Extract from the Unified State Register for a sole proprietor (FOP)

A Ukrainian sole proprietor (FOP, fizychna osoba-pidpryiemets) proves their status with a document from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations. A Ukrainian client usually accepts an electronic extract. A bank in Poland, a tax office in Spain or an immigration office in Italy will ask for a paper document with an apostille and a translation. We have been obtaining these documents for entrepreneurs since 2012, including for people who live abroad and cannot visit a registrar.

Extract or statement: which one you need

Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations" provides several forms of register information. Two of them matter for a FOP.

• Extract (vytiah) shows the register data as of the date of the request or as of a date you specify. Paper and electronic extracts have the same legal force. This is the main document to show that the FOP is registered and active, or to confirm the date of registration or termination.

• Statement (vypyska) is generated after a registration action. For use abroad, the law provides a separate paper statement intended for an apostille.

More on the difference: extract from the Unified State Register and statement from the register. If the foreign authority simply asks for an "extract from the register", we look at the purpose and recommend the form that will be accepted.

When a FOP needs a register document abroad

• opening an account or proving the source of income at a foreign bank;

• filing with the tax or social security office of the country where you live;

• a residence permit application that requires proof of business activity in Ukraine;

• a contract with a foreign client who asks for proof of entrepreneur status;

• confirming the date of registration or termination of the FOP for a foreign authority.

How we obtain the document and the apostille

1. You tell us the country and authority, and send a copy of your passport.
2. We confirm the form: an extract as of today, an extract as of a specific date, or a statement for an apostille.
3. We file the request with a state registrar and collect the paper document. Register data is public, so you do not need to be present for an extract.
4. We submit the document for an apostille to a regional office of the Ministry of Justice. A notary may apostille only a statement or extract that the notary generated as a state registrar after a registration action.
5. We arrange a translation that meets the rules of the destination country and deliver the original to you or your representative.

What to check before ordering

• Up-to-date data. If the register shows an old address, old activity codes or your maiden name, we update the register first and then order the extract.

• Latin spelling. The translation follows the spelling in your international passport so that all documents in the file match.

• Freshness. Foreign authorities often judge a document by its date, so it is best to order the extract close to the filing date.

If you are relocating, see also our document packages for Italy, Spain, Germany and Poland, and the page on apostilles on register documents.

How we work when you are abroad

1. Tell us which procedure and which authority the documents are for. If you already have a checklist from the immigration office, consulate or your lawyer, send it together with a copy of your passport.
2. We match the checklist against what Ukrainian authorities actually issue and confirm which documents we will obtain, in what form and with which apostille.
3. Some documents are released only to the person or their representative. For those we draft a power of attorney, which you sign at a Ukrainian consulate or before a local notary with an apostille.
4. We obtain the documents, have them apostilled by the competent authority and check that names in Latin script match your international passport.
5. We send you scans for review and deliver the originals to you, your representative or your lawyer abroad.

If your case is handled by a lawyer abroad

If a lawyer or consultant in your country of residence handles your case, we work with them directly. The lawyer sends us the list of documents, we obtain the Ukrainian part of the file and keep the firm informed at every step. See For immigration lawyers: documents from Ukraine.

Comments