What is an e-address?
An e-address is an e-mail address for communication between private individuals and for the circulation of documents to and from Latvian authorities (including judicial authorities, the prosecutor’s office, sworn bailiffs and insolvency administrators*). The reason for it being implemented is to make this communication faster and more secure, as well as to get rid of the circulation of paper documents and the associated costs.
From January 1, 2023, the use of an e-address will be mandatory for companies, representative offices, branches, associations, foundations, and other entities (a list of all subjects is available here (in Latvian only)). From a practical point of view, the creation of e-addresses will mean the digitisation of physical registered addresses for communication with public authorities (not with other individuals).
*circulation of documents using an e-address during criminal proceedings, civil proceedings, administrative proceedings in court, administrative violation proceedings and Constitutional Court proceedings shall be applicable only to the extent that other procedures for sending documents have not been laid down in the relevant procedural laws.
Who can create an e-address?
An e-address can be created by persons who are registered as representatives of entities registered in the registers kept by the Latvian Enterprise Register (persons entitled to represent). For example, members of the management board and procura holders of limited liability companies and joint stock companies, members of the management board of associations and foundations, representatives of representative offices and branches, etc. A person to whom, for example, an ordinary commercial power of attorney has been issued, will not be able to create an e-address if they hold none of these previously specified statuses, since persons to whom a commercial power of attorney has been issued are not entered in the registers kept by the Enterprise Register. However, access for such and any other persons (employees, accountants, etc.) can be set up after the first creation of the e-address.
Currently, an e-address can also be created by representatives who do not have a Latvian personal identity number and who have not received a foreigner’s eID card or residence permit, but who have Lithuanian, Estonian, Belgian, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Luxembourgish, Slovak, Croatian, Dutch, Swedish or Maltese means of personal identification (ID card or other means of personal identification supported in that particular country).
What are the consequences of not creating an e-address?
There is no penalty for not creating an e-address. But not creating one may cause practical inconvenience. As the Latvian authorities transition to the digital environment, state and municipal services may eventually be available to companies only through the digital environment.
As soon as an e-address is created, the public authority and the company begin communicating electronically and send electronic documents using the e-address. Since the creation of an e-address is not mandatory for natural persons, natural persons, unlike companies, may also ask the public authority to contact the natural person in other ways even in cases where an e-address has been created. Due to the mandatory establishment of an e-address for companies, once one has been created by the company, the public authority communicates with the company only through it.
More information about e-addresses and their creation is available here.
