How to register a non-governmental organization in Ukraine: step-by-step instructions

Registration of a non-governmental organization (NGO) is a necessary step for an organization to be able to officially operate, receive grants, open bank accounts, etc.

The process of state registration of public associations is determined by the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Associations", the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations", the Procedure for State Registration of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations that do not have the status of a legal entity, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine No. 359/5 dated February 09, 2016.

The application forms for state registration of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and public organizations are approved by Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine No. 3268/5 dated 18.11.2016.

Theprocess of registering an NGO in Ukraine consists of several stages:

1. Determination of the purpose and objectives of the NGO.

At this stage, it is important to clearly define the purpose and objectives for which the NGO is being established. This will help you prepare the necessary documents.

2. Choosing an NGO:

• with the status of a legal entity - has more rights and obligations, but the registration procedure is more complicated.
• without the status of a legal entity - has fewer rights and obligations, but the registration procedure is simpler.

3. Preparation of documents.

To register an NGO with the status of a legal entity , you will need the following documents:

• Application for state registration of a legal entity (Form 4);
• a copy of the original (notarized copy) of the decision of the founders to establish a legal entity;
• information about the governing bodies of the public organization (name, date of birth of the head, members of other governing bodies, registration number of the taxpayer's account card (if any), position, contact phone number and other means of communication), information about the person (persons) who has the right to represent the public organization for registration actions (name, date of birth, contact phone number and other means of communication);
• constituent document of the legal entity;
• register of persons (citizens) who participated in the constituent congress (conference, meeting) - in case of state registration of the establishment of a public organization;
• ownership structure in the form and content determined in accordance with the law;
• a copy of an identity document confirming the citizenship (nationality) of the person who is the ultimate beneficial owner of the legal entity (notarized or certified by a qualified electronic signature of a person authorized to submit documents for state registration of the establishment of a legal entity, if such a document is drawn up without the use of the Unified State Demographic Register - for citizens of Ukraine).

State registration of a non-governmental organization that does not have the status of a legal entity is carried out by notifying the establishment of such a non-governmental organization.

The following documents shall be submitted to notify the establishment of a public association that does not have the status of a legal entity

• Application for state registration of a public association that does not have the status of a legal entity (Form 6);
• a copy of the original (notarized copy) of the decision to establish a public association;
• information about the founders of the public association (surname, name, patronymic, date of birth, address of residence, registration number of the taxpayer's account card (if any) - for an individual; its name, location, identification code - for a legal entity);
• information about the person(s) authorized to represent the non-governmental organization (surname, name, patronymic, date of birth, taxpayer registration number (if any), contact phone number and other means of communication).

The minutes of the constituent assembly must contain information on:

• date and place of the constituent assembly;
• persons who participated in the constituent assembly;
• the decision to establish an NGO with the purpose(s) of its activities;
• decision on determining the name and, if available, the short name of the CSO;
• decision on approval of the charter of the CSO;
• decision on the formation (election) of the head and governing bodies of the CSO in accordance with the approved charter;
• decision on determining the person (persons) who has the right to represent the CSO in legal relations with the state and other persons and to act on behalf of the CSO without additional authorization (hereinafter referred to as the person authorized to represent the CSO) - for a CSO that intends to operate without the status of a legal entity, if the formation (election) of governing bodies is not provided for by the decision on the formation of such an association;
• a decision on determining the person(s) entitled to represent the CSO for registration actions - for a CSO that intends to carry out activities with the status of a legal entity.

In case of establishment of a public association that intends to carry out activities without the status of a legal entity, the decisions provided for in the above paragraphs 5 and 6 shall be made if the existence of a charter and/or the establishment (election) of governing bodies is provided for in the decision on the establishment of such an association.

The minutes of the constituent assembly shall be signed by the chairman and the secretary of the assembly.

An integral part of the minutes of the constituent meeting of a public association is a register of persons who participated in the constituent meeting, which must contain the following information

1) for individuals - surname, name and patronymic, date of birth, and for foreigners and stateless persons, also data of a national passport or a document replacing it. The data on the person shall be certified by his/her personal signature;

2) for legal entities - full name, identification code, legal address, surname, name and patronymic of the person authorized to participate in the constituent assembly. This data shall be certified by the signature of the person authorized to participate in the constituent assembly.

A person may be elected as a director, elected to the governing body of a non-governmental organization, designated as a person who has the right to represent a non-governmental organization for registration actions, or designated as a person authorized to represent a non-governmental organization, if he or she has his or her personal consent.

4. Submission of documents.

Documents for registration of an NGO can be submitted:

• To the relevant departments of justice at the location of the organization;
• Local administrative service centers.
• In electronic form through the Online House of Justice.

The subject of state registration is the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, oblasts, cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol (in case of state registration, in particular, of public associations, their separate subdivisions, public associations that do not have the status of a legal entity, confirmation of the all-Ukrainian status of a public association).

Please notethat inaccordance with subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of the Order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated June 09, 2023 No. 2179/5 "On Conducting State Registration within Several Administrative and Territorial Units", registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on June 13, 2023 under No. 977/40033, state registration of legal entities, public associations without the status of a legal entity, located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson regions, the city of Sevastopol, is carried out independently.

The documents may be submitted

• in person by a person authorized by the decision to establish a non-governmental organization with the status of a legal entity, a non-governmental organization that does not have the status of a legal entity;
• by mail (the authenticity of the applicant's signature must be notarized);
• online (for state registration of a non-governmental organization with the status of a legal entity).

A non-governmental organization that intends to carry out activities with or without the status of a legal entity is subject to state registration in accordance with the procedure established by the Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations".

Documents in electronic form are submitted by the applicant using, among other things, the Online House of Justice web portal https://online.minjust.gov.ua/, provided that the applicant signs the application using high-trust electronic identification means.

5. Receiving a response.

• on state registration of the establishment of an NGO;
• on refusal to register the establishment of an NGO.

After reviewing the documents, the state registration authority issues a decision on the state registration of the NGO.

Information as of April 19, 2024