Starting a business in Uzbekistan: registration guide

Opening a company in the Republic of Uzbekistan is technically simple: the application is filed electronically and the certificate arrives in an online account. The difficulty sits earlier — identifying the foreign founder, legalising corporate documents and securing a legal address that actually receives mail.

This is the pillar page of the cluster. It covers what has to be settled before filing: the legal form, the document package, the money, and the obligations that start the day the certificate is issued.

Which legal form should a foreign investor choose in Uzbekistan?

The limited liability company covers almost every operating scenario in the Republic of Uzbekistan: a member is liable within the value of its participatory interest, and no local partner is required. The regime comes from the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Limited and Additional Liability Companies No. 310-II of 06.12.2001 and from part one of the Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan of 21.12.1995.

A branch or a representative office of a foreign company is not a separate legal entity. A representative office does not trade and earns no revenue; a branch does trade but remains a unit of the parent company, with the consequences that follow for liability and reporting.

An individual entrepreneur suits solo work with no staff and no foreign participation. For a project with an outside investor, hiring and service exports, that form becomes a constraint within the first year.

The comparison of legal forms sets out founders, taxation and reporting side by side.

Can a foreigner own 100% of a company in Uzbekistan?

Yes. A foreign individual and a foreign legal entity may each be the sole founder of a limited liability company in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Law No. 310-II of 06.12.2001 sets no local-partner requirement and no citizenship requirement for the director.

Before the application is filed, the foreign founder and the director are assigned a PINFL — the personal identification number of an individual. Without a PINFL the founder fails identity verification in state information systems and the director cannot obtain an electronic digital signature.

Corporate documents of a foreign founder are legalised in the country of origin: an apostille where that state is party to the 1961 Hague Convention, consular legalisation otherwise. The translation is certified by a notary in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The full procedure is set out in the article on registering a company as a foreigner.

What do you need before filing?

The application goes in with a complete package. A mismatch between the charter and the OKED activity codes does not block filing, but it surfaces later at tax registration and when a preferential regime is claimed.

• PINFL for each foreign individual founder and for the director.
• Company name checked against the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
• Charter drafted to Law No. 310-II of 06.12.2001: name, location, charter capital, governing bodies and their powers, and the exit procedure for a member.
• Sole founder decision or general meeting minutes appointing the director.
• Proof of legal address — a lease for non-residential premises or a title document.
• Legalised documents of a corporate founder: a trade register extract with apostille or consular legalisation and a notarised translation.
• OKED codes consistent with the charter and with the subject matter of future client contracts.

How much does registration cost in Uzbekistan?

The state duty is set by the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on State Duty No. ZRU-600 of 06.01.2020 and calculated in base calculation values (BRV). Any business entity pays 1 BRV under clause 7(b) of the annex; an enterprise with foreign investment has no separate higher rate. Filing independently through the Unified Portal of Interactive Public Services reduces the duty to 90% of the amount payable through a Public Services Centre.

The BRV is set by presidential decree and revised periodically, so the amount in soum moves with it. The BRV has been 440,000 soum since 1 September 2026 under Decree No. UP-115 of 23.06.2026, so verify the figure on lex.uz on the filing date.

What has to be done immediately after registration?

Registration creates the entity; it does not start it. Several obligations arise at once, and some of them carry deadlines.

1. Choose the tax regime and notify the Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The choice lies between turnover tax and the general regime with profit tax and value added tax — the criteria are covered in the taxes and tax regimes cluster.
2. Obtain the director's electronic digital signature: without it the company cannot file a single return or issue an electronic invoice.
3. Open a bank account. For a company with foreign participation the bank additionally requests documents on the ownership structure and the source of funds under its internal control procedures.
4. Sign an employment contract with the director and register it in the Unified National Labour System. The director is an employee even when they are also the founder.
5. Contribute the charter capital within the period set by the charter and by legislation, evidenced by bank documents or a transfer act.
6. Set up electronic document flow: electronic invoices and electronic waybills are mandatory in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The company launch checklist tracks these steps with progress marks.

What most often delays registration?

Refusals rarely concern the business itself. The cause is usually the document package or an inconsistency between documents.

• PINFL not obtained before filing. The founder fails identity verification and the whole application is rejected.
• Passport translation not notarised. The application is returned and the clock restarts.
• Corporate founder documents without apostille or consular legalisation. A trade register extract as issued will not be accepted.
• Legal address not backed by a current lease. A common case: another legal entity is already registered at the premises.
• Charter activities do not match the OKED codes. The mismatch surfaces at tax registration and when claiming a preferential regime, including IT Park residency.
• Charter capital not contributed on time. The breach is recorded at the first inspection and obstructs profit distribution.

What comes next

The order of work depends on whether the entity already exists. With no entity, start with the legal form and the document package; with an entity in place, start with the tax regime and accounting setup, because that is where first-year errors accumulate.

TheBux handles registration end to end for a foreign founder: PINFL, charter and incorporation decision, document legalisation, legal address, filing, digital signature and support with opening the bank account — the scope is set out on the service page.