Open a company in Montenegro in 10 steps

The registered address must be a physical address in Montenegro, ie. physical location, not just a mailbox.

The residential address can be used as a business address within the home office scheme. However, prior approval must be obtained in order for residential space (owned or rented) to be used for a home office.

The minimum investment required by the authorities is a paid-in capital of EUR 1 at the time of registration of the Montenegrin company.

A Montenegrin private limited liability company is not required to appoint a company secretary.

The other director may be a foreigner.

Paid-in capital is the total amount of capital financed by shareholders. This is the amount of money the company received from shareholders who paid in full for their purchased shares. The minimum paid capital requirement for the establishment of a company in Montenegro is 1.00 EUR.

A company registered in Montenegro must keep accounting records, as well as any other document that can explain the company’s business transactions and financial position for at least five years after the completion of the transactions or operations to which they relate.

You can start a company in Montenegro with a minimum paid-in capital (often called share capital) of only 1 EUR.

However, you must keep the following in mind:

If the company’s business is regulated (e.g., travel agency, employment agency, financial services, insurance, etc.), the minimum paid-in capital will be dictated by the appropriate licensing requirements.

Paid-in capital can be denominated in dollars or any other currency, although the euro is the currency of choice for convenience. Whatever capital you specify is treated as paid-in capital and you will be required to contribute that amount to the company. The paid-in capital of the company can be freely used for the needs of the company. There is no requirement that this money be locked in a bank account for any specified period of time.

If you want to specify a paid-in capital greater than the minimum of 1 EUR, you have two options:

Option 1: Specify the higher paid-in capital at the time of incorporation

Please note that any amount of paid-in capital you specify will need to be deposited into the company’s bank account. Therefore, if you wish to indicate a paid-in capital of more than EUR 1 at the time of incorporation, we will ask that you first deposit that money in a bank on a temporary account. After opening your company’s bank account, we will transfer the paid-in amount of capital to your company’s bank account.

Option 2: Increase paid-in capital after company registration

You can increase the paid-in capital at any time after registering the company. In this case, the procedure is as follows:

• Include a company with a minimum share capital
• Open a corporate account
• Inject the funds into a bank account
• Prepare documents for the increase of share capital
• Submit documents to increase the share capital to the authorities

We will then prepare and submit the necessary documents to the company registrar to reflect the audited paid-in capital of the company. Please note that additional work to be performed for items 4 and 5 will be charged.

Most of our clients prefer option 1 because it does not cost extra and is faster. Your paid-up amount of capital is deposited into a special ‘Customer Deposits’ account with the bank and is immediately transferred to your corporate bank account when it is opened.

Let us know which option you prefer.

The first step in the company registration process in Montenegro is to reserve the desired name for the company. A company cannot be registered until the name is approved first. If the name does not conflict with the existing name and does not contain sensitive or offensive words, the approval process is very quick and happens in less than 4 days.

After you hire our company, we will immediately apply for name approval before preparing the founding documents. After applying for name approval, the Company Registrar will usually notify you of the outcome of the application within one hour. Three possible outcomes are listed below:

Outcome 1: Name approved

If the name is approved, we will proceed with the next steps of founding the company.

Outcome 2: Name is Rejected

If the name is found to be similar/identical to an existing name or containing non-desirable keyword(s), the name will be rejected by the Company Registrar. If the name is rejected, there are two available options:

If there is a solid reason why the name should be approved, an appeal can be submitted to authorities by providing proper justification. The name appeal make take 3-5 days for processing.

Submit another name for approval

No. The local resident director may be a foreigner.

The director must be a natural person over 18 years of age. Corporate directors are not allowed. There are several different ways you can meet a local resident director’s request:

If you are planning to move to Montenegro to run your company, you will need to apply for a residence permit. Once you have been granted a work visa, you can open a bank account.

If you have a local partner or know a trusted person in Montenegro who is willing to act as a local director, your problem is solved.

Most foreign entrepreneurs and companies that establish a Montenegrin company without moving to Montenegro use a local director. The local director does not require any stake in the company and is not involved in the company’s business or banking matters. For more information about our appointed director service, see the local director services FAQ.

Yes, Montenegrin company law allows 100% ownership of Montenegrin companies by foreign persons or entities. There are also no restrictions on the type of business activities a company can engage in. Aliens do not require special approvals. In other words, there is no difference between a local or a foreign person who wants to start a Montenegrin company.

The directors and shareholders of the Montenegrin company must be at least 18 years old.

The actual establishment of the company can be achieved within 4 days as the whole process is computerized. However, the whole process can take a bit longer depending on the following factors:

Reservation names. Before a company can register, it must first reserve its name. Assuming no objection to the proposed name, the name reservation process can be completed in less than an hour. However, if the name conflicts with an existing name or if the proposed name contains some sensitive words that may require review by the competent authorities, the name approval process may be delayed for several days or weeks.

Signing of founding documents. If you are in Montenegro, this is a quick and easy procedure. However, if you are abroad, the logistics involved in signing and sending the signed documents jcan take several days.

More questions? Let us take you further

These Montenegrin business guides can be useful in making your decision: