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EuropeNeeds someone on the ground Verified · 31 Jul 2026

How to found a company in Germany

You’d incorporate a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH).

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The numbers

Government filing fee
€300Handelsregister entry of €225 — raised 50% from €150 on 1 June 2025 — plus a €75 provisioning fee. Notarial fees are separate and larger: roughly €500–600 for a single-shareholder GmbH on the model protocol, €800–1,500 or more with bespoke articles.
Typical turnaround
~3 weeks
Corporation tax
30%15% corporate tax plus a 5.5% solidarity surcharge on that tax (15.825% combined), plus municipal trade tax of roughly 8.75%–20.3%. Effective combined rate is about 29%–33% depending on the municipality.
USt threshold
€22,000Kleinunternehmerregelung small-business threshold.
Minimum directors
1No residency requirement, though a managing director must be able to enter Germany to act.
Minimum shareholders
1

What you’ll need

  • Share capital of €25,000, of which at least €12,500 must be paid up before registration
  • Notarised articles of association
  • A German business address and trade office registration
  • Entry in the Handelsregister

Watch out

  • ⚠️The UG (haftungsbeschränkt) can be formed with €1 of capital but must retain 25% of annual profit until reserves reach €25,000.
  • ⚠️Registration does not proceed until the paid-up capital is deposited in a German business account, which is commonly the longest delay.
  • ⚠️Trade office registration fees vary by municipality.

The steps

  1. 1

    Draft and notarise the articles

    Founding~1 week

    A German notary must certify the Gesellschaftsvertrag. The model protocol is cheaper but less flexible.

  2. 2

    Open a bank account and pay in capital

    You~1 week

    At least €12,500 must be deposited before registration proceeds.

  3. 3

    File with the Handelsregister

    The registry~2 weeks

    Submitted by the notary and reviewed by the registry court.

  4. 4

    Register the trade and with the tax office

    You~2 weeks

    Gewerbeanmeldung with the trade office, then the Finanzamt questionnaire to obtain tax numbers.

What you’ll need around it

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Checked 31 Jul 2026 against an official source. Rules and fees change — confirm anything you are about to act on. Founding is not a law firm and this is not legal or tax advice.