Opening a Company or Branch in Russia: Documents
Registering a foreign-owned company with the Russian Federal Tax Service (FNS) or opening a branch of a foreign parent company? We translate your corporate documents—registration extracts, charters, board resolutions—and your director's passport into Russian and have a Russian notary certify the translator's signature.
- In-country team in Krasnodar since 2001
- Fixed quote before you pay
- No Translation Error Guarantee
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The Core Issue: Apostille Before Translation
Opening a company or branch in Russia begins with an asymmetry that catches most foreign founders out. Corporate documents issued outside Russia — your registration extract, charter or articles, the board resolution, the director’s passport — generally need an apostille or consular legalisation in the country that issued them, before anyone on the Russian side can touch them. We do not apostille foreign documents and nobody in Russia can. That step happens at home, first. People contact us with documents that cannot be used yet often enough that it is worth checking before you order anything.
Once the documents carry an apostille or a consular certificate, send them over and we produce the notarised Russian translations. The FNS — the Federal Tax Service, which registers legal entities and holds the EGRUL register — works with documents translated and notarised in Russia. A foreign sworn or certified translation, however official at home, is generally not what a Russian office reads. Under Article 81 of the Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries a Russian notary certifies the translator’s signature, not the accuracy of the translation and not its contents.
Documents a Foreign Founder Usually Needs to Translate
- An extract from the trade or commercial register showing the foreign company is active (issued by the business registry in your country)
- The company's articles of association or charter, translated and notarized
- A board or shareholder resolution approving the Russian registration or branch opening
- The director's or founder's passport, translated and notarized (required for most registrations)
- A power of attorney if someone else will sign the registration papers on behalf of the foreign founder or parent company
- An apostille on each foreign corporate document (placed in the country of origin, not in Russia)
Two Routes: Direct Registration or Accreditation
There are two different routes, and they are not interchangeable. Registering a Russian legal entity goes through ordinary company registration with the FNS, which enters it in the EGRUL. Opening a branch or representative office of a foreign company goes through a separate procedure called accreditation. Which one fits your case is a question for your lawyer and accountant — we raise the split only because the paperwork lands on us either way.
Both rest on the same corporate documents — the registration extract, the charter, the resolution, the director’s passport — legalised at home and translated here. That part is ours.
Name Consistency Across Every Document
Names are compared across the whole set. If your company is “Acme Ltd.” in one translation and “Acme Limited” in another, or a director is “John” here and “Jon” there, that mismatch is the kind of thing that stalls a filing — and it is entirely within your control. Before you send anything, settle on the exact spelling of the company name and of every director or founder who has to appear in the Russian text, and tell us what it is.
We then use that spelling everywhere — in a power of attorney, a charter, a resolution, an extract. If anything was translated before, by us or anyone else, send it and we will match it. One spelling across the whole set is the baseline, not a refinement. If we are the ones who introduce a mismatch, that is our mistake and our No Translation Error Guarantee covers redoing it at no charge.
Cost depends on how many documents are in the set and how long each one is, so we publish no single figure. Rates are on the pricing page; send the scans and you will have a fixed price for your own documents within 2 hours during working hours, fixed before you pay rather than adjusted after. A notarised translation takes 2 to 3 business days once clear scans are in.
You May Also Need
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Corporate Documents Translation
Full details on what makes a corporate translation work in Russia and which documents a registration or bank account typically requires.
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Power of Attorney Translation
If someone abroad must authorize a representative to sign on their behalf in Russia, a notarized power of attorney translation is usually required.
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Director's Passport Translation
The director's or founder's foreign passport must be translated and notarized for most company registrations with the FNS.
Opening a Company in Russia: FAQ
Do our company's registration documents need an apostille for the FNS to accept them?
As a rule yes, where your country is party to the Hague Apostille Convention, and it has to be placed on the original at home — nobody in Russia can do it. Where a legal-assistance treaty with Russia applies, including the CIS countries, Serbia and the Czech Republic, an apostille is usually not needed. Confirm your own case with your lawyer before ordering.
Can we use a translation made in our home country?
As a rule, no. Russian offices work with translations notarised inside Russia, even where a foreign sworn translation is perfectly valid at home. Send us the original documents and we will produce a Russian-notarized translation under Article 81 of the Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries. That is the form the FNS will recognize.
Our company was registered abroad long ago. Do we need a recent extract from our home register?
Almost certainly yes. The FNS wants proof that the company is currently active. How recent it has to be is set by the receiving side, not by us, so ask before you order an extract. We cannot obtain it for you in any case — it comes from your own country's registry.
Will the FNS tell us in advance which documents it needs?
What is actually required depends on the receiving office and on your own situation, and it is not ours to state. Take the list from your Russian lawyer or accountant and send it to us — we will confirm we can translate everything on it.
Can we register the company ourselves or do you handle registration?
We translate and notarise, and that is the whole of it. We do not register companies, do not file with the FNS and do not act as an agent — that is you or your Russian lawyer.
How long does translation take?
Standard turnaround is 2 to 3 business days once clear scans are in. We do not cover FNS processing times.
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We are not a law firm, an accountant's office, the Federal Tax Service, or a government agency; we provide notarized translation and document support. What documents a specific FNS office will accept, whether you need an apostille or consular legalisation, the choice between registering a subsidiary and opening a branch or representative office, tax structure, corporate form, profit repatriation, and VAT treatment are matters for a Russian lawyer and a tax accountant. We do not advise on those matters. Always confirm current requirements with your Russian legal counsel and the receiving FNS office before you order. This is not legal advice.
