Includes steps involved in establishing a local office.
Last Published: 7/26/2019
The Central Register of the Commercial Court (CRPS) is responsible for business registration procedures (www.crps.me).  The court maintains an electronic database of registered business entities and financial leasing contracts and pledges.  The process to register a business in Montenegro takes an average of 4-5 working days. The minimum financial requirement for a limited liability company (LLC) is just EUR 1 (approximately USD 1.2), and three documents are required: a founding decision, bylaws, and a copy of the passport (if an individual is founding a company) or a registration form for the specific type of company.  Samples of all documents are available for download at the CRPS website.

Montenegrin law permits the establishment of six types of companies: entrepreneur, limited liability company, joint stock company, general partnership, limited partnership, and part of a foreign company. Details regarding the definitions and requirements for each type of company are as follows:

Entrepreneur: If an entrepreneur wants to conduct business under name different from his/her legal name, it is necessary to register a company in the CRPS and he/she needs to present:
  • Personal identification card
  • Completed registration form
  • Registration fee of EUR 10 (USD 12.30)
  • Administrative fee of EUR 12 (USD 14.80) for announcement in the Official Gazette
  • There is no minimum capital requirement
Limited Liability Company
  • For companies of 1-30 members
  • Founding Act (The Foundation Agreement)
  • Contract of decision of the company’s foundation (The Charter)
  • Minimum capital requirement of EUR 1 (USD 1.23)
  • Registration fee of EUR10 (USD 12.30)
  • Administrative fee of EUR 12 (USD 14.80) for announcement in the Official Gazette
Joint Stock Company
  • Founding Act (The Foundation Agreement)
  • Contract of decision of the company’s foundation (The Charter)
  • List of names of all board members and managers
  • Decision of the Securities Commission approving the prospectus for the public offering of shares
  • Minimum capital requirement of EUR 25,000 (USD 30,840)
  • Completed registration form
  • Registration fee of EUR 50 (USD 61.70)
  • Administrative fee of EUR 12 (USD 14.80) for announcement in the Official Gazette
General Partnership
  • For companies with two or more members
  • Completed registration form
  • Registration fee of EUR 10 (USD 12.30)
  • There is no minimum equity requirement
Limited Partnership
  • For companies with two or more members
  • Completed registration form
  • Registration fee of EUR 10 (USD 12.30)
Note: There is no minimum equity requirement
Part of a foreign company (Foreign Company Branch)
  • An authenticated copy of the charter of the foreign company and a translation of the charter in the Montenegrin language duly certified as a true and correct translation
  • Registration certificate from the home country and relevant financial reports
  • Completed registration form
  • Registration fee of EUR 10 (USD 12.30)
  • There is no minimum equity requirement
After fulfilling all these requirements, it is necessary to open a bank account.  Once a bank account is established, the company reports to the tax authority in order to receive a PIB (taxation identification number) and VAT number (value added tax).

For classification of companies by size, based on number of employees, the government’s definition is as follows: (i) small enterprises (from one to 49 employees), (ii) medium-sized enterprises (from 50 to 249) and (iii) large enterprises (more than 250 employees).
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More Information

Montenegro Business Registration