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Ten minutes before you sign: five checks, a check on yourself and the questions worth asking the employer directly.

2 min read

The check takes ten minutes and is done before you sign the contract.

One check matters more than the rest

A company must be in EGRUL (the register of legal entities), a sole trader in EGRIP (the register of individual entrepreneurs). The patent itself is at stake: from 17 December 2026, the absence of the employer's details in these registers becomes grounds for refusing to issue a patent.

What to look at

  1. Find the company. Open the Federal Tax Service's «Прозрачный бизнес» (Transparent Business) service or an EGRUL extract, or EGRIP for a sole trader. Enter the INN (tax number) the employer gave you. If nothing comes up for the INN, you can stop there.
  2. Status. Active or in liquidation. Don't sign a contract with a company in liquidation.
  3. Registration date. A company set up a month ago is a reason to ask more questions and not hand over documents until the contract is signed.
  4. Address. Compare it with where you are offered work. Ask directly about any mismatch.
  5. Director. Compare the name with the person signing your contract. Another person's signature is acceptable under a power of attorney — ask to see it.

Check yourself too

The register of controlled persons lists foreign citizens. If you are in it, that is your own status, and it has to be resolved before you take a job, or you'll lose both time and the money spent on paperwork.

What to ask the employer directly

Will there be a written contract and when will you get your copy. How and when is the salary paid. Who files the notification with the MVD — remember that you file your own notification yourself.

Take your copy of the contract and keep it: you'll need it for your notification.

Law · from 17.12.2026

The absence of the employer's details in EGRUL or EGRIP as grounds for refusing a patent — MVD Order No. 322 of 22.05.2026, in force from 17 December 2026.

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