Company Incorporation Guide

Belgium company registration for foreign founders

Applicable country/region: BE - Belgium

Published: September 30, 2026Updated: September 30, 2026

Written by our advisory team
Belgium rules and requirements
Checked against official sources

Guide overview

What to settle before and after the notary's deed

Belgium company registration starts with a notarial deed of incorporation, which the notary files at the registry of the enterprise court. That filing gives the company legal personality and enters it in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) under an enterprise number. The basic form is the BV/SRL. Any cash contributions go into a bank account opened for the company in formation before the deed. The first step is choosing a legal form and checking what a foreign owner or director must watch. Founders then learn why the notary's file reaches behind every shareholder, and which conditions are law or practice. After the deed come the first year's tax and the duties the enterprise number leaves open.

COMPANY TYPES

Choosing the BV/SRL, the NV/SA or a branch

The besloten vennootschap (BV) / société à responsabilité limitée (SRL), the private limited company, gives its shareholders limited liability and was called the BVBA / SPRL before the 2019 Companies and Associations Code. The Code gave the BV/SRL no capital and no minimum; founders provide starting equity sufficient for the planned activity. The NV/SA, the public limited company, keeps a minimum capital and freely transferable shares. A branch is the foreign company itself, registered in Belgium, not a separate legal entity. The Code sets no nationality or residence condition for shareholders or directors. Still, a director without Belgian, other European Economic Area or Swiss nationality who acts in that role in Belgium needs a professional card from the Region concerned.

Reading the company types

Rows cover ownership, shareholder and director rules, capital and notes for each company type.

Belgium BV/SRL Basic Information

Ownership:

Consolidated Ownership

Limited Liability:

See Memo

Publicly Participates In Capital Market:

Negative

Belgium BV/SRL Shareholder / Director / Secretary Requirements

Requirements For Shareholders:

At least one

Requirements For Directors:

1. At least one;
2. At least one director must have a high school diploma and a degree certificate.

Legal Representative Not Mandatory:

Positive

Local Directors Not Mandatory:

Positive

Local Secretaries Not Mandatory:

Positive

Belgium BV/SRL Registered Capital Requirement

Minimum Registered Capital Requirement:

No minimum capital: a BV/SRL has no share capital, and the founders give it starting equity sufficient for the planned activity.

Capital Injection Not Required:

See Memo

Capital Injection Requirement:

1. Unless the deed of incorporation provides otherwise, all contributions are paid in full at incorporation; cash contributions are first deposited in a special account in the name of the company in formation with a bank established in the EEA.
2. Before incorporation the founders hand the notary a financial plan justifying the starting equity for the planned activity; the notary keeps it.

Belgium BV/SRL Memo

Memo:

1. If a company goes bankrupt within three years of its establishment, the court can decide to review the business plan to see if it can be found that the founder is responsible for the insufficient startup capital. In certain cases in Belgium, the founder must be held responsible for the debts of the bankrupt Belgian company.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Why the notary's file reaches past each shareholder

Under the anti-money-laundering Act of 18 September 2017, a notary must identify and verify the clients, anyone acting for them and the beneficial owners before passing a deed. For a corporate shareholder, that reaches through its ownership and control structure to the individuals who own or control it. A bank later asks for much the same. Founders who do not appear before the notary act through a proxy holder, under a power of attorney naming the company being formed. Foreign public documents need an apostille or legalisation, depending on where they were issued, and translations are asked for because the file is kept in a national language. Document age and format are the notary's or the provider's practice.

Reading the documents

Rows are document types grouped by who provides them; each entry ends with its process and format.

Natural Person Shareholders & Directors's Required Documents

Passport:

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

Proof of Address:

Shareholder and director's address proof: scanned copy of water, electricity, and gas bills or bank statements. It needs to be translated into English, and the document must clearly indicate the shareholder/director's name, address, and date, which should not be more than 1 month old.

Process: Not ApplicableFormat: Scan Copy

Power of Attorney:

TKEG provides

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

Diploma:

At least one natural person’s college degree certificate, professional diploma, or continuing education degree certificate as a director. Whether certification is required will be decided by the authority that asks for the diploma: the Region that issues the professional card, or the business counter for a regulated trade.

Process: Other CertificationFormat: Scan Copy

Legal Entity Shareholders's Required Documents

Proof Of Registration / Business License:

Business licenses need to be notarized in English/French/Dutch + apostilled.

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

Company Bylaw:

The company articles must be notarized in English/French/Dutch + apostilled.

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

Passport:

Shareholders with more than 25% ownership and legal person passports need to undergo English/French/Dutch notarization + Apostille.

