreign capital and non-resident founders in Ukraine

When enterprises with foreign capital are created, in most cases (in our practice) such an enterprise is created in the form of a Limited Liability Company (LLC), but in this case the documents will have to be filed in the traditional paper form, because current legislation does not yet provide for non-residents of Ukraine to obtain an electronic digital signature.

This form of enterprise as an LLC is well regulated by Ukrainian legislation and is analogous to existing LLCs in all Eastern European and EU countries (except England and Cyprus), and it allows ALL typical tasks of a foreign founder to be addressed (conducting business activities in Ukraine through a controlled enterprise or together with partners from Ukraine, the possibility of receiving and repatriating profit, absence of liability of the foreign founder for the debts of the created enterprise, etc.) while not providing for “unnecessary additional formalities” such as issuing shares in a joint-stock company.

We note that Ukrainian legislation on the foreign investment regime provides certain rules (investment protection, etc.) regardless of the form of the enterprise into which the investment was made, including that these rules apply to a Limited Liability Company. In addition, Ukrainian legislation today no longer provides for such forms of enterprises as a “Joint Venture”, “Subsidiary Enterprise”, “Enterprise with Foreign Capital”, etc., but allows an LLC with 100% foreign capital owned by one foreign legal entity (the sole founder) to be created.

It is also possible simply to create an enterprise with 100% foreign capital in the form of a Private Enterprise, but registration in this form is not possible in all regions of Ukraine and not in all districts of Kyiv, because this form is less regulated and there is no clearly regulated procedure for creating enterprises with foreign capital in the PP form.

For this reason, many state registrars do not accept documents for registration in Ukraine of an enterprise with foreign capital in the PP form.

For individual founders who are not citizens of Ukraine, it is also necessary first to obtain a Ukrainian TIN (individual tax number), and only after it is obtained can a new enterprise be registered and a bank account of the non-resident investor be opened.

Ukrainian legislation concerning the mandatory use of accounts of non-resident investors changes every year. In 2026, the use of investment accounts of a non-resident investor is not mandatory for most investment transactions, including payment of the founding capital (fund) of an enterprise or an increase in the founding capital (fund).

The choice of the joint-stock company form (previously CJSC, private JSC or PrAT, now again JSC or AT) may be prompted by the following considerations: still greater “solidity” of the organisational and legal form, and simplicity, compared with an LLC, of transferring rights to the enterprise (shares) in the future.

In an LLC, an interest in the charter fund is transferred with the consent of the other participants by making amendments to the founding documents. In a joint-stock company this is not required, and rights to the enterprise are transferred by disposing of shares.

When choosing an organisational and legal form, the question sometimes arises as to whether a Joint-Stock Company (JSC) or public joint-stock company (PJSC) can be registered. We note immediately that the period for creating an Open (public) Joint-Stock Company is at least 7-8 months. Acceleration is impossible: the law provides for a six-month period for subscription to shares after information about the intention to create the JSC is published in the press. The most important feature of a public joint-stock company is the possibility of selling the Company’s shares on a stock exchange and the legally established minimum number of shareholders.

In all the forms of enterprises in Ukraine indicated above, the founders (participants, shareholders) are not liable for the obligations of the enterprise.

Other, significantly less common, organisational and legal forms of legal entities in Ukraine:

• general partnership,
• limited partnership,
• additional liability company - an enterprise (company) in which the participants are fully and/or partially, depending on the type of company, liable for the debts of the company.

consumer society - a long-existing type of legal entity, but one that is not clearly regulated by legislation. The Law of Ukraine “On Consumer Cooperation” provides that the main document governing the activities of a consumer society is its charter. Therefore, a consumer society can be regarded as a convenient form in which provisions may be included in the charter of the enterprise that, for other forms of enterprises, are regulated by law differently from what you require.

• production cooperative - a new type of enterprise (provided for after 1 January 2004). It provides for combining the property and labour participation of cooperative members. In our view, the legislation has NOT properly regulated the activities of a production cooperative. For example, legislation provides that in a production cooperative profit distribution will take place “according to the share of labour participation of the cooperative members”, which raises questions: how is this labour share to be determined, especially when deciding the “delicate issue” of profit distribution, and so on.
• other types of enterprises (state enterprise, enterprise of a public organisation, etc.). The procedure for their creation does not provide for the possibility of creating them by founders who are individuals or ordinary legal entities.

