Company formation in Belgium for founders and companies from abroad

Yes. Belgian law sets no residence requirement for directors or shareholders, and a director living abroad is deemed to elect domicile at the company's registered seat (Art. 2:147 CSA). A national of a country outside the EEA who will be self-employed in Belgium needs a professional card in principle; EEA and Swiss nationals need none.

Not necessarily. Founders appear before the notary in person or through an authentic or private proxy, so a founder who stays abroad can sign a power of attorney instead (Art. 5:11 CSA). The notary sets the form the proxy and any foreign documents must take. We assemble the proxy with the rest of the file.

For a BV/SRL formed by natural persons with the standard deed, the notary's fixed tariff, the Moniteur belge and the KBO registration add up to at least EUR 863.00 excluding VAT, itemised in the table above. The notary adds search costs, registration duties, the writing duty and VAT, with no published amount. Our fee is quoted on request.

The EUR 217 fixed fee and the EUR 298 flat charge are tied to the standard deed for founders who are natural persons. For a company formed by a corporate founder, or for an NV/SA, the notary quotes the fee. The Moniteur belge and KBO lines of the table of state charges still apply.

The federal business portal says to open an account in the company's name before the deed is prepared. Cash paid up at the deed goes to a special account with a credit institution established in the EEA (Art. 5:9 and 7:12 CSA), not to an e-money account. The bank decides on the account and sets the pace.

No total is fixed. The deed is filed at the enterprise court registry within 30 days of the final deed, and the company exists from the filing day (Art. 2:8, 2:6 CSA). Once the notarial platform has the deed and the fees, incorporation takes at most 10 working days, 5 for natural persons on the model deed (Art. 2:22/1).

No. The notary, the Moniteur belge and the business counter each charge for their step, as the table of state charges shows: at least EUR 863.00 excluding VAT for natural-person founders on the standard BV/SRL deed. VAT identification itself is free online with FPS Finance, or done through a counter or an accountant for a fee.

No. A BV/SRL has no share capital, but its founders must give it sufficient initial own funds and hand the notary a financial plan (Art. 5:1, 5:3 and 5:4 CSA). If it goes bankrupt within three years of incorporation with manifestly insufficient own funds, founders can be held liable (Art. 5:16, 2°). An NV/SA needs EUR 61,500 (Art. 7:2).

A professional card, in principle, from the Region of the company's seat or main activity, if the founder will be self-employed in Belgium. EEA and Swiss nationals need none. In Flanders the Region decides within 120 days of an admissible application, and silence means approval; Brussels and Wallonia set their own procedures.

Annual accounts are approved within six months of year end and filed with the National Bank within 30 days of approval (Art. 3:1, 3:10 CSA). Since 1 September 2026 a director's fine for not filing can reach EUR 80,000. Corporate tax is 25 percent; the 20 percent small-company band excludes a company at least half held by other companies.

VAT identification with form 604A, before operations begin; the beneficial owners in the UBO register within 30 days, confirmed every year, where consultation has been limited to a legitimate interest since the Royal Decree of 8 February 2023; and a social insurance fund for self-employed directors who are paid for their mandate.

The notary executes the authentic deed for a BV/SRL, NV/SA or CV/SC, keeps the financial plan and files the deed with the court registry. After that filing, one of the eight accredited business counters, chosen freely, completes the KBO/BCE registration. Partnerships (VOF/SNC, CommV/SComm) are formed by private deed, without a notary.