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

Proof of Address:

Shareholders holding more than 25% of the shares and legal entities need to provide proof of address in English/French/Dutch notarization + Apostille.

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

Power of Attorney:

TKEG Provides

Process: ApostilleFormat: Scan Copy

REQUIREMENTS AND ESTIMATED COST

Belgium company registration requirements: law and practice

Before the deed, founders hand the notary a financial plan justifying the starting equity for the planned activity. It covers financing, projected balance sheets and results, and the assumptions behind them. The notary keeps it; no authority approves it. The name must be unique and the registered office address in Belgium. The office's location sets the language of the filed documents: Dutch in Flanders, French in French-speaking Wallonia, either in Brussels. Company law asks no diploma of a director, and all three Regions abolished the certificate of basic management knowledge. Diplomas still matter for certain regulated trades in Brussels and Wallonia, and the Flemish professional card asks for an upper-secondary one. Any further request is practice.

Reading the requirements

Base cost is the service and government fees; each requirement shows if it is included and what solving it costs; the estimate adds them up.

Base Cost

Service Fee:

GBP 5,000

Requirements

Consulting: A business plan is required

Belgian company registration requires the submission of a Belgian company business plan covering a two-year period (which should include: a brief balance sheet; evidence that the capital provided by shareholders for operating the business is reasonable and legal; establishment of accounting system; classification and entry of accounting vouchers; evidence that the company has at least the initial capital required for the first two years of operation). If there is no Belgian business plan, you can choose the "Business Consulting Service" provided by TKEG Expat ™ (Malta). This service already includes the preparation of a business plan.

Included: Yes ×1.00

At least one natural person director holds a degree certificate or proof of higher education

Belgian company registration requires at least one natural person director to possess a university degree certificate, professional diploma, or continuing education degree certificate to prove their educational background and professional competence.

Included: No

Registered Address: Need a Belgian address

Belgian company registration must have a Belgian address. If there is no Belgian address, you can choose the address hosting service provided by TKEG Expat ™ (Malta).

Included: No · Solution availableEstimated Cost: GBP 3,625

Estimated Cost

Estimated Cost:

GBP 5,000 – 8,625

Check Eligibility And Calculate Price

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TAX

What the tax rows mean in the first year

VAT comes first for a new company. The enterprise number becomes a VAT identification number only when Federal Public Service Finance (FPS Finance) activates it, and the company must apply for that activation before it begins operations. Even a company under the small-business exemption needs the number. The panel's corporate rate is the standard rate. A small company can apply 20% to the first EUR 100,000 of profit, on conditions. Among them, other companies must hold less than half of its shares, and from its fifth taxable period a director must receive a minimum remuneration. Skipping advance payments adds a surcharge to the final tax, which a small company does not bear in its first three financial years.

Reading the tax data

Rows cover corporate income, withholding, value-added and capital gains tax, plus effective rates, for each jurisdiction.

PwC World Tax Summary OECD Statistics

Corporate Income Tax (CIT)

General CIT Rate:

CIT Return Due Date:

The tax return must be filed by 30 September of the tax year for financial years ending between 31 December of the previous year and the last day of February of the tax year; in other cases, by the last day of the seventh month after the end of the financial year. The deadline can be extended for serious reasons or force majeure.

CIT Payment Due Date:

Under normal circumstances, within two months of issuing the assessment notice.

CIT Estimated Payment Due Date:

(Optional) Quarterly installment payments.

Withholding Tax (WHT)

Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):

30/30/30

Non-Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):

30/30/30

Value-Added Tax (VAT)

General VAT Rate:

Learn More Value-Added Tax (VAT)

Capital Gain Tax (CGT)

General Capital Gain Tax Rate:

Capital gains are subject to the normal CIT rate (except capital gains on shares under certain conditions)：25%.

Effective Tax Rate (ETR)

Composite Effective Average Tax Rate:

25%

Composite Effective Marginal Tax Rate:

18%-19%

Conclusion

After the enterprise number: the first duties

The enterprise number does not yet let the company trade. Its activities first need registration through an accredited business counter, and a regulated activity needs its own proof or licence. Compliance runs from incorporation: the beneficial owners enter the UBO register within 30 days, and the entry is confirmed every year. The company joins a social insurance fund within three months of becoming a legal person, and paid directors join one as self-employed persons before starting. The general meeting approves the annual accounts, filed with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) within seven months of the year-end. The UBO filing is the first dated duty, so put it in the diary on the day of the deed.

Belgium

Jurisdiction Overview

About Belgium

Belgium attracts foreign investors with full foreign ownership, a central European location, strong ties to neighboring markets and a multicultural business climate.

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