Setting up a company in Europe

Beyond differences in terminology and procedure, forming a company follows a comparable logic everywhere.

Choosing the legal form. The fundamental distinction is the same everywhere: limited-liability companies (members' liability limited to their contributions) versus unlimited-liability forms. Each country has an equivalent of the limited-liability company — the most common form for SMEs — and a joint-stock form intended for larger structures or broad shareholding.

Drafting the articles of association (constitutive deed). They set out the name, corporate purpose, registered office, allocation of shares, and the rules of governance and transfer. The form of the deed — private agreement or notarised — varies by country.

Setting a registered office (domiciliation). Required everywhere: owned or leased premises, or a domiciliation company.

Contributions and share capital. The legal minimum amount differs greatly by country and by form.

Business bank account. Required for capital companies: the capital is deposited there before incorporation, the bank issuing a certificate attached to the deed.

Registration with a commercial register. It confers legal personality and generates a unique identification number (company number, SIREN, IČO, RCS number depending on the country).

Identification of beneficial owners (UBO register). Required everywhere under the EU anti-money-laundering directives: declaration of the natural persons holding, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the capital or voting rights, or exercising control.

Tax registration and social affiliation. Corporate income tax and, where applicable, VAT; social affiliation of the director and then of any employees.

Annual accounting obligations. Keeping accounts, preparing and filing annual financial statements, tax returns — recurring in all four countries for capital companies.

• Main forms: SARL and its single-member equivalent the EURL; SAS and its single-member version the SASU; SA. The SAS now dominates the formation of commercial companies.
• Capital: no minimum capital for the SARL and the SAS (capital of €1 is legally possible); the SA requires €37,000.
• Constitutive deed: articles drawn up as a private agreement, with no mandatory involvement of a notary (except for a contribution of real estate).
• Procedure and register: since 1 January 2023, all formalities go through the INPI one-stop shop (procedures.inpi.fr), which replaced the former business formality centres (CFE). The file is forwarded to the commercial court registry (registration with the RCS), to INSEE (SIREN/SIRET) and to the tax authorities. A legal notice is required for companies (≈ €120 to €150). Usual timeframe: 2 to 4 weeks.
• Taxation: corporate income tax (IS) at the standard rate of 25% since 2022; reduced rate of 15% on the first €42,500 of profit for eligible SMEs. Standard VAT at 20%.
• Distinctive point: the director's social regime varies by form — the president of an SAS falls under the general scheme (treated as an employee), whereas a majority manager of an SARL falls under the self-employed workers' regime (TNS).

• Main forms: SRL (limited-liability company); SA (public limited company); SC (cooperative company). The former SPRL no longer exists since 1 May 2019 (reform of the Code of Companies and Associations, CSA); the remaining SPRLs were automatically converted into SRLs on 31 December 2023.
• Capital: no more minimum capital for the SRL since the 2019 CSA; the SA still requires €61,500. The removal of capital is offset by the requirement of "sufficient initial equity" and by a mandatory financial plan. This plan engages the founders' liability: in the event of bankruptcy within three years, a manifestly insufficient plan may trigger their personal liability (art. 5:16 CSA).
• Constitutive deed: a notarial deed is mandatory for companies endowed with legal personality (SRL, SA, SC); not required for sole traders, the SNC or the SComm.
• Procedure and register: the notary registers the deed with the SPF Finances, publishes an extract in the Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) and enrols the company in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (BCE), which assigns the company number. The UBO register and the Estox register (registration of shares) are added. Timeframe: 2 to 4 weeks.
• Taxation: corporate income tax of 25%; reduced rate of 20% on the first bracket up to €100,000 for eligible SMEs. Standard VAT at 21%.
• Distinctive points: the director must affiliate as self-employed with a social insurance fund; in the Walloon Region only, basic management knowledge must be demonstrated (a requirement absent in Flanders and Brussels).

• Main forms: s.r.o. (společnost s ručením omezeným, equivalent of the SARL), by far the most common form; a.s. (akciová společnost, joint-stock company); limited-partnership forms.
• Capital: CZK 1 for the s.r.o. (a symbolic amount); CZK 2,000,000 for the joint-stock company (a.s.).
• Constitutive deed: articles in the form of a notarial deed, drawn up in Czech and notarised by a Czech notary, even if prepared abroad.
• Procedure and register: generally obtaining a trade authorisation (trade licence, živnostenské oprávnění); commercial register kept by the regional courts (registration fee ≈ CZK 6,000); registration with the tax administration generating the tax identification number. Opening a bank account for non-residents usually requires physical presence or a power of attorney.
• Taxation: corporate income tax at the standard rate of 21% since 2024 (against 19% previously), applicable to s.r.o., a.s. and permanent establishments of foreign entities. Standard VAT at 21%, reduced rate of 12%.
• Distinctive points: full foreign ownership is permitted, with no restriction on non-Czech founders and no residence requirement. Since 2024, it is possible to keep accounts in euros, dollars or pounds sterling under certain conditions.

• Main forms: SARL (limited-liability company), the most common form; SARL-S (simplified limited-liability company, introduced in 2017); SA (public limited company); SAS; SCA.
• Capital: €12,000 for the SARL. The SARL-S allows incorporation with capital of €1 (up to a maximum below €12,000), may be created by private deed without a notary, but is open only to natural persons — a single person cannot be the sole member of several SARL-S at the same time. The SA requires €30,000.
• Constitutive deed: the involvement of a notary (authentic deed) is required for the classic SARL and the SA. The SARL-S is the exception, available by private deed.
• Procedure and register: registration with the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) managed by the Luxembourg Business Registers, together with entry in the register of beneficial owners (RBE). Commercial activities require a business permit (autorisation d'établissement) issued by the Ministry of the Economy.
• Taxation: the charge combines corporate income tax (IRC), increased by the 7% contribution to the employment fund, and municipal business tax (ICC), whose rate depends on the municipality. Since 1 January 2025, the IRC has been reduced by one point: 14% for taxable income ≤ €175,000 (down from 15%) and 16% above €200,000 (down from 17%). In Luxembourg City, the overall effective rate (IRC + surcharge + ICC) stands in practice at around 23.5% to 23.9%. Standard VAT at 17%.
• Distinctive point: there is a net wealth tax applicable to companies (not to natural persons) and a minimum tax determined by the balance-sheet total.

Once the company is formed, the vehicle it owns is in principle registered in the country where the company has its registered office: the registration certificate is then held by the owning legal entity, not by the driver. Forming a company and registering a vehicle are thus two steps tied together by the same logic of ownership.

Care is nonetheless needed: a vehicle owned by a company established in one country yet used on a lasting basis in another may, under local rules, have to be declared there, or even re-registered. To understand how the place of registration is determined according to the owner, see where to register.

Our business is coordination. We provide administrative support and orchestrate the steps, but we do not carry out regulated acts: we coordinate; licensed local professionals carry out the regulated acts. Drafting a notarial deed, legal or accounting advice fall to licensed lawyers, notaries and chartered accountants, with whom we work in each of the countries concerned.

This page provides factual information on the existing frameworks; it is not regulated advice and recommends no country. Every situation is specific: we point you, where needed, to the right professional.