Resume rules in Latvia

Q: Should you put a photo on your CV in Latvia?

In practice: Common but optional; increasingly optional and becoming less common What the law says: No legal requirement; GDPR (EU 2016/679) and Personal Data Processing Law regulate as personal data; no prohibition but no mandate

Q: Should you include your date of birth in Latvia?

In practice: Common; usually included in personal information section; increasingly optional What the law says: No legal prohibition; should be included per general CV conventions

Q: Should you state your marital status in Latvia?

In practice: Common; typically included in personal information section What the law says: No specific law prohibiting marital status disclosure

Q: Should you state your sex or gender in Latvia?

In practice: Commonly inferred from name; rarely explicitly stated What the law says: No specific CV requirement; anti-discrimination framework exists but fragmented

Q: Should you state your nationality in Latvia?

In practice: Common; often included What the law says: No legal prohibition against including nationality

Q: Should you include a national ID number in Latvia?

In practice: Not standard practice; personal registration number not included What the law says: Not mentioned in CV requirements

What employers in Latvia expect on a Dzīvesziņojums, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.

Call it a CV for Latvia, a resume for Latvia, or Dzīvesziņojums: it's the same document.

This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.

Law and practice, side by side

The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.

Photo: Common

Common but optional; increasingly optional and becoming less common

What the law says: No legal requirement; GDPR (EU 2016/679) and Personal Data Processing Law regulate as personal data; no prohibition but no mandate

Date of birth: Common

Common; usually included in personal information section; increasingly optional

What the law says: No legal prohibition; should be included per general CV conventions

Marital status: Common

Common; typically included in personal information section

What the law says: No specific law prohibiting marital status disclosure

Sex or gender: Common

Commonly inferred from name; rarely explicitly stated

What the law says: No specific CV requirement; anti-discrimination framework exists but fragmented

Nationality: Common

Common; often included

What the law says: No legal prohibition against including nationality

National ID number: Not found

Not standard practice; personal registration number not included

What the law says: Not mentioned in CV requirements

The rest of the entry

Local name of the document: Dzīvesziņojums
Language to submit in: Latvian preferred; English acceptable
Typical length: Maximum 2 pages
Address detail expected: Full address typical; expected in personal information section
Signature and date: Not required; CV unsigned and undated
Officially prescribed form: Europass CV format widely recommended and used; free template available
Religion, ethnicity or caste: Law: Labour Law (2001) and Constitution provide anti-discrimination framework, though fragmented; specific grounds not clearly defined for all contexts. Practice: Avoid disclosure
Health, disability or pregnancy: Law: Labour Law (2001) prohibits discrimination in employment relationships; discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibited. Practice: Avoid voluntary disclosure
Other customary attachments: References available upon request standard practice
Employer may not ask for: Labour Law prohibits discrimination based on protected grounds; exact grounds not uniformly defined across all legislation
Named statutes: Labour Law (2001); Constitution of Latvia; Personal Data Processing Law (2018); General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) EU 2016/679
Data protection regime: GDPR (EU 2016/679) + Personal Data Processing Law (Fizisko personu datu apstrādes likums) effective July 5, 2018; Data State Inspectorate (DVI) as supervisory authority
Anti-discrimination statutes: Labour Law (2001) and subsequent amendments; Constitution of Latvia Article 91 (equality before law); fragmented anti-discrimination framework
Local language source: Latvian

Where this came from

Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.

Notes: Latvia's anti-discrimination framework is fragmented across multiple laws rather than a single comprehensive statute. Europass format widely used via official EURES/NVA platforms. Personal information including date of birth, marital status, and nationality is traditional but increasingly optional. Limited published guidance on specific CV photo and personal data requirements; information drawn from employment agency guidance and EU employment portal recommendations.

Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this