The Saeima¹ has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:

State Forest Service Law

Chapter I
Structure and Functions of the State Forest Service

Section 1. State Forest Service

(1) The State Forest Service (hereinafter - the Service) is an institution of direct administration under supervision of the Minister for Agriculture.

(2) [4 November 2004]

(3) [4 November 2004]

(4) [4 November 2004]

[10 October 2002; 4 November 2004; 15 March 2012; 14 December 2023]

Section 2. Functions of the Service

(1) Within the limits of its competence, the Service shall supervise compliance with the legal acts governing the management and use of forests and hunting, supervise and implement fire-fighting in a forest and participate in the development and implementation of the State forest policy. Other functions thereof are determined by the legal acts governing forest management and the competence of the Service.

(2) When performing the functions determined by the law, the Service may cooperate with institutions of direct and indirect State administration, non-governmental and international institutions and organisations, and also other representatives of society and authorities.

[15 March 2012]

Chapter II
Rights and Legal Protection of Officials of the Service

[4 November 2004]

Section 3. Officials of the Service

(1) The Service shall be managed by the director general.

(2) [14 December 2023]

(3) [14 December 2023]

(4) [15 March 2012]

[21 March 2002; 10 October 2002; 15 March 2012; 14 December 2023]

Section 4. Duties of Officials of the Service

(1) Officials of the Service have the duty to ensure compliance with the requirements of the legal acts governing the management and use of forests and hunting, discontinue and prevent violations of the legal acts governing the management and use of forests and hunting, and also any other activities harmful to forests and forest land.

(2) Taking into account the specific characteristics of work, the length of working time of the officials of the Service shall not be measured or determined in advance.

[10 October 2002; 15 March 2012]

Section 5. Director General of the Service

[4 November 2004]

Section 6. Heads of Territorial Units of the Service (Chief Foresters, Directors)

[4 November 2004]

Section 7. Rights of Officials of the Service

When monitoring compliance with the legal acts governing the management and use of forests, officials of the Service have the right, within the limits of their competence:

1) to check on site, without hindrance, compliance with the requirements of the legal acts governing the management and use of forests;

2) to suspend or prohibit activities of those legal and natural persons who violate legal acts and also to stop any other activity harmful to the forest and the environment that is specified in legal acts;

3) to check personal identity documents of offenders, convey them to the premises of the police or local government authorities, and also to transfer materials regarding forest offences to law enforcement institutions so that the persons at fault would be held liable in accordance with the procedures laid down in law;

4) in accordance with the procedures laid down in legal acts, to check the locations of the acquisition, storage, processing, and sale of products, vehicles, tools for the acquisition of products, personal property of the offenders, and to seize and confiscate the illegally acquired forest resources, hunting products, tools with which violations were committed, documents, and other evidence;

5) to take decisions, provide opinions and issue orders, prepare reports (statements), examine materials regarding violations of the legal acts within the competence of the Service and, if necessary, hold the persons at fault administratively liable and perform other activities laid down in legal acts;

6) to request and receive, free of charge, written and oral information from legal persons and natural persons, and also to become acquainted with the relevant documents and the condition of the forest on site;

7) to cancel illegally obtained or used permits, certificates, licences, and certifications;

8) to check timber transportation documents, to suspend or prohibit the activities of those legal persons and natural persons who violate the requirements of the legal acts regarding the transportation of timber;

9) if the requirements of the legal acts governing the management and use of forests are violated, to stop vehicles on the roads of forestry and agricultural undertakings, and the vehicles used for the transportation of timber - also on municipal roads. The officials who stop vehicles must wear a uniform;

10) examine administrative offence cases and impose administrative penalties for such offences which, in accordance with legal acts, fall within the jurisdiction of the Service.

[10 October 2002; 4 November 2004; 15 March 2012]

Section 8. Legal Protection of Officials of the Service

(1) For preventing officials of the Service from exercising their lawful rights, for undermining their honour, for threats or violence directed towards officials, and also for endangering the life of officials in the course of their official duties, persons at fault shall be held liable as determined by law.

(2) The officials of the Service have the right to acquire, store, carry, and use weapons and special means of self-defence for the purpose of self-defence and also to carry and use hunting firearms registered with the State Police.

[10 October 2002]

Chapter III
Submission of Applications to the Service, and Notification and Implementation of Administrative Acts Issued by the Service

[14 December 2023]

Section 9. Compliance with the Requirements of Officials of the Service

Decisions taken and instructions given by officials of the Service within the limits of the competence specified by law shall be mandatory for the legal and natural persons subject to the control and supervision of the Service which are engaged in forest management, logging, timber transportation and the implementation of recreational events in forests, hunting or holding in captivity of wild game animals.

