How do I check an Estonian company in the e-Business Register (Äriregister)?
Search the company by name or 8-digit registry code in the e-Business Register (e-äriregister), run by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (RIK). The quick search shows the company’s status, legal form, registered address, capital and the people with rights of representation, such as management board members, and RIK publishes the register as open data. Access to beneficial-owner details is more restricted than access to the company record.
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How to check it manually
- Open the e-Business Register and use Quick search with the company name or its 8-digit registry code.
- Check the status, legal form (for example OÜ, private limited company, or AS, public limited company), registration date, registered address and capital.
- Review the persons connected to the company: management board members, any supervisory board, and who can represent the company.
- Look at the filed annual reports listed on the company card.
- Use the register’s other searches where relevant: trade bans, fines imposed on a legal person, and rulings.
- For many companies, use the RIK open data files or the open data API rather than single searches.
What it tells you
- Whether the company is registered and its current status, from the official register.
- Who sits on the management board and can represent the company.
- Whether annual reports have been filed.
What it doesn’t tell you
- Where the business actually operates. Many Estonian companies are run from abroad, often by e-residents, and use a service provider’s address as the registered address.
- Beneficial owners in full: the register holds them, but access to that data is restricted and the open data may not include it.
- Whether the declared information is accurate: it is filed by the company.
- Beneficial owners from open data after mid-2026: RIK announced that from 10 July 2026 beneficial owners are no longer published as open data.
How SONAR automates it
When you screen a company registered in this country, SONAR looks it up in the Estonian e-Business Register (Äriregister) and puts the record (legal name, number, status, legal form, registered address and officers) in the report with a link or ID for the source and the date it was retrieved.
From the RIK open data, SONAR adds the board members and, where the data includes them, shareholders and beneficial owners, and screens each person.
The same run screens the company and every director and owner it finds against 8 sanctions lists, the OpenSanctions PEP dataset, the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database and adverse media, and returns PASS, REVIEW, FLAG or NOT RUN for each check. A source that could not be reached is shown as NOT RUN, never as clear.
SONAR is a due-diligence tool for checking vendors, partners, resellers and suppliers. It compiles public-record data. It is not a regulated AML / KYC provider, does not verify identity documents, and is not legal advice.
You can try it on 2 companies a month for free, no card needed; every report includes a receipt for each source it used.
Frequently asked questions
What is an Estonian registry code?
The 8-digit number the e-Business Register assigns to each legal person. It is the most reliable way to identify an Estonian company, because names can be similar or change.
Can I see who owns an Estonian company?
You can see the board and representation rights in the quick search. Beneficial-owner data is held in the register, but access to it is restricted, so ask the company for an ownership declaration and corroborate it.
Is there an API for the Estonian company register?
Yes. RIK publishes the register as open data, with downloadable files and an open data API, on the e-Business Register open data site.
Official sources
Run these checks on a company you’re about to sign
Registry record, owners, sanctions, PEP, ICIJ Offshore Leaks and adverse media in one report, with a receipt for every source. 2 free reports a month, no card.
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