Thousands of new companies are established in Estonia every year. Undoubtedly, the most popular legal form is a private limited company (osaühing), with over 20,000 being established annually since 2016. According to the World Bank, Estonia has the highest rate of new company formations per capita in the world. In 2022, there were 24.3 new companies per 1000 adults registered in Estonia (World Bank’s Entrepreneurship Database, 7th Edition, New Business Density).

The following graph vividly illustrates the increasing trend of new legal entity formations over the years. The year 2018 stands out - the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act came into force, leading the state to automatically establish and register apartment associations for previously economically managed apartment properties. This resulted in 10,693 new apartment associations being registered in one year, significantly boosting the number of new legal entities registered that year.

A significant portion of new legal entities are established through the e-Business Register, where, with an Estonian personal identification code, a private limited company can be established in as little as 15 minutes and 33 seconds. This world record was set by Estonian e-resident Dr. Dominik Panosch during the London Tech Week in 2022 when he established a private limited company named sign.online OÜ through the e-Business Register service.

The creation of new private limited companies is also supported by a legislative amendment that came into effect in 2023, reducing the required minimum nominal value of a share to 0.01 euro.

If no deficiencies are found in the application for establishing a new legal entity, the state fee is paid, and the required capital is deposited, the new entity is registered and it is assigned a unique registration code. Even in the case of name changes, changes in ownership, or other alterations, the company's registration code remains unchanged.
Establishing a new legal entity entails the obligation to inform the registrar of any changes in the legal entity's data. Changes can be communicated to the registrar by submitting applications through the e-Business Register. Additionally, there is an obligation to submit an annual report to the registrar.