What do you need to register a Dutch BV?

A civil-law notary needs three things: identification for every founder and director, proof that the foreign parent company exists and who may sign for it, and the decisions that go into the deed. Once the deed is signed, the notary registers the company, its directors and its beneficial owners with the KvK in one movement.

This is the list a founder from outside Europe can work through before the first call with a civil-law notary. A notary will have its own version, and a group with several shareholders will have more to prepare, but nothing below is optional. What a BV actually is, is explained in what is a BV; the order of the steps is in how to set up a Dutch BV from abroad.

What each person brings

• A valid passport or identity card for every founder, director and person who will be filed as a beneficial owner
• Proof of home address for each of them, for example a recent bank statement or an extract from a civil status record, translated into Dutch, English, French or German if it is not readable as it stands
• A signed power of attorney for anyone who will not attend in person, so that no one has to travel to the Netherlands
• Legalisation, usually an apostille, on foreign documents where the notary asks for it

Source: Business.gov.nl, Start a business in the Netherlands from abroad

What the parent company brings

• A recent extract from the company register of the country where the parent was formed
• The parent's deed of incorporation and current articles of association
• Its shareholder register, plus the same for every company between the parent and the people at the top of the group
• A chart of the group showing the percentage held at each step, which the bank will ask for again later

Source: KVK, Registering a Dutch bv or nv

The decisions that go into the deed

• The company name, checked against the KvK register for conflicts
• A Dutch business address, since a post office box is not accepted
• The share capital to be issued and paid up, which can be as little as EUR 0.01
• Who is appointed as director, and whether each of them may act alone or only together with another
• The financial year, and whether the first one runs longer than twelve months
• Which beneficial owners will be filed, and on what basis

Sources:
Business.gov.nl, Private limited company (bv)
Business.gov.nl, Start a business in the Netherlands from abroad

After the deed is signed

• The notary registers the company and its directors in the KvK Business Register and files the beneficial owners, so a separate visit to the KvK is not needed
• The KvK number arrives by letter at the registered address of the BV, together with the invoice for the registration fee
• The Tax Administration is notified by the same route and writes to the company within two weeks, in many cases with a VAT identification number
• The shareholder register, kept by the company itself, is set up and signed
• The bank application starts, which is a separate process on its own timetable: see opening a Dutch business bank account
• Changes in the beneficial owners are filed within seven days of becoming official, as explained in the Dutch UBO register

Source: KVK, Registering a Dutch bv or nv

Sources

1. Business.gov.nl, Start a business in the Netherlands from abroad: step-by-step plan, checked 22 September 2026
2. KVK, Registering a Dutch bv or nv, checked 22 September 2026
3. Business.gov.nl, Private limited company (bv), checked 22 September 2026

Checked on 22 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change: check the official source, or ask an adviser, before you act on it.