Company Incorporation in Germany
Formation of a German company — a notary certifies the articles (Gesellschaftsvertrag or the standard Musterprotokoll), the company is entered in the Handelsregister at the local court, beneficial owners are notified to the Transparenzregister, and the trade is registered (Gewerbeanmeldung). A GmbH needs €25,000 share capital with at least €12,500 paid in before registration; the UG (haftungsbeschränkt) can be formed from €1.
7–21 business days
EUR
Compare the structures
Every column is a vehicle you can actually incorporate here, and each is bought on its own terms. Every fact carries where it was read: on the authority’s own page, or — marked Indicative — on a filing platform or publication we name and link. Anything we could not read anywhere is marked Pending verification and confirmed with the authority before you pay.
| GmbHThe default private limited company and the standard foreign subsidiary — €25,000 capital | UG (haftungsbeschränkt) — mini-GmbHFounders who want limited liability from as little as €1 of capital | AG (Aktiengesellschaft)Larger and pre-IPO structures needing a two-tier board — €50,000 capital | GmbH & Co. KGOwner-managed and family businesses wanting limited liability with partnership (transparent) taxation | Einzelunternehmen (sole trader)Freelancers, tradespeople and single-owner micro-businesses | GbR / OHG / KG (civil-law & commercial partnerships)Two or more people running a business together without forming a corporation | Zweigniederlassung (branch of a foreign company)A foreign company wanting a registered German establishment without incorporating a subsidiary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum owners | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Maximum owners | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | 1 | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Minimum directors | 1 | 1 | 1 | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Liability | limited | limited | limited | unlimitedmixed | unlimited | unlimitedmixed | unlimited |
| Foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending verification | Pending verification | Yes |
| Tax treatment | Corporation — subject to Körperschaftsteuer 15% + 5.5% solidarity surcharge on it + municipal Gewerbesteuer. See complia… | Corporation — same tax regime as a GmbH (Körperschaftsteuer + Soli + Gewerbesteuer). | Corporation — Körperschaftsteuer + Soli + Gewerbesteuer, same as a GmbH. | Tax-transparent partnership at the KG level (partners taxed on their share); the GmbH general partner is taxed as a corp… | Transparent — profits taxed at the individual's personal income-tax rate (Einkommensteuer) + Soli; commercial traders al… | Tax-transparent — partners taxed individually on their profit share; commercial partnerships also pay Gewerbesteuer at t… | The branch is a permanent establishment (Betriebsstätte) of the foreign company; its German-source profits are taxed in … |
| Audit required | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Pending verification |
| Audit threshold | Audit is size-gated under HGB §316/§267: a GmbH is exempt as a 'small' company and must be audited only if it exceeds a … | Same HGB size-gating as a GmbH; a UG is virtually always 'small' and therefore not audited. | An AG is generally subject to statutory audit; the small-company audit exemption is far narrower than for a GmbH. Confir… | Size-gated via the HGB (a GmbH & Co. KG is drawn into the capital-company disclosure/audit regime under HGB §264a); mid-… | No statutory financial-statement audit. | No statutory audit for a pure partnership (unlike the GmbH & Co. KG, which is drawn into the capital-company regime). | Branch accounts follow the head office's regime; a separate German statutory audit is generally not triggered by the bra… |
| Annual compliance | High | High | High | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
| Typical use | Standard vehicle for a venture-backed German startup and the usual wholly-owned subsidiary form for a foreign parent ent… | Bootstrapped founder starting with minimal capital who intends to build reserves and later convert to a full GmbH. | Groups needing a public/stock-corporation form, a two-tier board (Vorstand + Aufsichtsrat) and a broad shareholder base;… | Classic German mid-market / Mittelstand structure combining a limited-liability corporate general partner with a KG's fl… | Solo consultant, freelancer (Freiberufler) or small trader who registers a Gewerbe and files as an individual. | GbR for professionals/small joint ventures (BGB §705 ff.); OHG (HGB §105) and KG (HGB §161) for commercial partnerships,… | Foreign parent that wants a registered, invoicing German presence (an 'independent branch' / selbständige Zweigniederlas… |
What we will need from you
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Notarised articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag) or the standard Musterprotokoll
Notarial certification before a German notary is mandatory; the company exists in law only on Handelsregister entry.
Shareholders' list (Gesellschafterliste)
Managing-director appointment and each Geschäftsführer's §8 GmbHG assurance
Per managing director.
Proof that at least €12,500 of the €25,000 GmbH capital is paid in
A UG pays in its (smaller) stated capital in full.
For a foreign shareholder or body corporate: certificate of incorporation / register extract and a board resolution
Documents executed abroad generally need notarisation plus an apostille (Hague states) or consular legalisation, and a certified German translation. Exact requirements confirmed at quote against the Registergericht guidance.
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| Handelsregister — initial registration of a GmbH or UG (No. 2100)one line of this schedule appliesHRegGebV fee schedule, standard cash incorporation (effective 01.06.2025). A contribution-in-kind formation is €360 (No. 2101). | €225Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Handelsregister — initial registration of an AG (No. 2102)one line of this schedule appliesHRegGebV fee schedule, standard cash formation of an AG/KGaA. | €450Read at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Notary certification of the deed and register filing (GNotKG)Fixed nationwide by the GNotKG as a function of the transaction value (the share capital), with a reduced base for a Musterprotokoll formation. | Confirmed before payment |
| Gewerbeanmeldung (trade-office registration)Set by each municipality (commonly ~€20–€60); there is no single national figure. Confirmed at quote for the specific municipality. | Confirmed before payment |
| Transparenzregister beneficial-owner notificationNotification at transparenzregister.de is free. A separate annual register-maintenance levy is charged by the operator for running the register. | No statutory feeRead at source on 2026-09-10 |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
These are the authority’s published lines. Which of them apply depends on your filing — a schedule by headcount, capital or entity type is one line, not all of them — and the applicable line is confirmed before payment, at cost.
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Notarial Certification
A German notary certifies the articles (or Musterprotokoll) and the shareholders' list.
Capital Paid In
At least €12,500 of a GmbH's capital paid into the company account before filing.
Handelsregister Entry
The notary files at the local court; the company comes into existence on entry (fee €225 for a GmbH).
Transparenzregister Notified
Beneficial owners notified under the GwG (free).
Trade Registered
Gewerbeanmeldung at the municipal trade office; the tax office is notified.
Ready to start?
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Verified September 2026
Requirements and statutory fees are set by German notary → Handelsregister (Amtsgericht); Gewerbeamt; Transparenzregister and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.