AETHERION Worldwide is the fundraising and landing practice of AETHERION Capital.
What is a BV?
A BV, short for besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid, is the Dutch private limited company. It is a legal person of its own: it signs its own contracts, owes its own debts and files its own tax return. A civil-law notary creates it, and the KvK, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, registers it.
A BV is a Dutch company with legal personality of its own, set up by notarial deed, whose shares sit with a known group of holders instead of on a stock exchange.
The three Dutch words behind the abbreviation describe it well. Besloten means closed: the shares are held privately. Vennootschap is the company itself. Beperkte aansprakelijkheid is limited liability, which means the company answers for its debts and, as a rule, the people who run it do not.
Why a founder from outside Europe meets this form first
A Dutch subsidiary is nearly always a BV, so this is the form most groups from Asia, Türkiye or the United States end up with. Starting capital is EUR 0.01, so capital is not the hurdle it is in many countries. A civil-law notary draws up the deed of incorporation with the articles of association, and then registers the company, its directors and its beneficial owners with the KvK in one movement.
Sources:
Business.gov.nl, Private limited company (bv)
KVK, Registering a Dutch bv or nv
What a BV is not
A BV is not a branch of the parent company. A branch is the same legal person as its parent, wearing a Dutch name; a BV is a new one, with its own annual accounts and its own tax return. It is also not a residence permit, because the company can exist and trade without anyone moving to the Netherlands.
What you need to have ready is set out in the Dutch BV registration checklist, and the other Dutch legal forms stand side by side in company forms in the Netherlands.
Sources
- Business.gov.nl, Private limited company (bv), checked 22 September 2026
- KVK, Registering a Dutch bv or nv, 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.
Related pages
What types of company can a foreign founder set up in the Netherlands?
How do you set up a Dutch BV from abroad?
All pages on this topic: Setting up a company in the Netherlands
Is a European round realistic for you?
Ten lines about your company is enough for us to tell you what the route looks like.
Want the whole picture first? See the Route