Company formation in Belgium

Important: a non-resident's right to own the company does not automatically grant a right to live, work or manage it from that country. Immigration, work permits, substance, effective management and tax residence are assessed separately.

• —Operating EU companies with Belgian customers, a team, partners or another demonstrable connection.
• —Professional services, trade and technology without prohibited or unauthorised activities.
• —Joint ventures and larger projects suited to SRL, SA or SC governance.

• —Société à responsabilité limitée / besloten vennootschap (SRL/BV), the standard limited-liability form without fixed statutory minimum capital but requiring adequate initial assets.
• —Société anonyme / naamloze vennootschap (SA/NV), a public/joint-stock form with minimum capital of €61,500.
• —Société coopérative / coöperatieve vennootschap (SC/CV), requiring a cooperative purpose and at least three founders.
• —SNC/VOF and SComm/CommV, general and limited partnership forms with different member liability.

• —SRL, SA and SC require a notarial deed, which may be executed through an agreed online-notary process.
• —A Belgian registered office, financial plan and evidence of sufficient initial funding are required; an SA has a separate capital threshold.
• —There is no general resident-director requirement, but a non-EEA person personally carrying on self-employed activity may need a regional professional card.
• —After the deed, the company is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises through the notary/authorised business counter and files its UBOs.
• —SNC/VOF and SComm/CommV may use a private deed/JustAct where the structure meets the service conditions.

• —A passport or other acceptable ID for every founder, director, signatory and ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).
• —Current proof of residential address and tax residence for every person subject to verification.
• —A transparent ownership chart through to natural persons; a corporate participant also provides an extract, constitutional documents, good standing and an investment resolution.
• —A description of the activity, markets, counterparties, expected turnover, source of funds and source of wealth, supported by evidence.
• —Financial plan, draft deed/articles, registered-office evidence, founder/director details and funding plan.
• —A bank certificate or other required evidence of the cash contribution for the selected form.
• —For a non-EEA active manager, professional-card and immigration-document analysis, kept separate from passive ownership.

1. 01Select the form and region and review founders, activity, the professional-card question, capital and governance.
2. 02Prepare the financial plan, address, deed/articles, UBO data and bank contribution evidence.
3. 03Complete notary identity/AML, execute the deed online or by an agreed method and register the enterprise.
4. 04Activate tax/VAT/social requirements, UBO, accounting and separate bank/EMI onboarding.

• —A Belgian company files a corporate income tax return; rates, deductions and SME treatment are checked for the relevant period.
• —VAT, payroll/social contributions, withholding and director remuneration depend on operations and roles.
• —Cross-border management, distributions and related-party dealings require treaty, PE and transfer-pricing analysis.

General overview, not personal tax or legal advice. Rules are rechecked before filing.

• —A capital/contribution account and certificate may be required before the deed; the operating account is subject to separate KYB approval.
• —The bank assesses Belgian commercial rationale, the financial plan, UBOs, source of funds and expected flows independently of notary approval.

• —Annual accounts are filed with the National Bank of Belgium under the applicable model/size regime.
• —Corporate tax, VAT/payroll/social filings and proper bookkeeping.
• —Annual confirmation and timely updating of UBO, officer and registered-office details.

• —An inadequate financial plan or insufficient initial assets may expose founders to liability in an early insolvency.
• —A non-EEA founder who actively works without a required professional card creates immigration and regulatory risk.
• —Incorporation does not disapply UBO disclosure, AML/KYC or sanctions screening by the registrar, notary, provider, tax authority or financial institution.
• —The place of incorporation does not automatically determine tax residence: effective management, permanent establishment, CFC rules and the owners' personal residence require separate analysis.
• —Registration does not grant a licence, residence or work rights and does not guarantee a bank or EMI account.

• —Coordination of the Belgian notary/business counter, financial-plan inputs, contribution evidence and UBO/accounting hand-off.
• —Comparison of entity forms, ownership structure, governance, tax links and substance requirements before filing.
• —Coordination of the address, notary, lawyer or authorised representative, translations, apostille and the corporate pack.
• —Preparation of a verifiable KYB data room and responses to legitimate compliance requests without promising a bypass, approval or timing.
• —Accountant hand-off and creation of an accounts, tax, VAT, payroll, UBO, licence and registry compliance calendar.

The exact Basic scope and all exclusions are listed in the pricing section above. Non-standard structures and external costs are agreed before payment.

Requirements checked on August 9, 2026. Before filing, we recheck rules, forms, fees and restrictions with the registration authority.