Timeframes for registration of a new enterprise and checking the enterprise name

When an LLC is registered electronically online, the period is on average 2 hours after submission of the application during working hours, with a maximum of 24 hours from the time the application is submitted. With traditional paper registration, depending on the district in Kyiv, it is 2-3 working days from the signing of the documents before a notary. In other regions of Ukraine it is on average up to 5 days. Note: a few days after completion of the registration actions, it will be necessary to choose the enterprise’s tax system (general or simplified) and submit the relevant application to the tax office.

If registration of an enterprise in the form of an LLC takes place online, an application to choose the tax system and to register as a VAT payer, if desired, can be submitted at the same time as the registration documents.

We note that checking and selecting the name of your new enterprise at UBC is carried out by our specialists within a few minutes; we do not limit the number of desired options and do not charge an additional fee. You can also do this yourself online free of charge using the official database of existing enterprises of Ukraine on the website of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

What do we do and what is included in the cost when registering an enterprise? Everything is included!

• specialist recommendations on choosing the form of ownership, the district of enterprise registration and the name of your new company in Ukraine
• selection of a unique enterprise name using the Unified State Register of Ukraine; in 2026, as before, registration of a new enterprise with a name identical to an existing one is not permitted - an unlimited number of variants may be checked.
• selection of KVED:2010 activity codes - ZKNG (OKPO)
• development and preparation of the necessary founding documents and power of attorney for registration, and their signing before a notary if the paper form is chosen, or filing all forms online without a notary;
• state registration of the new enterprise by a state registrar in the district state administration

Paper documents, a company seal and assistance with opening a bank account in Ukraine and correctly completing bank forms and “know your customer” questionnaires in the format required by financial monitoring may be ordered additionally.

Documents required to register an enterprise in Ukraine (LLC, Private Enterprise)

• copies of passports or ID cards with a residence document (it can be generated in Diia or a paper version obtained at a CNAP), and a certificate assigning the identification number of the founder and director, including non-resident founders who are individuals. If necessary, we assist in obtaining such a certificate, or a duplicate, assigning a TIN/tax identification number - the registration number of the taxpayer’s record card in Ukraine - for non-residents and citizens of Ukraine who live in another region and are temporarily staying in Kyiv.
• documents confirming the location (“legal address”) of the enterprise, if any, or information about the planned location - the company office and postal code.
• where the charter fund is formed with property and paper articles are used - a list of this property indicating its value and which founder contributes which property, in MS Word format. The standard form of the model articles allows the enterprise’s capital to be contributed only in monetary form.

Notes:

1) at the initial registration of an enterprise the director may only be a citizen of Ukraine; having an accountant is not mandatory. Subsequently, if the founders want a foreign national to manage the enterprise, the appropriate work permit for the foreign director must be obtained.

2) the location (“legal address”) of the enterprise may be a place of residence confirmed by registration of the founder, real estate belonging to the founder, or leased premises. The specific type of documents required to confirm the location depends on the situation. If there are no documents confirming the location, we will assist in finding them in the relevant district, the so-called “legal address”.

Information and your requirements that must be provided for TOV registration

• variants of the name of the enterprise being created
• district of registration in Kyiv or an address in another city
• distribution of interests in the charter fund (capital) among the founders
• amount and procedure for formation of the charter fund (capital)
• main planned types of activity
• selected bank
• need to make a seal - the law does not require one, but it is often needed
• need to make additional stamps for work
• telephone number stated in the documents as the enterprise telephone number for the database
• email address of the future enterprise for the register database: we recommend @gmail
• email addresses and telephone numbers of all founders and the director for activation of keys

Where the presence of the customer or the customer’s people is required when registering a TOV, LLC

mandatory when the paper form is chosen: at the notary when the documents and power of attorney are signed - the founders (or their representatives), and at our office. With electronic online registration, remote signing of documents is possible.

at the bank when opening the account - the director and other persons stated on the bank signature card; in some cases it is in practice possible to open the enterprise’s account online if all directors and founders are already clients of the bank as individuals - for example, everyone has an account with PrivatBank and has passed annual identification;

all other actions are carried out by us under a power of attorney and an agreement for provision of services and, where necessary, a special notarised power of attorney for actions connected with registration of the enterprise and opening a bank account.

Charter capital (fund) of a new enterprise in Ukraine for an LLC and ChP

The minimum charter capital of a limited liability company (LLC) in 2026 is established by a decision of the founders and may be any amount at their discretion. When registering an enterprise (LLC, TOV), it is sufficient to indicate the desired amount - the capital may be contributed within one year.

We always recommend contributing 100% immediately after registration to the bank account, because you may immediately spend the money on expenses connected with starting the business, if the planned charter capital of the LLC is not significant. Any changes in the composition of the founders are possible only after 100% payment of the declared capital. It is also important to note that until a participant’s interest in the LLC has been contributed in full, the participant’s liability to the company is not limited because the obligation to pay for that interest has not been duly performed.

