How to register a sole proprietor in Ukraine?

How to open a Sole Proprietorship (FOP) in Ukraine in 2026

A sole proprietorship (FOP) is the easiest way to legally start your own business in Ukraine. This format is suitable for trade, services, online sales, delivery, small-scale production, consulting, working with marketplaces, and most micro and small businesses. At the same time, registering a FOP does not replace licenses, permits, requirements for cash registers (RRO/PRRO), trade rules, consumer protection, personal data protection, advertising, labeling, and product safety.

Who can register a FOP

A capable individual has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity. Full civil capacity generally begins at the age of 18. It is also possible to register as an entrepreneur from the age of 16, provided there is written consent from parents, adoptive parents, a guardian, or a tutorship and guardianship authority. From the moment of state registration, such a person acquires full civil capacity.

The law establishes incompatibility with entrepreneurship for certain positions and statuses. Therefore, before registration, you should separately check whether you are subject to a special prohibition under anti-corruption, civil service, or specialized legislation.

Where and how to register a FOP

You can register a FOP:

In practice, the most convenient option for most entrepreneurs is Diia. This requires an electronic signature or another available method of electronic identification.

What data is required for registration

During registration, the following is usually indicated:

Paper submission is carried out using the current application form approved by the Ministry of Justice. If registration takes place through Diia, there is no need to print paper forms separately.

State registration of a FOP is free of charge. If the documents are submitted properly, the entry into the Unified State Register (EDR) is made within the timeframe established by the law on state registration; in practice, this usually happens quickly, without a separate "FOP certificate". The confirmation is the entry in the EDR and an extract from the register.

How to correctly choose NACE (KVED) codes

NACE is the official activity type code. It should be chosen not "for the sake of it", but for the actual business model:

The main NACE code should describe the primary source of income. It is better to include additional NACE codes immediately, but it is not critical: they can be changed and added after registration.

When registration can be refused

State registration may be refused if the documents are submitted by an unauthorized person, executed in violation of the requirements, the register already contains a record of you as an active FOP, or there is a legal prohibition on engaging in entrepreneurial activity. If the reason for refusal is remediable, the documents can be resubmitted.

Which tax system to choose

After registration, a FOP operates either on the general system or on the simplified system.

General system

The general system is suitable when:

Under the general system, a FOP pays Personal Income Tax (PIT) and the military tax from net taxable income, as well as the Unified Social Tax (UST) in the established manner. Accounting here is more complicated than with the single tax and requires proper maintenance of primary documents.

Simplified system: single tax groups

The simplified system is convenient for small businesses, but not for all types of activities. The main groups for a FOP are as follows.

First group — for small retail trade from trading spots in markets and/or household services to the public, without hired employees, within the annual income limit defined by the Tax Code. RRO/PRRO is not applied for this group.

Second group — for providing services to single tax payers and/or the public, manufacturing and/or selling goods, restaurant business, with restrictions on the number of employees and annual income within the limits of the Tax Code.

Third group — the most universal. It allows working with the public and businesses, usually without restrictions on the number of employees, but with an annual income limit set by the Tax Code. The rate is 3% of income with VAT or 5% of income without VAT.

The Tax Code determines not only the rates but also the restrictions for the simplified system. There are activities that cannot be carried out on the single tax or can only be done under certain conditions. These include, in particular, certain activities with excisable goods, financial services, currency exchange, gambling, and other cases explicitly listed in the Tax Code.

When to apply for the simplified system

It is most convenient to submit an application for the single tax simultaneously with the state registration of the FOP.

If this is not done immediately, the deadlines set by the Tax Code apply:

Taxes to remember immediately

After opening a FOP, you usually need to consider four blocks of payments:

For single tax payers of the first, second, third, and fourth groups, the Tax Code explicitly provides for the military tax in the period established by Sub-section 10 of Section XX of the Tax Code.

The rates of the first and second groups are set by local councils within the limits defined by the Tax Code. Therefore, before submitting an application, you should check the exact decision of your local council, and not rely on "average" figures from the internet.

Accounting after registration

The old approach with mandatory "income accounting books" for most FOPs no longer works in its previous form.

Currently, individual entrepreneurs on the single tax of the first and second groups, as well as the third group without VAT, keep records in an arbitrary form with a monthly reflection of income. Payers of the third group with VAT keep records of income and expenses according to a standard form approved by the Ministry of Finance.

This does not mean that documents can be discarded. For safe operation, a FOP must have and store:

When RRO or PRRO is required

The issue of RRO/PRRO must be resolved even before the first payment from a client.

