Open a Company in Serbia Remotely With a Power of Attorney

Quick facts

• Legal basis: the Companies Act and the Law on the Procedure of Registration with the Business Registers Agency
• Company registration has been electronic only since 17 May 2023, signed with a Serbian qualified electronic certificate
• A special power of attorney lets a Serbian lawyer sign the founding act and file for you
• You sign it before a notary abroad, then it is apostilled, legalised, or exempt under a treaty
• The registrar must decide within five working days
• State registration fee: 8,000 dinars (~68 EUR). Minimum share capital: 100 dinars (~1 EUR)
• The bank account and the director's electronic certificate can still need you in person
• The beneficial owner must be recorded within 30 days of founding

Can you register a company in Serbia without visiting?

Yes. A foreign person or a foreign company can be the only owner of a Serbian company, and the founder does not have to be in Serbia on the day the company is founded. Most foreign founders choose a limited liability company, called d.o.o. in Serbian. Our page on registering a company in Serbia compares it with the other forms.

To open a company in Serbia remotely you need one document: a special power of attorney given to a Serbian lawyer. This guide explains what that document must say, how to make it valid in Serbia from your country, what the process costs, and which steps after registration can still need you in person.

Why remote company formation in Serbia needs a power of attorney

Since 17 May 2023, a company in Serbia can be founded only by electronic application. Article 9 of the Law on the Procedure of Registration with the Business Registers Agency ended paper filing for limited liability companies, joint-stock companies and partnerships.

The application and the founding act are signed with a qualified electronic certificate. This is a secure digital signature stored on a card or a USB token. The certificate must be issued by a certification body in Serbia. A digital signature from your own country is not accepted.

Most founders abroad do not have a Serbian certificate. The registry's own guidance gives the answer. A founder who is abroad can authorise a representative who holds a certificate to sign the founding act in the founder's place. That authorisation is the special power of attorney. With it, we sign and file under our certificate, and you stay where you are.

What a special power of attorney for company formation must cover

A special power of attorney names exact actions. A general one, such as "represent me in all matters", is not enough here. The registrar checks whether the representative was allowed to take each step.

The form matters too. A power of attorney that only lets a lawyer file an application does not need a certified signature. One that lets the lawyer sign the founding act does: the registry asks for a notary to certify it. For a remote founder that is always the case.

We draft the text in Serbian and English side by side, so you can read every line you sign. It covers these actions:

• Sign the founding act and the decision that appoints the director
• Set the company name, registered address and main activity
• File the registration application, supplement it, and receive the decision
• Prepare and submit the bank account opening application
• Apply for the director's qualified electronic certificate
• Prepare and make the beneficial owner filing
• Arrange certified translations and certified copies of your documents

If the founder is a foreign company

The power of attorney is signed by the company's legal representative, and the notary certifies that signature. We also need an extract from the register where your company is listed. It proves that the company exists and shows who may sign for it.

One detail causes delays. Electronic documents issued by foreign authorities are not accepted in the Serbian procedure. If your register issues only digital extracts, the extract is printed and certified as a true copy in your country. Then it is apostilled or legalised like the power of attorney. We tell you which form of extract to order before you order it.

Apostille or legalisation: what your country needs

A notary's stamp from your country has no effect before a Serbian registrar until the document is made valid for use in Serbia. The route depends on where you sign. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rules on legalisation give four routes.

The Ministry of Justice lists 24 treaty countries: Algeria, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Mongolia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates. The ministry notes that in some treaties only some kinds of document are exempt. We check the treaty for your country before you go to the notary.

The status table of the Apostille Convention shows 130 contracting parties. They include China since 7 November 2023, India, Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Send us the original by courier, because a scan is not enough. In Belgrade a certified court translator translates the notary's clause and the apostille into Serbian. We then convert the paper original into an electronic document under our own certificate. The law allows a lawyer to do this when the same lawyer files the application.

How to register a company in Serbia from abroad, step by step

1. You decide the basics with us: company name, registered address in Serbia, main activity, director and share capital. We check the name against the register before anything is signed.
2. We draft the power of attorney and tell you which of the four routes applies to your country.
3. You sign before the notary, add the apostille or legalisation if your route needs it, and send us the original.
4. We arrange the certified translation and convert the documents to electronic form.
5. We draft the founding act and the decision that appoints the director. We sign them under the power of attorney with our qualified electronic certificate, and we file the application with the Business Registers Agency.
6. The registrar decides. The decision arrives as an electronic document, and the company gets its registration number and tax identification number with it.
7. We start the work that follows registration: the bank account application, the director's electronic certificate and the beneficial owner filing.

