How a foreign founder can register an LLC in Uzbekistan: the steps

A foreign individual or company may register an Uzbek LLC under the general procedure through a public services centre, either online through the Unified Interactive Public Services Portal or in person, including through an authorised representative. Filing is relatively quick, but preparation determines the result: agree the participants under the new LLC Law effective 22 July 2026, choose a Latin-script name, prepare Uzbek-language constitutional documents and translated, apostilled or legalised founder documents, and settle the address and capital. Identify the signatory separately. Foreign founders filing online must sign with their Uzbek electronic digital signatures; obtaining one and accessing the portal require a personal identification number, PINFL. After registration, arrange banking, the director and tax regime. Since 2026, some related steps can accompany registration.

Participants, legal form and company name

The first decision is structural. The new LLC Law No. ZRU-1137 of 21 April 2026 permits individual and corporate participants without special foreigner restrictions, with a maximum of fifty. It retains an important holding-company restriction: the sole participant cannot be another single-member company, except a joint-stock company with one shareholder. If a foreign corporate founder itself has one owner and would solely own the Uzbek LLC, restructure beforehand, for example by adding a participant or using an individual founder. One founder approves a charter; two or more also conclude a foundation agreement.

If the legal form is uncertain, compare an LLC with individual entrepreneurship before preparing documents: a foreign entrepreneur faces different status and residence requirements, affecting the whole procedure. The company name is in Latin script and automatically checked against registered names. Reservation lasts 60 calendar days. It may be extended for up to twelve more months on payment of one base calculation unit, BCU. Reservation is useful while foreign documents undergo apostille and translation.

Foreign-founder documents: translation, apostille and legalisation

Constitutional documents must be in the state language, so prepare the charter and any foundation agreement in Uzbek. Foreign-issued identity or legal-status documents need separate preparation. An individual normally uses a passport. In practice, public services centres request a foreign corporate founder’s charter, a recent home-country commercial-register extract and the representative’s power of attorney. Confirm the complete case-specific list before filing.

Recognition depends on the issuing country. Uzbekistan has participated in the Hague Apostille Convention since 15 April 2012, so documents from participating states generally use an apostille. Russia and several other CIS countries are covered by the 1993 legal-assistance convention. Russia’s Ministry of Justice explains that official documents are accepted by participating countries, including Uzbekistan, without legalisation or apostille. Separate Uzbek official explanations confirming its application to registration documents were not identified, so confirm acceptance with the public services centre first. Consular legalisation applies where neither convention covers the issuing state. Foreign documents are translated into Uzbek, and registration practice includes notarised translations. Obtain any apostille or legalisation in the issuing country before translating, or the translation may need repeating.

Registered address and share capital

The address in the application becomes part of the company’s tax registration. Professional commentary expects actual premises and activity there, rather than a nominal postal address. Premises are generally non-residential; experts associate virtual-office availability only with IT Park residents. An address mismatch can produce tax consequences, including suspended account operations. Publications explain that a new entity’s address uses preliminary lease or free-use information entered by the owner in E-ijara with the founder’s PINFL or taxpayer number. Register the agreement within ten days after incorporation. Since 2026, property leasing may accompany registration through the services package, but premises still need finding and checking beforehand.

The new law sets no general minimum LLC capital; specific licensing rules may impose one. Capital is stated in UZS and may comprise money, securities, other assets or property rights. Contributions are due within the constitutional deadline, no later than one year after registration. Until paid, the participant is jointly and severally liable within the unpaid portion. If capital remains unpaid after a year, reduce it to the amount contributed or decide to liquidate.

Distinguish a foreign-participant LLC from an enterprise with foreign investment. Registration rules name both. The latter status has separate foreign-share and capital requirements. The Senate approved a revised Investment Law in January 2025 which, according to the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, would reduce minimum foreign participation from 15% to 10%. If the status is needed for protections or incentives, check current statutory thresholds at filing. It is not a prerequisite for an ordinary foreign-participant LLC.

