Paid legal assistance is provided by law firms, advocate’s law offices, and notaries as part of their professional services. The provision of professional services is optional for notaries. If a notary has already consented to provide the service, he or she cannot then refuse to do so without a legal basis. Information on the professional services offered by various notaries is available on the website of the Chamber of Notaries. In the case of professional services, the notary’s fees are not determined by law but agreed upon between the notary and the client in a form producing a written record before the service is provided.
Free primary legal aid is provided for the most vulnerable in need by various non-profit associations and foundations.
As many people cannot afford to hire a lawyer, there are statutory provisions for obtaining state legal aid in the cases provided for by law, to ensure that the rights and interests of a person are not left unprotected solely due to economic constraints.
Free legal assistance
For everyday legal questions, help is available on the Jurist Aitab website (in Estonian), where answers can be found in both Estonian and Russian. In the “Ask a Lawyer” section, you can submit your question to a lawyer, who will respond within five working days. The website is managed by the Estonian Lawyers´ Union in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs.
In addition, the Jurist Aitab website provides a legal information chatbot accessible to everyone, based on valid Estonian laws and nationwide regulations. The chatbot helps users find initial legal information explained in simple language, but it does not provide or replace legal advice. Before asking questions, please also read the chatbot’s user guide.
The Estonian Chamber of People with Disabilities (in Estonian) offers free legal advice to people with disabilities and their close ones. Legal advice is provided by lawyers from the Legal Services office SA Õigusteenuste Büroo. The Legal Services office SA Õigusteenuste Büroo (in Estonian) also organizes legal aid information days for older people across Estonia. As part of these legal aid information days , an overview is given of the legal issues that most often affect older people.
Legal assistance in family matters is given via the Union for Child Welfare (in Estonian).
The women who have fallen victim to sexual violence can access free legal counselling at women’s support centres all over Estonia (article in Estonian), in addition to other services.
Debt counselling services can generally be obtained free of charge from your local government. To access this service, you should contact the social affairs department of your local municipality (article in Estonian), which can refer you to a debt counsellor. Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund also provides access to a debt counsellor for people who are registered as unemployed or who have received a redundancy notice. A third option is to find a debt counsellor yourself and attend counselling without a referral. For this, see the website of the Debt Counsellors’ Association, which brings together the contact details of its member debt counsellors across Estonia. More information can be found on Minuraha (in Estonian), the consumer website of the Financial Supervision Authority.
Free legal councelling in Tallinn:
Under the supervision of the Estonian Lawyers’ Union, law students provide legal advice to residents of Tallinn. The Legal Services Office, SA Õigusteenuste Büroo, offers free legal aid in Tallinn to individuals with limited financial means. In 2026, the City of Tallinn will also organize free legal consultations in city districts. More detailed information about consultation times and locations is available on the City of Tallinn website.
Additional options can be found on the Jurist Aitab website.
Legal assistance and information in connection with the public services can also be obtained from the relevant public authorities. One may also turn to local governments, where officials with legal knowledge might be able to provide legal advice.
State legal assistance
State legal assistance system makes a legal assistance available to the least privileged. State legal assistance is provided by the members of Estonian Bar Association (advocates). Legal assistance is offered for out-of-court or pre-trial proceedings (in civil, criminal and misdemeanour matters), judicial proceedings (in civil, criminal, misdemeanour and administrative matters), enforcement proceedings, administrative proceedings, constitutional review proceedings, preparation of a legal document, or another legal assistance or representation. State legal assistance means that the legal service is initially paid for by the state; however, upon providing legal assistance, an obligation may be put on the person to pay for the legal assistance in part, or to repay the legal expenses in part or in full after the end of the court action. Explanation of the options of state legal assistance is also provided free of charge by law offices.
More information can be found on the of the Estonian Bar Association.
The State Portal eesti.ee does not provide legal assistance, European e-Justice portal provides information on justice systems.
References
- Information of state legal aid
- Sworn translators
- The Estonian Chamber of Bailiffs and Trustees in Bankruptcy
- European e-Justice Portal
Services
Laws
- State Legal Aid Act
- State Fees Act
- Code of Misdemeanour Procedure
- Code of Administrative Court Procedure
- Code of Civil Procedure
- Code of Criminal Procedure