Registration of a religious organization

Despite the fact that, on formal grounds, Ukraine's legislation on religious activity is currently the most democratic of all post-Soviet states, the procedure for registering religious organizations is a very complex, controversial and time-consuming procedure. The Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" of 23.04.1991, No. 987-XII, has undergone many changes during its existence, but the main nuance in the registration of a religious organization is that since July 2004, when the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individuals - Entrepreneurs" came into force, it is necessary to register twice - first to obtain a certificate of registration as a religious organization, then the status of a legal entity.

Part 4 of Article 8 of the Law stipulates that notification to the state authorities of the formation of a religious community is not mandatory, and a religious community can act legitimately without registration, but in practice, in order to fully exercise the rights guaranteed by the state: ownership of religious organizations (Article 18 of the Law); distribution of religious items and religious literature (Article 22 of the Law); charitable, cultural and educational activities (Article 23 of the Law); international activities (Article 24 of the Law), etc., it is necessary to have the status of a legal entity.

Thus, the first stage is the registration of the statutes (regulations) of a religious organization in accordance with Article 14 of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations," and the second stage is the final acquisition of the status of a legal entity through the state registrar at the place of location (Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individuals - Entrepreneurs"). It was the prohibition for religious organizations to be a legal entity that put them at a severe disadvantage in the Soviet era in terms of property disposal - without this status, a religious organization is practically unable to carry out its activities, open bank accounts, or establish businesses even today, so this status is an extremely important condition for acquiring equal rights and obligations with other legal entities.  

It should be noted that a religious organization registers with the executive authorities independently, unlike civic and charitable organizations, where the justice authorities submit information to the state registrar.

There are two main types of religious organizations:

• a religious community - a local organization operating on a limited administrative territory (district in a city, village, etc.), which is limited in its rights to establish religious educational institutions, religious brotherhoods, etc., and
• a religious center or administration is an association of local organizations that can operate throughout Ukraine.

In order to register a religious community in modern Ukraine, at least ten founders and documents confirming its location are required. For comparison, in order to register a religious community in the Ukrainian SSR, a list of at least 50 founders (called the "fifties") was required, and in the RSFSR, 20 founders were required.

The law stipulates that religious organizations are non-profit, meaning that they are created to meet the religious needs of citizens to practice and spread their faith without the goal of making a profit. Having received the status of a non-profit organization for tax purposes from the tax office at the place of its location, a religious organization is able to avoid paying taxes on income received free of charge or in the form of non-refundable financial assistance or voluntary donations - passive income - from its core business, i.e., activities related to charitable assistance, educational, cultural, scientific and other similar services for public consumption, and the creation of social self-sufficiency systems. The main activity also includes the sale by a religious organization of goods that promote its principles and ideas, if the price of such goods is lower than the usual price or if such price is regulated by the state.

Contact the specialists of our company and get a full package of documents necessary for the full-fledged activity of your religious organization as a result of registration actions:

• certificate of registration of a religious organization
• charter
• certificate from the Department of Statistics;
• certificate of registration with the tax authorities (4-OPP) with a sign of non-profitability of the organization;
• notification of registration of the insured with the FSCTF;
• notification of registration with the Pension Fund;
• notification of registration with the Civil Defense;
• insurance certificate of the National Social Insurance Fund;
• notification of the DIFF.

Recently, the European community has been paying increased attention to the state of democracy in Ukraine, including the issues of freedom of conscience and religion, which are of particular importance. Religious life in Ukraine is very active, mostly in the western and southern regions, where there is a diversity of population based on nationality and religious denomination.  In recent drafts of amendments to the legislation, proposals have been made to obtain legal entity status through the State Registration Service. There are also frequent court cases concerning the registration of charters of religious organizations, which face bureaucratic restrictions and delays. Ukraine is gradually getting rid of the burden of politicization of religious processes and is moving towards the free expression of the will of each person's religious beliefs, which indicates the only possible path - the European choice.

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