The general rule is this: if a FOP conducts settlement operations in the field of trade, public catering, or services, they apply RRO or PRRO, unless they fall under a special exception from the law. The first group of the single tax does not apply RRO/PRRO. Other FOPs should be guided by the Law on RRO, in particular, Articles 3, 9, and 10.

If you accept cash, card payment via POS terminal, online acquiring, payment upon delivery, or any other format falling under the definition of a settlement operation, the issue of RRO/PRRO must be checked before sales start, not after the first inspection.

A fiscal check must contain the mandatory details established by the Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 13, including a QR code in cases provided for by the form of the check.

For violating the rules of applying RRO/PRRO, the Law provides for financial sanctions. The most dangerous violations are failure to conduct a settlement operation, conducting it not for the full amount, failure to issue a check, or using an unregistered solution where it is mandatory.

Online store, website, marketplaces, and delivery

If a FOP operates online, the requirements of e-commerce are added to the usual rules.

On the website, in the app, on the checkout page, or in another information system, it is necessary to correctly disclose information about the seller, the procedure for concluding the contract, payment, delivery, return, warranty, and contact details for inquiries. The seller must promptly confirm receipt of the order, and the electronic contract is concluded according to the rules of civil legislation and the Law on E-Commerce.

If the website or app collects a name, phone number, address, email, order history, or other personal data, the FOP must comply with the Law on Personal Data Protection: define the purpose of processing, legal basis, notify the person about processing, and ensure proper data protection. In the field of e-commerce, consent to the processing of personal data can be provided through the system interface, but only provided that it is done properly.

Delivery does not negate the obligation to work legally. If the settlement model falls under the Law on RRO, a check must be generated in proper form and provided to the buyer in accordance with the rules for the specific method of sale and delivery.

Trading goods: what to check before the first sale

For retail trade, a store, showroom, warehouse, pickup point, or online store, not only taxes are important.

You need to check:

For non-food products, the rules of state market surveillance may apply. If products are unsafe, improperly labeled, or do not meet established requirements, restrictive measures can be applied to the seller or other participant in the supply chain, including the requirement to eliminate violations, withdraw goods from circulation, or pay a fine.

Excisable goods, licenses, and special permits

FOP registration does not give an automatic right to sell everything.

Certain types of activities require:

The most typical examples are the trade of alcohol, tobacco products, liquids for electronic cigarettes, fuel, medicines, medical practice, security activities, educational services, passenger transportation, and certain types of work with hazardous substances or waste.

For excisable goods, it is important to separately check the rules for licensing, excise, labeling, points of sale, warehouses, equipment, age restrictions, RRO/PRRO, and document flow. It is here that large fines and the risk of license cancellation most frequently arise.

Employees

A FOP can work independently or hire employees if the chosen tax system allows it.

If there is staff, before starting work, labor relations must be properly formalized, mandatory notices submitted, HR and payroll accounting organized, taxes from salary paid, and the requirements of labor legislation and occupational safety rules must be fulfilled.

For specific fields, there are additional requirements for medical examinations, professional training, clearances, certification, or special training.

Advertising, public promises, and brand

Any advertising of a FOP must be truthful, in the state language, and must not mislead the consumer. Unfair advertising is prohibited, and significant financial sanctions are provided for specific violations.

If you use a brand name, logo, slogan, photo, video, music, packaging design, or someone else's texts, check if you have the right to do so. For your own brand, it is advisable to separately assess trademark registration. For website content, social media, and advertising, it is important not to infringe on copyrights.

Consumer rights protection

Upon registration, a FOP immediately becomes a subject of consumer rights protection rules if they sell goods or services to individuals.

This means it is necessary to provide:

Violation of consumer rights leads not only to fines but also refunds, disputes, complaints to regulatory authorities, and reputational losses.

What FOP registration does not replace

The mere fact of opening a FOP does not mean you can immediately start any activity. Registration does not replace:

Therefore, a correct FOP launch is not just an entry in the EDR, but a full verification of the business model: what is sold, to whom, how it is paid for, where it is stored, how it is delivered, who works, what data is collected, and whether a permit package is needed.

Conclusion

Opening a FOP in Ukraine is technically not difficult. The complexity begins after registration — in the correct choice of NACE codes, tax system, RRO/PRRO regime, contracts, HR paperwork, sales rules, website operation, delivery, licenses, and product documents.

The best sequence of actions is as follows:

Official sources

Програма обліку товару для інтернет-магазинів, крамниць, торгових точок, складів та виробництва