Create a non-governmental organization in a few clicks: The Ministry of Justice is working on a new feature in Diia

In the face of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian society has demonstrated exceptional cohesion. Tens of thousands of citizens across the country have self-organized to support our defenders, help internally displaced persons, protect their communities and restore the affected areas. In this extremely challenging situation, civil society organizations have become one of the key forces that continue to cement our society.

Since the restoration of Ukraine's independence, the civil society sector has been consistently shaped as a driving force for the development of democracy and the strengthening of human rights protection.

Today, more than 153,000 public associations are registered in our country.

The public sector demonstrates high flexibility, responsiveness and readiness for partnership. It is often civil society organizations that are the first to fill in the gaps where the state has not yet been able to adapt to new challenges, contributing to the creation of effective European institutions that are open, transparent and accountable to society.

For the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, as a body involved in the state registration of public associations, one of the priority tasks is to create conditions under which the process of forming such organizations will be simple, clear and convenient for everyone. That is why today we are implementing tools that significantly facilitate the way in this direction.

One of these solutions is a pilot project to implement a model charter for civic organizations.

Civil society sector continues to grow despite challenges of full-scale invasion

A civic association is a voluntary union of individuals or legal entities established for a common purpose: protection of rights and freedoms or satisfaction of interests of a certain group or society as a whole. Such associations may exist in the form of a public organization, if the founders are individuals, or a public union, if the initiators are legal entities.

As of April 1, 2025, more than 153,000 public associations were registered in Ukraine. In the first quarter of this year alone, 964 new associations appeared. For comparison, in 2024, 3,528 new CSOs were registered, in 2023 – 2,600, and in 2022 – 3,609 .

In recent years, Ukraine has taken serious steps to ease the procedure for establishing a public association.

To register an organization, two founders – citizens of Ukraine or foreigners who are legally in the country – are enough.

The basic package of documents can be submitted directly to the Interregional Departments of the Ministry of Justice or through the Administrative Service Centers. The standard term for reviewing documents is three business days.

In addition, a number of additional simplifications have been introduced for the period of martial law: mandatory deadlines for submitting documents after the constituent assembly have been canceled; it is allowed to carry out registration actions in respect of public associations located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson regions, and the city of Sevastopol, regardless of their legal location.

In case of amendments to the information, public associations working in support of the defense and security of the state or wishing to change the direction of their activities and start working in this area are exempt from paying the administrative fee.

It also provides for the possibility of confirming payment of the administrative fee for state registration of changes to a public association or the fee for providing information from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations with an electronic copy of the payment document, including a screenshot.

Model Statute: a new stage in the development of the public sector

The next important step is to introduce a model charter for NGOs. on April 18, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 460 on the implementation of a pilot project to ensure the activities of NGOs on the basis of a model charter. The relevant proposals were developed by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

This initiative opens up new opportunities for citizens.

As early as November 1, 2025, it will be possible to register a non-governmental organization on the basis of a model charter or switch to activities under a model charter automatically without the participation of a state registrar through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services "Diia".

It is also possible to submit documents both in paper form and online, which is especially important for people in regions affected by hostilities or in the temporarily occupied territories.

In essence, the model charter is a unified regulatory document that clearly defines the rules for transparent operation of the organization in accordance with the current legislation. The founders of associations no longer need to develop their own constituent document, get additional consultations or spend time on revisions – it is enough to use a model solution approved by the state.

By early November, the technical integration of automatic registration through the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations will be completed.

This will allow anyone to create an association online in a few clicks – without spending too much time and money.

The implementation of the model charter will significantly reduce the threshold for entering the public sector. This will stimulate the emergence of new initiatives, projects, and partnerships, and thus contribute to the further development of democratic Ukraine. Our country is a country of active and caring people who unite to implement important social initiatives. That is why we must create favorable conditions for them to do so .

The Ministry of Justice will continue to support the development of civil society and will do everything necessary to make the establishment of public associations easier and more accessible than ever.