Cash Register Requirements in Latvia: What You Need to Know

A cafe owner in Jurmala learned this lesson the hard way: VID inspectors walked in on a Saturday afternoon, ordered two coffees, and asked for a receipt. There was no cash register. The fine was EUR 350 — more than the cafe's entire Saturday revenue. The follow-up inspection two months later, when the register still wasn't installed, cost EUR 700.

If your business accepts cash payments from consumers, Latvian law requires a VID-registered cash register (kases aparāts). There are no exceptions based on business size or transaction volume.

Who Needs a Cash Register

Any business — SIA, sole trader, micro-enterprise — that receives cash payments from natural persons (consumers) must use an electronic cash register or equivalent fiscal device registered with VID. This includes:

• Retail shops
• Restaurants, cafes, and bars
• Service providers accepting cash (hairdressers, repair shops, medical practices)
• Market stall operators (with limited exceptions for seasonal agricultural sales)
• Any business issuing receipts for cash payments

The obligation applies regardless of whether cash is your primary payment method. If you accept card payments 99% of the time but occasionally take cash, you still need a functioning register.

Transactions exclusively between legal entities (B2B) documented with proper invoices and paid by bank transfer do not require a cash register. But the moment a natural person pays in cash — even once — the requirement kicks in.

Registration and Technical Requirements

The cash register must be:

1. Certified — only models approved by VID may be used
2. Registered with VID — before the first transaction, you must register the device through VID's Electronic Declaration System (EDS)
3. Fiscalized — equipped with a fiscal memory module that records all transactions and cannot be altered
4. Maintained — regular technical inspections by a certified service provider, typically annually

Each transaction must generate a receipt containing: the company's name and registration number, the cash register's registration number, the date and time of the transaction, the item or service description, the amount, and a sequential receipt number.

Daily Z-reports (end-of-day summary reports) must be generated and retained. These reports must reconcile with your accounting records — and during an audit, VID will check.

Fines for Non-Compliance

The penalty structure as of 2026:

• First violation (no cash register or failure to issue receipt): EUR 140–350
• Repeated violation: EUR 350–700
• Systematic violations or obstruction of inspection: up to EUR 1,400 and potential suspension of business activity

VID conducts both scheduled and unannounced inspections. The unannounced variety — where an inspector makes a purchase and checks whether a receipt is issued — is the most common and the hardest to prepare for. The only preparation that works is consistent compliance.

One nuance worth knowing: the fine applies not just for not having a register, but for failing to issue a receipt for each transaction. Even with a registered device, if your employee forgets to ring up a sale, the violation is the same.

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Cash Register Compliance Without the Guesswork

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