Dutch Company Types: Choose the Form, Then Set It Up From Abroad

Usually, yes. A BV or an NV can be formed on the paper route, with a written power of attorney signed abroad (art. 2:176 lid 1 and 2:65 BW). Founders who are all EU nationals may use the electronic deed instead. The notary may still require physical presence if there is a suspicion of identity fraud.

No. The electronic deed is open only to nationals of an EU member state, and every founder must be one (art. 2:175a lid 1 BW). Holding an EU-recognised eID does not change that. A company formed under the law of an EU member state may found a BV online through its authorised director.

No. Book 2 of the Civil Code sets no residence or nationality requirement for directors, although the articles of association may restrict who can be appointed (art. 2:242 BW). A company may itself be a director; its director's liability then passes to the natural persons who manage that company (art. 2:11 BW).

Not for a BV: the bank-statement rule of art. 2:203a BW was repealed from 1 October 2012. An NV needs a statement from an EU or EEA bank for cash contributions (art. 2:93a BW). The government portals call a business account mandatory for a BV, but that is official guidance, not statute.

The eenmanszaak, VOF, CV and maatschap are registered by the founders themselves at a KVK appointment. From abroad this is possible only in exceptional cases: legalised documents valid for 1 month, including an official document showing the foreign address, and the KVK checks for sustainable economic activity in the Netherlands.

Only a trust office licensed by DNB may sell or mediate in the sale of legal entities, or act as a client's director, and activities aimed at offering those services are prohibited too (art. 1 and art. 3 lid 4 sub a Wtt 2018). We assist a buyer with the notarial share transfer, never with the sale itself.

The Business Register shows the company's registered data, but not the silent partners of a CV (art. 10 lid 3 sub e Hrw 2007). UBO data can be consulted only by Wwft institutions for client due diligence (art. 22a lid 1 Hrw 2007), and stay inspectable for up to ten years after strike-off (art. 51c Hrb 2008).

The BV, short for besloten vennootschap, the private limited company: the KVK calls it "the most similar foreign legal structure". What an LLC owner may not expect: every share transfer and every amendment of the articles needs a notarial deed in the Netherlands (art. 2:196 lid 1 and 2:234 BW), and the shares are registered shares only.

The Netherlands has no list of seven, or four, business types. The government portal lists five forms with legal personality (BV, NV, cooperative, stichting, vereniging) and four without (eenmanszaak, VOF, CV, maatschap), plus the rederij (shipping company), the kerkgenootschap (religious organisation) and the European SE, SCE and EEIG.

Yes, even while living abroad, provided the business has structural physical activity in the Netherlands and a business address there, not a P.O. box. Owning a Dutch company does not give citizenship. A founder who moves needs a permit: the 2026 IND fee for the start-up, self-employed and DAFT permits is EUR 423.

The state charges a one-off KVK fee of EUR 85.15 for every legal form (art. 5 Financiële regeling handelsregister 2019, from 1 July 2026). Notary fees are unregulated (art. 54 Wna); official indications are EUR 500 to 1,500 for a BV and EUR 500 to 2,200 for an NV. Our own fee is on request.

Failing to file is an offence (art. 47 Hrw 2007). The directors of a BV are jointly and severally liable with it until the first filing (art. 2:180 lid 2 BW). An unregistered VOF is treated towards third parties as unlimited in scope and term (art. 29 WvK), and the KVK can dissolve a neglected BV (art. 2:19a BW).

For 2026, corporate income tax is 19 percent on profits up to EUR 200,000 and 25.8 percent above that (art. 22 Wet Vpb 1969). Dividends paid by a Dutch company carry 15 percent dividend withholding tax (art. 5 Wet DB 1965). Sole traders and VOF partners pay income tax on their profits instead.

Not in the Netherlands. A company incorporated under Dutch law is always deemed established in the Netherlands for corporate income tax and dividend tax (art. 2(5) Wet Vpb, art. 1(3) Wet DB), and the seat of a BV must be in the Netherlands (art. 2:177 lid 3 BW). A Dutch company is never an offshore vehicle.

The 30 percent ruling lets an employer pay part of the salary of an employee recruited from abroad as a tax-free allowance for extraterritorial costs. For 2026 the maximum allowance is EUR 78,600, reached at a salary of EUR 262,000, and a decision runs for at most five years. It concerns payroll, not the company form.