Under martial law, many Ukrainian enterprises have received the status of being critically important for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the vital activity of the population during a special period. Such a status provides certain advantages, in particular in the sphere of booking employees, but it is not indefinite. Enterprises must reconfirm it at a defined frequency.
How often do I need to confirm my status?
Confirmation is carried out at least once a year. To this end, the enterprise submits an application to the authority that made the decision to grant the status, along with a package of supporting documents. If the enterprise fails to do so within the specified period, it risks losing its status and, consequently, the rights associated with it.
What criteria are taken into account when determining and confirming?
The status of a critically important enterprise can be granted, for example, in cases:
- By special status or financial indicators:
- the enterprise is a Diia City resident;
- no tax and single social contribution arrears;
- The average salary of employees exceeds the national minimum wage by 2.5 times.
- By significance for the economy or territorial community:
- the enterprise is of importance to the sector of the national economy or to meeting the needs of the territorial community;
- no tax and single social contribution arrears;
- The average salary of employees exceeds the national minimum wage by 2.5 times.
Compliance with the first criterion in the second block means that the enterprise meets specific industry-level or regional-level criteria. Such criteria are approved by specialized ministries and agencies (for the industry level) or by regional and city military administrations (for the regional level), subject to mandatory agreement with the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Defense.
At the same time, the enterprise must confirm compliance not with just one, but as a rule, with several criteria at once—usually no fewer than three.
An important nuance is the update of the criteria
Enterprises should closely monitor changes in the criteria by which they were recognized as critically important. For example, in 2025, many regional criteria have already been updated, and some are in the approval stage. As of October 4, 2025, the approval of updated criteria by the Kyiv City and Kyiv Regional State Administrations is expected.
This means that during the next status confirmation, the enterprise may face new requirements that did not exist before. Timely tracking of such changes will help avoid a refusal to renew the status.
How to prepare for confirmation?
- Check whether the enterprise meets the current criteria (industry or regional).
- Gather all supporting documents in advance.
- Ensure the absence of tax debt and compliance with wage level requirements.
- Submit an application to the relevant authority within the established deadline. In most cases, submitting documents to confirm status can be done via email with the documents signed by the director's EDS, which significantly simplifies the procedure.
Conclusion
Confirmation of the status of a critically important enterprise is not a formality, but a procedure that requires careful attention and strict compliance with criteria. Given frequent changes in regulatory framework, it is worth preparing in advance for the submission of documents.
Our law firm is ready to provide professional support in the status confirmation procedure – from analyzing current criteria to preparing a full package of documents. This will allow your employees and business to preserve important guarantees under the special period.