Charter capital may be formed with property, in which case confirmation and an independent valuation may sometimes be required, or with money; after registration of an LLC, 100% of the capital must be contributed within one year (previously 50% of one’s interest had to be contributed before registration).

The minimum and maximum charter capital of a private enterprise are also not regulated by legislation, so any amount may be stated. It is generally customary to state UAH 1,000-10,000, but a much larger amount is also possible.

Registration of amendments to the founding documents of an LLC, PP, ChP, TOV

The following types of changes are registered in Ukraine:

• registration of simple amendments to the text of founding documents in paper form
• change of participants and owners of the enterprise to foreign legal entities or admission of foreign investors to an LLC by increasing the capital or selling an interest in the enterprise
• increase of the charter fund (capital)
• registration of changes in the composition of founders “turnkey”
• registration of changes in the composition of founders “turnkey”, including compulsory exclusion
• other services connected with registration of enterprises in Kyiv (reorganisation, change of name, “transfer” to another district, etc.)
• change of the enterprise director
• replacement of EDRPOU codes (certificates from the Ministry of Statistics)
• transition from paper articles to use of the model articles for an LLC (TOV)

Timeframes for registration of amendments to the documents of an enterprise (LLC, PP, ChP, TOV)

the period for completing actions to register amendments to the founding documents “turnkey” consists of two components:

The standard period for the state registration of the documents itself is 1-3 working days from the time the documents are ready and signed before a notary; acceleration to 1 day is possible.

plus the period for other actions, for example notification of changes to the tax office, replacement of the statistics authority certificate, etc. - 1-10 working days depending on the nature of the changes. Changes of location involving a change of the administrative district (“legal address”) of the enterprise take the longest. Note: the changes take effect after state registration of the documents; the second stage of actions does not affect the entry into force of the registered changes.

Note: when changes are processed in 2026, it is necessary first to obtain an extract from the Unified State Register of Enterprises. When some changes are processed, a publication in the press must first be made, which also takes some time, usually 2-5 days.

Documents required to register amendments to the enterprise documents

• certificate of state registration, original, and articles, original, if they exist in paper form;
• founders’ agreement, if there is one, original;
• copy of the certificate from the statistics authority if it was available, and the original if the location (“legal address”), director or main types of activity are being changed;
• copy of the certificate of registration as a taxpayer, form 4-OPP, and the original if the location (“legal address”) or director is being changed, if it existed in paper form;
• documents confirming the location (“legal address”), generally a lease agreement for premises and a copy of the document confirming the landlord’s ownership of the premises, or other documents depending on the situation;

when founders are changed - documents confirming that the founders transferring their interest have contributed 100% of that interest;

when the charter fund is increased: documents confirming formation of 100% of the charter fund in its previous amount, and where property is contributed towards the increase of the charter fund - a list of this property indicating its value and which founder contributes which property;

when the location (“legal address”) is changed: documents on registration with the four funds (Pension Fund, Employment Fund, Social Insurance Fund against Industrial Accidents, Social Insurance Fund for Temporary Disability); since 2026, for payment of the unified social contribution, with the Pension Fund.

copies of passports and certificates assigning the codes of founders, both “new” and previous if the founders are being changed, as well as the director and accountant;

Additional information and consultations on registration of new enterprises, registration of amendments for LLCs, TOVs, PJSCs, OJSCs, as well as registration of offshore companies, can be obtained from our specialists.

Features of work with non-resident founders

If your business no longer fits into the “small business” category, or you have found a foreign partner-investor for your business, and/or you are simply concerned about confidentiality and want reliable protection against raider attacks and unlawful pressure on the company’s founders and shareholders, re-registering part of the business, an interest in the capital of an LLC, to a foreign company or European business partner, or registering an enterprise as a limited liability company (LLC, TOV) with 100% foreign participation in order to start a joint business with a foreign investor in Ukraine, will be the best solution to these issues.

The latest changes to Ukrainian legislation on company registration - the so-called “anti-raider law” - impose an obligation on the state registrar to determine the scope of civil legal capacity and capacity to act of legal entities, and also to verify the authority of a person’s representative to perform registration actions. In practice, this may take the form of a requirement to provide the complete set of founding documents of the foreign company with a Ukrainian translation, where previously only an extract from the register was required, together with a copy of the translated power of attorney. In fact, the volume of documents and information requested on foreign participants in legal entities when owners are changed and interests are bought or sold has increased.

