Crypto License in Montenegro (2026)

What the application requires

• Seat in Montenegro for a company, or residence or approved permanent residence for an entrepreneur or natural person (Article 40a)
• Entry in the Register of Beneficial Owners before a company can be entered in the crypto-asset register (Article 40b)
• An appointed anti-money-laundering officer and deputy under Article 69 of the Law, with proof of the appointment in the file
• A business plan naming the crypto-asset services to be provided and how they will be marketed
• Good repute under Article 40r for every director, member, management body member and beneficial owner: no pending criminal proceedings and no conviction carrying an unconditional prison sentence of one year or more
• Criminal and misdemeanour record extracts not older than three months, and notarised questionnaires and declarations not older than one month, for each of those persons (Rulebook, Article 7)
• Notarised passport copy for foreign nationals among the directors, members and beneficial owners (Rulebook, Article 7)
• Notarised declaration by the responsible person that they know their obligations under the Law (Rulebook, Annex II)
• Data on all directors as required by Article 117(1)(3) of the Law
• EUR 5,000 registration fee paid on filing (CMA fee schedule, Article 14, from 1 July 2026)
• Registration completed before any service is provided, and customer due diligence on every crypto-asset transfer of EUR 1,000 or more once operating

The application process

1. 1

   Determine which services you will register for

   Pick from the ten services in Article 6(1)(70); the register records the named services and Article 40e decides when a service counts as provided in Montenegro, including marketing aimed at residents or a .me domain

2. 2

   Incorporate a Montenegrin company and register its beneficial owners

   Article 40a requires a seat in Montenegro, and Article 40b bars a company from the crypto-asset register until it is in the Register of Beneficial Owners

3. 3

   Build the application file

   Annex I form, business plan, proof of the AML officer appointment, beneficial-owner extract, and the good-repute documents for every director, member and beneficial owner under Article 40r and Rulebook Article 7

4. 4

   File with the Capital Market Authority and pay the fee

   The application and supporting documents are delivered physically (Rulebook, Article 8); the EUR 5,000 fee is due on filing under Article 14 of the fee schedule

5. 5

   Assessment and decision

   The Authority checks the file, verifies the documents with domestic authorities and through international cooperation channels, and may ask for more; a refusal under Article 40b(8) can be challenged in an administrative dispute

6. 6

   Register entry and supervision

   The Authority issues a decision entering the provider in the public register; it can passivate or delete an entry under Article 40d, and services must stop while an entry is passivated

Costs and taxation

The only published official figure is the EUR 5,000 registration fee in Article 14 of the Capital Market Authority's fee schedule applying from 1 July 2026. Article 40b of the Law sets no minimum capital and the schedule sets no annual fee for crypto-asset providers. The file is delivered physically (Rulebook, Article 8) with notarised statements, criminal-record extracts and a beneficial-owner register extract, so budget for notary and translation costs, which no authority publishes.

Corporate income tax is progressive under Article 28 of the Law on Corporate Income Tax: 9% on taxable profit up to EUR 100,000, then EUR 9,000 plus 12% on the band from EUR 100,000.01 to EUR 1,500,000, then EUR 177,000 plus 15% on profit above EUR 1,500,000.01.

Who is licensed today

The Register of Crypto-Asset Service Providers is public on the Capital Market Authority's website. As of 6 September 2026 it lists one provider, Artenx d.o.o. Podgorica, entered by decision of the Authority's 195th session on 31 July 2026. Article 40a gives anyone the right to see a provider's name and the crypto-asset services it is registered for. See the official register.

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