Applying through a public services centre or online

The business state-registration rules under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 66, in their July 2026 version, provide two routes through public services centres. Online, create the electronic request, attach constitutional documents and scans, and pay the duty by card, bank cashier or transfer. Documents for entities with foreign founders must bear those founders’ digital signatures. Where there are two or more participants, each normally confirms consent through an email notification and unified identification or Face-ID. Non-Uzbek-citizen founders are expressly excluded from that consent procedure; their digital-signature requirement remains central. In-person filing uses one set of paper originals. Representatives show identity and a power of attorney or other authority.

The State Duty Law determines the fee, automatically calculated when the request is created. It is non-refundable except for overpayment. Published fee figures differ and do not always reflect current law; use the portal calculation or confirm with the centre on the filing date. Processing periods are in the rules’ annex. From 1 January 2026, Presidential Decree No. UP-214 of 14 November 2025 coordinates related services under “Start a business in 15 minutes”. This names the package principle, not a universal guaranteed turnaround. Foreign-document checks and non-resident identification may take longer.

Where information matches state databases, the system enters the register record and generates an electronic certificate with a QR code. The certificate and constitutional documents are available in the portal’s electronic repository and can be printed. Paper originals are unnecessary for subsequent procedures, including banking.

The director, digital signatures and company seal

Participants appoint the director, who may be foreign. The UP-214 package includes appointment and registration in the Unified National Labour System: employment formalities as well as the company-register entry. Practising lawyers consider that a foreign director needs confirmation of the right to work before starting unless exempt. A resident interim director is sometimes appointed meanwhile. Check the citizenship- and company-specific rules before filing.

A foreigner may need a digital signature twice: as founder for online filing and as director for tax, banking and other services. The Digital Signature Law effective 14 January 2023 permits foreign individuals and entities to obtain certificates through Uzbek consulates; validity is no more than 24 months. From 2026, a key is also available through the registration package. OneID access requires PINFL, obtained at a public services centre or migration office. Some professional explanations expect at least one personal visit; others allow a notarised representative. Foreign specialists of IT Park residents have a diplomatic-mission route. OneID identification uses a local operator’s SIM card. A seal is not compulsory for registration or operation: the rules expressly remove that requirement, although the company may order one, for example for foreign counterparties.

Banking and tax regime after registration

The company may apply for an account immediately, without original registration or constitutional documents. Registration-stage remote opening by accepting an electronic offer is expressed for resident founders and individual entrepreneurs subject to FATF identification standards. Central Bank amendments adopted in November 2025 provide remote opening, including from abroad, for foreign founders of IT Park residents. Otherwise, the particular bank’s customer checks determine the route for a non-resident founder. Clarify director attendance before choosing the bank. Signature specimens may be supplied any time before payments begin.

Choose taxation at the outset. A new entity can select its regime during registration, principally turnover tax or the general VAT and profit-tax regime. From 1 June 2026, UP-100 replaces the UZS 1 billion annual turnover-tax threshold with 12,000 BCUs. Professional publications reported that the rule had not yet been incorporated into the Tax Code by summer 2026. Under the UP-214 package, a VAT payer certificate is issued automatically only to categories eligible without tax-risk assessment. Revenue forecasts, customer mix and imports determine the choice. Decide before filing to avoid an early change.

What can be done remotely, and where attendance may be needed

Fully remote incorporation depends on identification tools. Online filing needs foreign founders’ digital signatures and OneID, which requires PINFL and a local phone number. With these—such as a signature obtained through a consulate—a founder may apply from abroad. Otherwise, the route fully remote for the founder is in-person filing by an authorised representative. A foreign-issued power follows the usual preparation: notarisation, apostille or legalisation where required, and Uzbek translation. Attendance most often arises outside registration itself: PINFL if a representative is not accepted, banking without remote non-resident identification, and the foreign director’s employment formalities.

In practice, first check the ownership structure under ZRU-1137 and reserve the name. Start certification and translation of founder documents and prepare the Uzbek charter. In parallel settle premises, PINFL and signatures or representative authority, and choose taxation and banking. Then file at the centre or online. Confirm fees, timing and the chosen bank’s and centre’s document requirements at filing, since these were frequently changing areas of rules and practice in 2025–2026.