Our employees and representatives in the regions have many years of experience working with various European jurisdictions and foreign corporate documents when non-resident companies are used for corporate matters in Ukraine. We have registered more than 5,000 enterprises of different legal forms during more than 20 years of business in this field in Ukraine, and we will help you start or develop your business as well!

We note that Ukrainian legislation in 2026 provides for an identification procedure for the management of foreign companies and beneficial owners. This issue also takes a minimum amount of time: all companies we offer meet all identification requirements of state registrars and commercial banks of Ukraine. We will advise you and help complete all necessary forms when corporate rights, interests in an LLC or shares, are re-registered to a foreign company, and we will recommend translation agencies and notaries.

All founding documents of non-resident companies for use in Ukraine must be notarised and legalised by apostille. The power of attorney for representation must also be notarised and legalised by apostille. An important point is that the wording of the power of attorney should contain the phrases and terms required under Ukrainian legislation, providing the right to register enterprises, including subsidiaries, and to represent interests before Ukrainian notaries on corporate matters.

For registration actions, you will additionally need a notarised Ukrainian translation of all documents. We recommend notarising 2-3 copies of the translation at once, because your bank or banks may also request this information with a translation after the changes.

Taking account of the specific features of Ukraine, together with our foreign partners we have developed and agreed a special wording of the power of attorney that is fully acceptable to all state authorities, notaries and banking institutions for full-scale business activity on behalf of a foreign company in Ukraine. A special power of attorney for corporate matters is ordered additionally according to the owner’s wishes and the circumstances of the planned transaction; when it is executed according to the notarial requirements of the jurisdiction, supporting transaction documents translated into English may be required.

Perhaps you have never previously considered this issue, thereby depriving yourself of the opportunity to work freely in international markets without worrying about timely payment of taxes and filing of reports. Today this is simple and accessible and, given frequent changes in the country’s political and economic policy, more relevant than ever for every business owner and wealthy person in Ukraine.

Registration of an enterprise - LLC, TOV or FOP - and starting your business in Ukraine with UBC takes only 1-3 days! There is no one form of enterprise in Ukraine that is unambiguously the best or unambiguously the worst. What matters is what you will do and how and with whom you will conduct your business.

Why is company registration better with UBC? The answer is simple - we have much more practical experience, resources and opportunities. Company registration is the beginning of a business. It matters how and with whom you start it. We have helped thousands of successful enterprises start business in Ukraine - we will help you too!

Considering company registration from the point of view of conducting business activities and tax regimes, all forms of enterprises are absolutely equal under Ukrainian legislation. Certain specific activities - pawnshop operations, commercial activity with securities, banking and insurance activity and so on - have a range of legal forms limited by law in which enterprise owners may carry out the relevant activity.

The essence of the difference between forms of enterprises is exclusively “internal”: the management procedure, relations and liability of founders, mechanisms of control and formation of the charter fund (share capital), recognition and level of consumer trust in one or another legal form, acceptability to government and large corporate customers, and so on.

Registration of an enterprise with foreign capital and non-resident founders in Ukraine

When enterprises with foreign capital are created, in most cases, in our practice, such an enterprise is created in the form of a Limited Liability Company (LLC).

This form of enterprise has long been well regulated by Ukrainian legislation and is analogous to existing private limited liability companies, and it allows ALL typical tasks of a foreign investor in Ukraine to be addressed: conducting business activities in Ukraine through a controlled enterprise or with partners from Ukraine, the possibility of receiving and repatriating profit, absence of liability of the foreign founder for the debts of the created enterprise, and so on. At the same time, it does not provide for “unnecessary additional formalities” such as issuing shares in a joint-stock company.

We note that Ukrainian legislation on the foreign investment regime provides certain rules, investment protection and so on, regardless of the form of the enterprise into which the investment was made, including that these rules apply to a Limited Liability Company. In addition, Ukrainian legislation today no longer provides for such forms of enterprises as a “Joint Venture”, “Enterprise with Foreign Capital”, etc., but allows an LLC with 100% foreign capital belonging to one foreign legal entity, the sole founder, to be created.

It is also possible simply to create an enterprise with 100% foreign capital in the form of a Private Enterprise, but registration in this form is not possible in all regions of Ukraine and not in all districts of Kyiv because this form is less regulated and there is no clearly regulated procedure for creating enterprises with foreign capital in the PP form.

For this reason, many state registrars do not accept documents for registration of an enterprise with foreign capital in the PP form.

For individual founders who are not citizens of Ukraine, it is also necessary first to obtain a Ukrainian TIN, individual tax number, and only after it is obtained can the enterprise be registered and a bank account of the non-resident investor be opened.

