Step 1. Complete the incorporation questionnaire and receive a fee quote.

Download our Incorporation Questionnaire. The questionnaire will guide you through the various requirements for a Dutch BV and has detailed steps in which you can complete the information you need to form a Dutch entity. Need to know how to register your company name and what the rules are? We have summarized it for you. Check out our ‘Company name registration‘ page. The completed questionnaire gives a good impression of your plans with regards to your legal entity. The notary will then advice on the most appropriate structuring of your new Dutch BV.

Step 1a. Like to know the costs for forming a Dutch BV first? Of course, no problem. Just complete the first section of the Incorporation Questionnaire and return it to us. We can then a get an understanding of your plans and issue an appropriate fee quote.

Step 2. Arrange for a business address.

A Dutch BV needs a Dutch address. In order to keep the momentum on the incorporation process, it is important to arrange this as soon as possible.

Step 3. Send back the Incorporation Questionnaire.

With the completed Incorporation Questionnaire in hand, you will have a great tool to know how your new Dutch BV’s corporate structure will look like. We will suggest an appropriate notary. You like to get this right, straight from the start.

Step 4. Review the draft deed of incorporation.

Based on the questionnaire, the notary prepares draft articles of association. These will be in Dutch and in English. You will be requested to review and approve the draft deed.

Step 5. Decide if you like to be present at incorporation (reading of the deed).

You do not need to appear in person before the civil law notary to execute the deed of incorporation. Couple of rules though:

• The incorporator (you or your company) provides a power of attorney to the notary
• The first managing directors (you or your company) provide copies of passports and utility bills (to proof resident address)
• If the power of attorney is issued by a company, it needs to be signed by a person that is authorised to do so
• We require a copy of the passport of the person signing the power of attorney
• We require a copy of the local extract of a trade register (or company certificate), if the incorporator is a company
• All documents need to be legalised by a notary of your home country and need to be ‘apostilled’. An apostille is an official seal from a governmental body confirming the signature of the person that performed the legalisation on your documents (passport, extracts). This can be an embassy or a court of justice. The procedure for legalisation and apostille can vary from country to country. If you have difficulty working out how this works in your country, just let us know and we will assist you.

Step 6. Pay up the share capital (or not…)

In principle, after incorporation, the issued shares are to be paid up in full.  This can be done by making the payment to the notary’s third party account.

It is possible to pay up on the share capital partially or entirely after the BV’s incorporation. The shareholder will be legally obliged to make the required payment on the shares after a certain period of time or once the company has called for payment. This is to be taken up in the deed of incorporation.

Step 7. The notary registers the new Dutch BV with the trade register (‘Kamer van Koophandel’).

A new B.V. must be registered with the trade register of Chamber of Commerce. This is done by the notary.

Step 8. The company is registered for taxes.

Based on the planned activities of the company (remember, your questionnaire), the Dutch tax authorities will determine for which taxes the company is liable. Most common are: corporate income tax, VAT and wage taxes. This process is automated and connected to the registration with the trade register.

Final Step. Rounding off.

Once all registrations are finalized, you will receive PDF – and paper versions of the deed of incorporation and the shareholders register. You are good to go and do business! Soon after, you will receive the company- and tax registration numbers.

We have created a PDF for you to download with the above steps defined. Feel free to reach out to us to receive this PDF form.