New faces modeling agencies in Estonia

This catalogue lists 19 agencies in Estonia, including E.M.A Model Management, Beatrice MASS Modelnet, MJ Models and Star Kids Baltic. It includes every agency that represents models; we do not vouch for them, and each profile shows the facts we found, good and bad.

Our catalogue has 19: 18 in Tallinn and one in Tartu. We found no agencies based in Pärnu or Narva. The catalogue lists every business that represents models, including schools with an agency, kids, talent and casting agencies and those that exist only on social media. We do not vouch for them, and each profile shows what we found, good and bad.

Estonia has no licence written for model agencies. A private job placement provider files a notice of economic activity with the register of economic activities (MTR) before starting; it is a notice, not a licence. We found no official statement on whether a model agency counts as such a provider, and we did not check the agencies against the MTR.

Under section 27 of the Labour Market Measures Act a job placement provider may not ask the person looking for work to pay for the placement. We did not verify whether that provision applies to model agencies. In practice the application pages of the fashion agencies mention no fee, while schools with an agency state their prices: the Staarikool school costs €75 to €150 a month, and Star Kids Baltic charges €65 to register for its 2026 photo casting. The prices we found are on the profiles.

Under the Employment Contracts Act children under 7 may not work, so babies and toddlers in advertising take part under a written agreement with the parents, and the child can withdraw at any time without any penalty for the parents. Children aged 7–12 may only do light work in culture, art, sports or advertising, and the employer registers the child in the employment register five working days ahead and sends the Labour Inspectorate the parent's consent and the working conditions. From 13 a minor can work with parental consent. Fashion agencies usually scout new faces in their teens.

During term time, a minor who is still in compulsory education may work 2 hours a day, or 3 hours for light work in culture, art, sports or advertising, and no more than 12 hours over 7 days. Limits are higher in the school holidays and depend on age. Work between 8 pm and 6 am and immediately before school is not allowed, but advertising or creative work supervised by an adult may run until midnight. Minors may not work overtime.

Personal income tax in Estonia is 22%, and in 2026 the basic exemption is €700 a month. Under an employment contract the employer withholds the tax. Self-employed models can use an entrepreneur account (ettevõtluskonto), which takes 20% of everything received (more if you have joined the funded pension), but only while receipts stay under €40,000 a year. The alternative is registering as a sole proprietor (FIE).

Commission is set in the representation agreement, so check that the percentage is written as a number before you sign. When you work abroad, the agency representing you there takes its commission and the mother agency is normally paid a share out of it, not on top of it. Advanced costs such as test shoots, travel and the model apartment are deducted separately and must appear on your statement. The only published figure we found is in a 2006 Ärileht article: the Estonian agency that discovered a model earned ten percent of each job she did abroad. We found no current published rate.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not. Everyone else needs the Estonian employer to register short-term employment with the Police and Border Guard Board before the work starts, and the model must have a legal basis to stay, such as a visa-free stay or a visa. Registration is not needed only for very brief work, up to 5 days within a 30-day period.

A fee on its own does not mean a scam: some catalogue agencies openly state the price of a school, photo shoots or casting registration, and we show those prices on their profiles. The warning signs are different: someone writes in an agency's name from a personal account; a fee whose amount nobody states in advance or that must be paid at once; work promised before anyone has seen plain photos and measurements; a "casting" in a hotel room or private flat without parents; requests for underwear photos; a contract you may not take home. You can check a company free of charge in the Estonian Commercial Register (e-Äriregister), and if money was taken or you were threatened, go to the police.

You do not need professional photos to apply: digitals taken on a phone without make-up are enough. Once a fashion agency takes you on, it usually arranges test shoots and comp cards, advances the cost and deducts it from your earnings later, and that should be written in your contract. Schools with an agency sell photo shoots separately: on Staarikool's price list, for example, they cost €95 to €150. If you are asked to pay before an agency takes you on, ask what you get for it and whether it is compulsory.

Of the 19 agencies in our catalogue, 18 work in Tallinn, so most meetings and castings happen there, and most agencies accept applications online. Tartu has the children's model school Lana Models Estonia, and Star Kids Baltic writes that it holds castings across Estonia, including Narva. How to prepare, what to wear and what to bring is covered in the jurgita.com guide "Model casting: how to prepare", and the city itself on the "Modeling agencies in Tallinn" page.