[10 October 2002]

Section 9.¹ Submission of Applications to the Service

(1) An application for the initiation of administrative proceedings shall be submitted to the Service online as structured data through the State Forest Register. An application submitted online through the State Forest Register as structured data has legal effect even without the detail "signature".

(2) A natural person may, by using an online service created in the State Forest Register, authorise another person to submit an application as structured data through the State Forest Register and receive administrative acts in administrative proceedings. Authorisations shall be recorded in the State Forest Register as structured data.

[14 December 2023 / See Paragraph 6 of Transitional Provisions]

Section 9.² Notification of Administrative Acts Issued by the Service

(1) The Service shall notify a person of the issued administrative act, including an unfavourable administrative act, and also other decisions, documents, and information online through the State Forest Register, concurrently sending them to the official electronic address of the user if the person has activated the account for this address or the indicated electronic mail address if the person has not activated the official electronic address account. If notification online through the State Forest Register is not possible due to objective circumstances, other methods of notification specified in the Law on Notification shall be used.

(2) An administrative act issued by the Service shall be stored in the State Forest Register as structured data.

(3) A document created electronically in the State Forest Register as structured data has legal effect even without the detail "signature".

[14 December 2023 / See Paragraph 6 of Transitional Provisions]

Section 10. Procedures for Contesting and Appealing Administrative Acts Issued by Officials of the Service and Actual Actions Thereby

[14 December 2023]

Chapter IV
Service Provisions

Section 11. Social Benefits for Officials (Employees) of the Service

[1 December 2009]

Section 12. Service Provisions

(1) Financial resources of the Service shall be formed by:

1) a grant from the general revenues of the State budget;

2) income from the paid services provided by the Service and other own income.

(2) For the performance of its tasks, the Service shall be provided with the necessary technical means (transport, communications).

(3) The Service shall be exempted from the payment of court expenses in claims for the compensation of such losses arising from the violation of the legal acts governing the management and use of forests if such losses are recovered to the benefit of the State.

[4 November 2004; 15 March 2012 / Amendments to Paragraph two shall come into force on 1 January 2013. See Paragraph 4 of Transitional Provisions]

Section 13. Identification Documents and Identification Insignia of Officials of the Service

(1) Officials and employees of the Service shall have a service identification document.

(2) During the performance of service duties the officials of the Service shall wear the service uniform or identification insignia. The Cabinet shall determine the sample uniform and identification insignia and the procedures for their wearing.

[10 October 2002; 14 December 2023]

Transitional Provisions

1. By 1 February 2000, the Cabinet shall adopt regulations regarding the implementation of this Law.

2. With the coming into force of this Law, the State Forest Service shall be the successor of such duties and obligations of the State Forest Service as the State Forest Service had up to the day of coming into force of this Law, except for:

1) duties with respect to State forest management, sale of forest resources in State forests and forest regeneration in State forests;

2) obligations arising from logging contracts entered into up to 28 May 1998 in accordance with Cabinet Regulation No. 335 of 7 November 1995, Regulations Regarding the Procedures for Entering into Long-term Logging Contracts;

3) obligations arising from purchase agreements entered into in accordance with Cabinet Regulation No. 319 of 25 August 1998, Regulations Regarding Auctions of Felling Areas and Individual Trees;

4) obligations arising from forest regeneration works secured with a security deposit in accordance with Cabinet Regulation No. 25 of 24 January 1995, Regulations Regarding Forest Regeneration;

5) obligations arising from hunting area lease contracts entered into in accordance with Cabinet Regulation No. 251 of 6 August 1995, Hunting Regulations.

3. The obligations laid down in Paragraph 2 of Transitional Provisions which are not taken over by the State Forest Service shall be taken over by valsts akciju sabiedrība "Latvijas valsts meži" [State joint-stock company Latvian State Forests] in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and regulations.

4. The amendment to Section 12, Paragraph two of this Law which provides for the deletion of the words "and officials of the Service shall be provided with service firearms" shall come into force on 1 January 2013.

[15 March 2012]

5. The Cabinet shall, by 31 March 2024, issue the regulations referred to in the second sentence of Section 13, Paragraph two of this Law.

[14 December 2023]

6. By 31 December 2026, a person has the right to also choose another form specified in laws and regulations for the submission of an application and receipt of an administrative act in addition to the provisions of Sections 9.¹ and 9.² of this Law.

[14 December 2023]

The Law comes into force on 1 January 2000.

The Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 25 November 1999.

President V. Vīķe-Freiberga

Rīga, 15 December 1999

¹ The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia

Translation © 2025 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)