Starting a Business in Germany

Change Selection

select an economy Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas, the Bahrain Bangladesh Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt, Arab Rep. El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia, the Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong, China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Rep. Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Rep. Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, FYR Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Samoa São Tomé and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovak Republic Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, China Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, R.B. Vietnam West Bank and Gaza Yemen, Rep. Zambia Zimbabwe

Standardized company

Registration Requirements Summary:

Registration Requirements Details

Procedure 1.

Clear the name of company at the local chamber of industry and commerce

Time to complete:

1 day

Cost to complete:

no charge

Name of Agency:

Comment:

Procedure 2.

A notary notarizes the articles of association and memorandum of association

Time to complete:

1 day

Cost to complete:

EUR 1014

Name of Agency:

Comment:

The fees depend on value of the share capital, with a basic 10/10 fee calculated as follows:
- Up to EUR 1,000: fee is EUR 10.
- From EUR 1,000 to EUR 5,000: fee of EUR 8 is added for each EUR 1,000 of share capital.
- From EUR 5,000 to EUR 50,000: fees of EUR 6 are added for each EUR 3,000 of share capital.
- From EUR 50,000 to EUR 5,000,000: fees of EUR 15 are added for each EUR 10,000 of share capital.

If more than one contract partners (shareholders) are involved, the German Cost Regulation Act provides for a double fee (so-called "20/10-fee" / "20/10-Gebühr"), which amounts to EUR 1,014.

Procedure 3.

Open a bank account

Time to complete:

1 day

Cost to complete:

no charge

Name of Agency:

Comment:

In-kind contributions must be made in full. Capital must be paid in to the free disposition of the management. Capital cannot validly be deposited before the notarization of the articles of association.

Procedure 4.

Notary public files the articles of association with the local commercial register, kept at local courts

Time to complete:

10 days

Cost to complete:

EUR 403.5

Name of Agency:

Comment:

Applicants must submit to the Commercial Register in electronic form, among other documents (a) the notarized articles of association; (b) the deed of appointment of the directors, if not included in the articles; (c) a list of the company’s shareholders; and (d) the assurance that the statutory minimum paid-in capital has been paid in to the free disposition of the management.

Pursuant to the applicable registration laws, the Commercial Register must decide on the company’s registration without undue delay. The Commercial Register publishes the registration on a central electronic platform (www.handelsregister.de). For a transitional period ending on December 31, 2008, the registration must also be published in a local newspaper.

Costs to file the articles of association with the local Commercial Register include the following:
- Notary fees for registration are half the fees for the notarization of the articles and foundation agreement. No extra notary fees apply if the notarization and filing of the articles of association (by notary public) are combined. The application for registration with the Commercial Register must be notarized. The applicable fees amount to a quarter of the fees set forth under Procedure 2. All amounts are plus 19% VAT. If the application for registration is notarized together with the articles of association, the notarization of the application does not trigger any additional fees.
- Registration fees with local court: EUR 100 (if in-kind capital contributions, the statutory registration fee amounts to EUR 150).
- Announcement in local newspaper: about EUR 50.

The company registry in Berlin was computerized, and a new law on registration fees and procedures (Handelsregistergebühren Neuordnungsgesetz HRegGebNeuOG) became effective as of December 1, 2004, with two relevant changes: - Statutory time limits were introduced for the registration process. According to Article 3 of HRegGebNeuOG, a decision on the company’s registration is to be made within a month of the company filing for registration. - Court registration fees have been lowered (Article 1 of HRegGebNeuOG). Fees are no longer calculated on the basis of start-up capital and are set to fixed amounts. The registration of a new GmbH incurs fees of EUR 100 if the capital contributions are made in cash and EUR 150 if part or all are made in kind.

The Act on the Maintenance of Electronic Commercial Registers, Cooperative Registers, and the Companies Register (Gesetz über elektronische Handelsregister und Genossenschaftsregister sowie das Unternehmensregister, EHUG—effective January 1, 2007) implemented an electronic registration and publication platform for the Commercial Register. As a result, registration with the Commercial Register is no longer announced in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger), but instead in the electronic Commercial Registry. Fees for publication in the Federal Gazette thus no longer apply. In addition, for a transition period ending December 31, 2009, the Commercial Register will still publish the announcement in a local newspaper with the average costs amounting to EUR 50 to be borne by the applicant. The Commercial Register notifies the local Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the tax office of the new company.

Procedure 5.

Notify the local office of business and standards of the establishment of the company

Time to complete:

3 days

Cost to complete:

EUR 31

Name of Agency:

Comment:

While certain businesses (e.g., restaurants, brokers) must apply for a trading permit (Gewerbeerlaubnis) and present it to the Commercial Register when filing the application for registration (Procedure 4), all other startup companies must simply notify the local Office of Business and Standards (Gewerbeamt), which issues the company a trading license (Gewerbeschein). This notification procedure also covers registration formalities with the central statistical office, the relevant chamber of industry and commerce, the local labor office, and the social security and federal health insurance office.

Procedure 6.

Register with the professional association of the relevant trade

Time to complete:

1 day (simultaneous with procedure 5)

Cost to complete:

no charge

Name of Agency:

Comment:

The professional associations are carriers of occupational accident insurance. Registration must be done within a week of the founding of the business (that is, the notarization of the articles of association).

Procedure 7.

Notify the local labor office of the establishment of the company

Time to complete:

1 day (simultaneous with procedure 5)

Cost to complete:

no charge

Name of Agency:

Comment:

The registration can be informal, both in writing and by phone. The Labor Office then assigns an eight-digit operating number, which is needed to report social security.

Procedure 8.

Register employees for health and social insurance

Time to complete:

1 day (simultaneous with procedure 5)

Cost to complete:

no charge

Name of Agency:

Comment:

The social security and federal health insurance office notifies the local labor office and the annuity insurance carrier (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund).The competent social security and federal health insurance office collects payment for mandatory health, unemployment, and annuity insurance.

Procedure 9.

Mail out the documentation to the Tax Office

Time to complete:

1 day (simultaneous with procedure 5)

Cost to complete:

no charge

Name of Agency:

Comment:

Registration must be done within a month of the opening of the business, and not later than a month of the notarizing of the articles of association. After the tax office is notified of the company’s business activity by the trade office, the tax office sends the company a questionnaire requesting the company’s business data.