Entity Formation in Serbia

Ready for a permanent presence in Serbia? We help you incorporate the right way, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including on the best time to make the move.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Right-time guidance

What incorporating in Serbia means

A DOO (Drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu, limited liability company) is the standard vehicle for a permanent business presence, formed by a founding act and an electronic filing with the Agencija za privredne registre, the APR (Business Registers Agency). Larger or regulated operations sometimes use an AD (Akcionarsko drustvo, joint-stock company), which carries a materially higher minimum share capital than a DOO’s. When you form one, you become the legal employer and operator in Serbia, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees, in exchange for the setup time and the ongoing obligations.

01

Your own company

Your own DOO makes you the legal employer and operator in Serbia, with full control of employment terms and a local brand presence.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Setup takes time

APR decisions typically take three to five business days once your founding act, founder ID, and e-signature are in place, but you cannot employ anyone until CROSO registration and the company’s tax ID are live. Timing the move matters, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in Serbia works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, then run the company-name availability check with APR, prepare the founding act (odluka or ugovor o osnivanju), and arrange your registered Serbian office address.

02 — Capital & e-signature

The founding act is signed with a qualified electronic signature and submitted online through APR’s eRegistracija system, which has been the only route since paper filing was retired on 17 May 2023. Minimum share capital is a symbolic RSD 100, so there is little to deposit before you can incorporate (capital can be cash or in-kind and, in most cases, does not need to be fully paid in at registration).

03 — Register the company

APR issues its decision (resenje), typically within three to five business days, and the company receives its tax ID (PIB) and is entered for corporate tax and VAT if required, so you can operate and employ compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account and CROSO registration before your first hire, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in Serbia costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. Serbia’s formation cost is low; the real commitment is the ongoing compliance. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

Minimum share capital for a DOO is a symbolic RSD 100 (over 16,000 of Serbia’s roughly 137,000 registered companies are capitalised at exactly this floor, so it is a genuinely common choice, not a theoretical minimum). An AD needs materially more capital. APR’s registration fee itself is a modest fixed charge rather than a meaningful barrier, and a typical all-in local incorporation cost (documents, any professional help, service fees) for a simple single-member DOO runs roughly EUR 200-600.

Corporate tax

A flat 15% rate, with no progressive scale, no SME reduced rate, and no municipal surcharge. Non-resident withholding tax is 20% unless a tax treaty reduces it. The annual return (Obrazac PDP) is due within 180 days of financial year-end.

VAT

Standard VAT is 20% (reduced rate 10% on staples such as food, medicines, public transport, and utilities; exports are zero-rated). Registration is mandatory once rolling 12-month turnover passes RSD 8,000,000; non-resident suppliers must register regardless of turnover.

Ongoing obligations

Accounting, the combined PPP-PD wage tax and social security return filed with each payroll run, VAT and corporate tax filings, and annual financial statements filed with APR by 31 March, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your Serbian company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in Serbia through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear once APR issues your decision. We stay on for the accounting, the PPP-PD payroll filings, and the annual reporting, so your DOO runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

Lawyers, tax advisers, and accountants in Serbia we have vetted and worked with, coordinated around your DOO formation, so the process moves and nothing gets missed.

  • Direct access
  • No call queue
  • Senior oversight

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, including in Serbia, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps, from choosing between a DOO and an AD to registering correctly with APR.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Many clients start with an EOR in Serbia, then convert to their own DOO once headcount is proven. We built our process for exactly that handover: employees and payroll transfer across cleanly, with no gap in employment or compliance, and we stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts afterwards.

  • Clean handover
  • No employment gap
  • Full back office

The incorporation trap nobody flags

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper Serbian company. It sounds responsible. It usually is not, yet. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Employment & payroll obligations

Expectation: it takes a few weeks and is just admin. Reality: APR itself can decide in three to five business days, but a registered Serbian office, the founding act, a tax ID, and CROSO registration all have to be in place first, and you cannot legally employ anyone until CROSO registration is live.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: dissolving a company needs a shareholder resolution, creditor notification, and a winding-up period. And once it exists, the obligations do not stop: annual financial statements to APR by 31 March, PPP-PD filings with every payroll run, corporate tax returns, and, for entities above a statutory size threshold on headcount, revenue and total assets, a mandatory statutory audit. None of this is a reason to delay incorporation. It is a reason to do it at the right time, with the right partners already in place.

What we handle for your company

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant Serbian payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

The combined PPP-PD return, wage tax and all three social security contributions calculated, withheld, and filed with each payroll run through e-Porezi.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, employer-paid sick leave for the first 30 days, parental leave, notice, and redundancy severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in Serbia.

How long does it take to incorporate in Serbia?

Usually a matter of days once documents are in place. Registration is electronic-only through APR’s eRegistracija system, and APR’s decision (resenje) typically takes three to five business days once the name check, founding act, founder ID, and e-signature are done. You cannot legally employ anyone until CROSO registration completes, which is why timing matters and why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

A symbolic RSD 100, so there is little to deposit before you incorporate: it is a real, commonly-used option, not a theoretical floor, and over 16,000 of Serbia’s roughly 137,000 registered companies use exactly this amount. An AD needs materially more capital. APR’s registration fee itself is modest; the real cost is the ongoing accounting and compliance, which we can run for you.

Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement for members or directors; a foreign individual can be sole member and sole director, managing remotely, with a DOO able to have up to 50 members. A director who will personally live and work in Serbia needs their own residence and work permit, but that is a separate personal-immigration matter, not a condition of the directorship. You will need a registered Serbian office, which we arrange.

Incorporate when you have permanent, proven headcount and want full control, and the per-head savings justify the ongoing costs. Use EOR while you are still validating the market or need people working quickly. Most companies start with EOR and incorporate later. We advise on the crossover.

Accounting, PPP-PD wage tax and social security filings with every payroll run, corporate tax and VAT returns, and annual financial statements filed with APR by 31 March (plus a statutory audit for entities above a statutory size threshold on headcount, revenue and total assets). We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your Serbian company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in Serbia?

Tell us your plans for Serbia and we will advise you on whether now is the time to incorporate, then handle it end to end if it is, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (Agencija za privredne registre, Poreska uprava Republike Srbije, Zakon o privrednim drustvima, Zakon o racunovodstvu). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.