Ukrainian legislation concerning the mandatory use of accounts of non-resident investors changes every year. In 2026, from May, the use of these “transit” accounts is at the non-resident’s discretion and is not mandatory for most investment transactions, including payment of the founding capital (fund) of an enterprise or an increase in the founding capital (fund).

The choice of conducting business in the form of a closed joint-stock company, previously CJSC and now JSC or AT, may be prompted by the following considerations: still greater respectability of the organisational and legal form, and simplicity, compared with an LLC, of selling part of the business, the shares, without any approval from other partners.

In an LLC, an interest in the charter fund is generally transferred with the consent of the other participants by making amendments to the founding documents; the only thing that can be changed is the time period for such consent. In a joint-stock company this is not required, and rights to the enterprise are transferred by disposing of shares.

When choosing an organisational and legal form, the question sometimes arises as to whether an Open Joint-Stock Company or a public joint-stock company (PJSC) can be registered. We note immediately that the period for creating an Open (public) Joint-Stock Company is at least 4-8 months. Acceleration is impossible: the law provides for a six-month period for subscription to shares after information about the intention to create it is published in the press. The most important feature of an Open (public) Joint-Stock Company is the possibility of selling the Company’s shares on a stock exchange.

In all the forms of enterprises in Ukraine indicated above, the founders, participants and shareholders, are not liable for the obligations of the enterprise.

Timeframes for registration of a new enterprise and checking the enterprise name

Depending on the district in Kyiv and the workload of the CNAP, the period is 1-3 working days from signing the documents and power of attorney before a notary or filing an online application. In other regions of Ukraine it is on average 5-15 days. Note: when documents for registration of an enterprise are filed, it is permissible to choose the tax system immediately or make this choice a few days after completion of the registration actions: approve the enterprise’s tax system, either the general system or the simplified single-tax system. If this is not done, the enterprise is automatically registered as a corporate income tax payer under the general rules. Applications may be filed online using the director’s electronic signature.

We note that checking and selecting the name of your new enterprise at UBC is carried out by our specialists within a few minutes; we do not limit the number of desired options and do not charge an additional fee. You can also do this yourself online free of charge using the official database of existing enterprises of Ukraine.

What do we do and what is included in the registration cost? Everything is included!

specialist recommendations on choosing the form of ownership, the district of enterprise registration and the name of your new company in Ukraine

selection of a unique enterprise name using the Unified State Register of Ukraine; registration of an enterprise with a name identical to an existing one is not permitted - an unlimited number of variants may be checked.

selection of activity codes KVED - ZKNG (OKPO)

development and preparation of the necessary founding documents and power of attorney for registration, and their signing before a notary;

preparation of documents for opening a temporary bank account (not mandatory from 2026, but permitted if bank account details are needed immediately when the enterprise is registered);

state registration of the enterprise by a state registrar at the district state administration and receipt of an extract from the register and an extended extract (from April 2026, a Registration Certificate is no longer issued);

receipt of a certificate from the statistics authority confirming inclusion of the enterprise in the Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organisations of Ukraine;

registration with the tax office;

registration with the necessary social insurance funds (Pension Fund, Employment Fund, Social Insurance Fund against Industrial Accidents, Social Insurance Fund for Temporary Disability), which in 2026 are combined into a single fund, and contributions on the payroll fund are now classified as the Unified Social Contribution - USC, administered by the Pension Fund;

making a seal, at the customer’s request;

Documents required to register an enterprise

• copies of passports and certificates assigning the identification number of the founder(s), director and accountant, including non-resident founders who are individuals. If necessary, we assist in obtaining such a certificate, or its duplicate, assigning a tax identification number for non-residents and citizens of Ukraine who live in another region and are temporarily staying in Kyiv.
• documents confirming the location (“legal address”) of the enterprise, if any
• where the charter fund is formed with property - a list of this property indicating its value and which founder contributes which property, in MS Word or MS Excel format or simply in text form.

Notes:

1) at the initial registration of an enterprise the director may only be a citizen of Ukraine; having an accountant is not mandatory. Subsequently, if the founders want a foreign national to manage the enterprise, the appropriate work permit for the foreign director must be obtained.

2) the location (“legal address”) of the enterprise may be a place of residence confirmed by registration of the founder, real estate belonging to the founder, or leased premises. The specific type of documents required to confirm the location depends on the situation. If there are no documents confirming the location, we will assist in finding them in the relevant district, the so-called “legal address”, for an additional fee.

Company Registration in Ukraine

Company registration services are available and provided by UBC. A company specialist will explain the terms in detail and answer additional questions. We will be pleased to help you open an enterprise and successfully start business in Ukraine.

International trade and entry into foreign markets