Foreign Enterprise Database

Questions and Answers

What is the Foreign Enterprise Database?

All the foreign enterprises, which perform any commercial activity in Latvia, get registered in the Foreign Enterprise Database. Each such enterprise receives a unique number – Foreigner’s registration number or the FRN.

Who performs the registration of foreign enterprises in Latvia?

Until now – no one. Lursoft IT has expressed an appeal to execute this registration a State scale. The Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia, which until now has been registering all the Latvian enterprises, could perform the registration.

What is FRN?

FRN is a 9 digit Foreigner’s Registration Number assigned to the foreign enterprise which serves as a unique identifier of each enterprise.

What does the FRN look like?

The FRN is a 9-digit number. In order not to be confused with the registration number of the Register of Enterprises, the FRN starts with “007”. For instance, the FRN of the American enterprise “Arco” is “007000278”. The structural similarity of FRN with the registration number of the Register of Enterprises allows the FRN to be used in the existing information systems without transforming them.

Why exactly has Lursoft introduced the FRN?

Lursoft is the servicing company of the Register of Enterprises therefore it also has encountered problems with the identification of foreign enterprises. The FRN was introduced into the RE information system for internal needs However, considering the needs of other State institutions and registers for the identification of foreign enterprises, Lursoft proposes to use the same FRN everywhere it is necessary.

Where is it possible to go to receive additional information on the Foreign Enterprise Database and the FRN?

The additional information about the database and the FRN is available in the description of the database.

Where are the FRN already being used in?

The FRN are used in information systems of the ER and Loan Register of the Republic of Latvia for identification of foreign enterprises.

To which enterprises are the FRN already assigned to?

On 24 June 1998 the FRN are assigned to all (about 4500) foreign enterprises, which possess capital shares or assets of Latvian enterprises. All these enterprises were already registered in the information system of the Register of Enterprises and now they are assigned also a FRN.

How can I check if a foreign enterprise that interests me is assigned a FRN?

Lursoft publishes the "Foreign Enterprise Database" on the Internet, which is available to everyone. The use of the database is free of charge.

Is the FRN legally justified?

No, there are no CM regulations or laws, which would state that a foreign enterprise has to be assigned an FRN. In the information systems of the Register of Enterprises and Loan Register the FRN are used for internal needs to facilitate the work with foreigners’ data.

Why should I use the FRN?

FRN is useful due to two basic reasons:

1. Identification of foregners. Information about foreign enterprises may come from different data sources and there is a great possibility that the information about one and the same enterprise will differ – one would state the adress in one way and the other would do it another way. The same problems may occur with names (especially with those whose names are neither Latvian nor English), for instance, an enterprise from Russia one would transliterate the name as "Tjeplo", the other – as "Ķeplo" etc. In its turn, if the "Foreign Enterprise Database" introduced by Lursoft, is used as the data source, each foreign enterprise would be also given an FRN showing the identity of the enterprise.
2. Data exchange between different IS. Thus, if an information exchange about a certain foreign enterprise is necessary, it is way easier to identify the required information by a common identifier – the FRN.