Skip to main content

Back to News & Interviews

Once-Only Services going-live! SDG procedures in production in Croatia: setting up a business, doing an income tax return and applying for studies

2 March 2026 | 3 minutes read

Croatia currently offers e-Government procedures that help Croatians and EU citizens move freely between Croatia and the wider EU using the Once-Only Technical System(opens in a new tab) (OOTS). This includes 19 out of the 21 procedures covered in the Single Digital Gateway(opens in a new tab) (SDG) regulation.

Cross-border procedures are essential administrative steps when moving to, or doing business in another EU country, like notifying business permits, arranging tax affairs or applying to study.

The SDG regulation calls for these procedures to be offered fully online and, where necessary, allow for the automatic retrieval of the evidence users need to complete these procedures (diplomas, attestations or certificates).

The Croatian e-Citizens platform(opens in a new tab) is an informative portal of electronic cross-border services of the Republic of Croatia. The e-Citizens Platform currently hosts 31 e-Services, the 21 SDG procedures and a catalogue of evidence types(opens in a new tab) currently accepted when completing an SDG procedure.

Different procedures for several walks of life

Croatia currently offers 19 out of the 21 SDG procedures for EU citizens moving to Croatia (as long as they have a valid electronic ID, or eID(opens in a new tab)). Out of these, e-Government services helping people to study, submit their tax returns and set-up a business are among the most popular and are connected to the Once-Only Technical System.

Procedure 4: Submitting an initial application for admission to public tertiary education institution

This procedure consists of applying for admission to public tertiary education institution and any supporting evidence required in digital format. Visit the e-Citizens platform to see a full description of the procedure, the competent authority, and the necessary conditions.

View this procedure (opens in a new tab)

Procedure 9: Submitting an income tax declaration

This procedure means that the competent authorities are obliged to accept personal income tax returns in digital format. Visit the e-Citizens platform to see a full description of the procedure, the competent authority, and the necessary conditions.

View this procedure (opens in a new tab)

Procedure 16:

a) Notification of business activity

In this procedure, competent authorities must accept notifications from registered businesses and professionals who want to work in another Member State or different region, including declarations like the posting of workers. Visit the e-Citizens platform to see a full description of the procedure, the competent authority, and the necessary conditions.

View this procedure (opens in a new tab)

b) Approval to perform professional activities – e-Driving school

In this specific procedure allows you to apply to start operating a driving school. Visit the e-Citizens platform to see a full description of the procedure, the competent authority, and the necessary conditions.

View this procedure (opens in a new tab)

A Single Market that is simpler for people and more competitive globally

Thanks to a procedure’s integration with the Once-Only Technical System, users can:

  • authenticate themselves via their digital identity;
  • authorise the automatic retrieval of their data already registered with the authorities in their country of origin;
  • avoid manually uploading documents and certificates that are already available digitally in public administrations, wherever possible.

All this without duplicating information already provided, in the spirit of ‘Once Only’.

You can visit the Croatian e-Citizens platform(opens in a new tab) to learn more about e-Government services in Croatia. You can visit the European Commission’s Once-Only hub(opens in a new tab) to learn more about ‘Once-Only’ and see the 21 procedures(opens in a new tab) included in the SDG regulation.