Company formation in Lithuania

At a glance

Entity

Private limited company (Uždaroji akcinė bendrovė, UAB)

Corporate tax

17% headline, as of 2026 (raised from 16% on 1 January 2026); a 7% reduced rate for small companies (fewer than 10 staff and turnover below EUR 300,000), and 0% for the first two profitable periods for qualifying newly formed companies

Incorporation time

About 3–5 business days for the registry filing; roughly 1–2 weeks end-to-end once KYC, translations and banking are included

Minimum capital

EUR 1,000, of which at least 25% (EUR 250) must be paid up before registration

Resident director

Not required; no residency or nationality requirement for directors or shareholders

Audit

Small-company exemption; statutory audit is mandatory only where two of three thresholds are exceeded (assets over EUR 1.8m, net turnover over EUR 3.5m, more than 50 employees), and always for regulated financial firms

Remote set-up

Mostly; online filing needs a Lithuanian qualified e-signature, otherwise a notarised, apostilled power of attorney to a local agent

Government fee

EUR 30.83 (State Centre of Registers), as of 2026

Best for

An EU operating company with treaty access, based in the bloc's leading hub for EMI and payments licensing.

The process

1. Reserve the company name and secure a registered office with the Centre of Registers (Registrų centras)
2. Prepare and, where required, notarise the incorporation deed, articles of association and shareholder resolutions, with certified translations of foreign corporate documents
3. Open a temporary capital account and pay in at least 25% of the EUR 1,000 share capital
4. File with the Register of Legal Entities electronically using a qualified e-signature, or via notarised, apostilled power of attorney
5. Register for corporate tax and, once the turnover threshold is met, VAT with the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI)
6. Convert the capital account into an operating account with a bank or licensed EMI