Germany Company Formations

The most commonly used company type of company structure in Germany is the Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH) limited liability company. The minimum share capital requirement for a GmbH is €25,000.

Company Registration – GmbH Formation

• Approval of the corporate name with the regional Chamber of Commerce
• Structuring the company as per your requirements
• Opening a bank account is part of the company formation process
• Statutory minimum Share Capital of €25,000
• Court fees – including certified copies
• Preparing your Company Registration Forms
• Drafting the Articles of Association / Statutes
• Filing the documents with the Commercial Register – Handelsregistereintragung
• Notary Public fees – A translator fee is not included. The notary will require you to speak German or provide an official/certified translator so you understand the documents you are signing.
• A representative power of attorney if required is an additional fee
• Appoint the Directors
• Initial Government licence fee payable on incorporation
• Certificate of Incorporation
• Publication of the application in the Bundesanzeiger – Federal Gazette
• Issue of shares and production of Share Certificates
• All documents and certificates supplied in a professional folder
• Delivery of documents by FedEx / DHL courier

Articles of Association

A GmbH is founded by a written contract documented by a notary and specifying the following mandatory points:

• The company name
• The purpose of the company
• The company’s registered office
• The amount of share capital (Stammkapital).
• The sum to be paid by each shareholder towards the share capital
• In the event that a foreign company is a shareholder, its registered office and the names of the members of its board must be recorded

Companies incorporated that have up to three shareholders and one managing director may use a pre-approved text for their company statutes.

Companies formed with these pre-approved statutes must still go to see a notary.  A streamlined process is in place at the notarial office, the Chambers of Commerce as well as the commercial courts to approve the formation.

Documents and Information

To start incorporating a company in Germany we only require the following:

• Your proposed Company Name
• The directors full name, date of birth, address and nationality
• The shareholders full name and address

German Company Name

First, select a name for your company:

• Your company name may be in any language
• Your company name will need to end with GmbH.
• We can reserve your company name for up to ten days
• Having submitted the name of your company to us, we obtain approval from the Handelsregister

German Bank Account

A GmbH requires a bank account in Germany in which to deposit the €25,000 share capital, the receipt from the bank forms part of the incorporation process. To open the account, you will need to visit Germany.

Registered Office

Your German company must have a registered office, which must be a physical address in Germany. The registered office is where documents may be legally served on the company.  We provide this registered office service in Germany.

German Company Directors

Your German company requires just one director and non-German residents can be appointed as a director.

German Company Shareholders

Only one Shareholder is required for your German company and may be of any nationality and can be either corporations or individuals.

Ready Made GmbH Fees and Share Capital

Time – 10 days to transfer your ready-made company

Ready Made GmbH – from 2019 – from £5,000

Ready Made GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung)

• Our ready-made GmbH companies can have a registered office in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Mannheim, Munich or Stuttgart
• Only 1 director of any nationality is necessary for your company
• Only 1 shareholder is required
• Shareholders may be of any nationality and can be either corporations or individuals
• Upon purchase of the company the full share capital deposit is available in the company’s bank account