Every company needs a registered address in Serbia. If you have no office, a virtual office address is the usual answer. We do not rent addresses ourselves, but we can pass on providers that our clients use.

How long remote registration takes

The registrar must decide within five working days from the day the application is received. That is article 15 of the registration law. If the registrar does not decide in time, article 19 treats the application as approved.

The part that varies is yours: the notary, the apostille or legalisation, and the courier. Where legalisation passes through several ministries and a Serbian embassy, it can take weeks. Start it first. We prepare everything else in parallel and file as soon as the original is translated.

Cost of opening a company in Serbia remotely

The state fee for founding a company is 8,000 dinars (~68 EUR). It has applied since 1 January 2026, under the fee decision of the Business Registers Agency published in the Official Gazette, number 95/2025. Many guides online still show the older fee of 5,900 dinars (~50 EUR). Reserving the company name in advance is optional and costs 2,000 dinars (~17 EUR).

The minimum share capital of a limited liability company is 100 dinars (~1 EUR) under article 145 of the Companies Act.

Costs outside Serbia depend on your country: the notary, the apostille or legalisation, and the courier. In Serbia you also pay the certified court translator, the registered address if you use a provider, and an accountant from the first month, because a limited liability company must keep full books. We quote one fixed fee for our own work before we start.

Where remote stops: steps that can still need you in person

Most guides end at the registration decision. At that point the company exists, but it cannot work yet.

The bank account

A company cannot pay or be paid without a Serbian bank account. Each bank sets its own identification rules. Some accept an authorised representative with the right documents. Others want to meet the director or the owner. We prepare the account application, and we confirm the bank's position on your case before you choose the bank.

The director's electronic certificate

The director needs a Serbian qualified electronic certificate for the company's electronic filings. We prepare the application, but the certificate is collected in person. For most clients this is the one trip to Belgrade.

The beneficial owner filing

Every new company must record its beneficial owner, which means the person who in the end owns or controls it. The deadline is 30 days from founding under the Law on the Central Records of Beneficial Owners, applied since 1 October 2025. Older guides still say 15 days. The documents that show who the owner is are uploaded with the filing, with a passport copy if the owner is a foreigner.

Fines run from 500,000 to 2,000,000 dinars (~4,259 to 17,036 EUR) for the company and from 50,000 to 150,000 dinars (~426 to 1,278 EUR) for the responsible person. The filing uses the electronic certificate, so we plan your trip inside those 30 days and make the filing with you. Tell us before we file the company if you cannot travel in that window.

Residence is a separate procedure

A company does not give you the right to live in Serbia. It is a ground you can use to apply for temporary residence on the ground of your company. Nationals who need a visa to enter start with a long-stay visa D. Fingerprints and the photograph for the residence card are taken in person. If you are not sure you need a permit at all, our guide shows which residence permit fits your situation.

How Start in Serbia handles remote company formation

Start in Serbia is a law consultancy in Belgrade. Remote company formation is part of our work for foreign founders doing business in Serbia, and attorneys handle it from start to finish.

The registration itself is rarely the problem. The problems are a power of attorney that misses one action, a register extract the registrar cannot accept, and a 30 day deadline that starts while you are still abroad. We draft the power of attorney for your country's route, arrange the certified translation, sign and file under our own electronic certificate, and answer the registrar if questions come. After registration we prepare the bank application, the director's certificate and the beneficial owner filing, and we plan your one visit around them.

Tell us your country, who the founder is, and what the company will do, in the contact section below this article. We will tell you which route applies and what the whole process needs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use an electronic signature from my own country to found a Serbian company?
No. The registration accepts only a qualified electronic certificate issued by a certification body in Serbia. This is why founders abroad work through a power of attorney, and we sign with our certificate.

Can I sign the power of attorney at a Serbian embassy instead of a notary?
Yes. Serbian embassies and consulates certify the signature on a power of attorney written in Serbian. You must come in person with a valid identity document. A Serbian authority has then certified the document, so no apostille is added. We send you the Serbian text ready to sign.

Do I have to pay in the share capital before the company is registered?
No. The minimum capital is 100 dinars (~1 EUR), and the founding act sets the deadline for paying it in. You do not need a Serbian bank account before registration. We write a capital amount and a deadline into the founding act that fit your plans.

What happens if the registrar does not decide within five working days?
Article 19 of the registration law treats the application as approved, and the registrar enters the company in the register. In practice a weak application is more often rejected inside the deadline than left undecided. This is why we check every document before we file.

Does a company opened from abroad give me Serbian residence?
No. Owning or managing a Serbian company is a ground for a temporary residence application, not a permit. We can run both procedures, and we time the company registration so that it supports the residence file.