Company formation in Netherlands

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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.

• —EU-facing operating companies with documented customers, contracts and a management model.
• —Technology and service ventures suited to a flexible BV with minimal nominal capital.
• —Holding or cooperative structures following separate tax and substance analysis.

• —Besloten vennootschap (BV), a private limited company with minimum capital of €0.01.
• —Naamloze vennootschap (NV), a public limited company with materially higher capital and governance requirements.
• —A coöperatie, a cooperative/member structure for selected joint and holding models.
• —Vennootschap onder firma (VOF) and commanditaire vennootschap (CV), partnership forms with different liability and tax treatment.
• —A Dutch branch of a foreign company, without separate Dutch legal personality.

• —A BV/NV is incorporated by a civil-law notary, who also arranges KVK registration and the initial UBO workflow.
• —A Dutch business address reflecting a sustainable link to the activity is required; a mere postal address may be insufficient.
• —There is no general shareholder or director residence requirement; immigration applies separately where a person moves to and works in the country.
• —Articles, board/signing powers, share classes and financial year are set out in the notarial deed.
• —Regulated activities and sector-specific registrations are checked before incorporation.

• —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.
• —Notary intake, proposed articles, name, Dutch address, activities, director/signing rules and cap table.
• —Evidence of the right to use the address and, where required, documents supporting genuine business presence.
• —An apostilled/legalised power of attorney or documents for online notarial identification as required by the selected notary.

1. 01Review the BV/cooperative/branch choice, Dutch nexus, governance, tax links and regulated-activity status.
2. 02Agree the notary, address, name, articles, shares, directors and identification/signing route.
3. 03Execute the deed in person, online or under an eligible POA; the notary registers the entity with KVK.
4. 04Set up UBO, tax, VAT/payroll where applicable, accounting and separate bank/EMI onboarding.

• —A BV is generally subject to Dutch corporate income tax; the base, rates and group/participation relief are checked as at the relevant date.
• —VAT, wage tax, dividend withholding and transfer pricing depend on operations, personnel, distributions and related parties.
• —The participation exemption, innovation incentives and treaty access are not automatic and require professional analysis and substance.

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

• —Notary AML and bank/EMI KYB are independent checks even where they use a similar corporate/UBO pack.
• —For a non-resident team, Dutch commercial rationale, address, expected flows, contracts and source of funds are critical.

• —Preparation and filing of annual accounts with KVK in the format and period applicable to the company's size.
• —Corporate income tax, VAT/wage filings where applicable and proper bookkeeping.
• —Updates to KVK, directors/signing powers and UBO data following changes.

• —A mail-only address without a sustainable economic link may fail KVK, notary, tax or bank scrutiny.
• —Claiming participation or treaty benefits without adequate substance creates tax and anti-abuse 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 Dutch civil-law notary, address evidence, articles, KVK and post-incorporation compliance 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.