Austria and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Apostille, Hague Convention in force for Austria since 13 January 1968
- Issued by
- Notarial deeds and powers of attorney are apostilled by the president of the Landesgericht (regional court) of the notary’s district
- Language
- German, often accepted as it is
- Register
- Firmenbuch
- Tax treaty
- Signed 1970, in force 1971 (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- EU single market and customs union
- In the Netherlands
- 180 companies controlled from Austria in 2024, 170 in 2021 (+5.9%), about 10,000 jobs, €7.2 billion turnover, 0.9% of all 19,995 foreign-controlled companies (CBS, 9 October 2026)
- Moving here
- EU free movement
Documents from Austria
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Austria.
Proof of address in Austria, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before an Austrian Notar.
Ownership statement, one page from us.
The apostille. Notarial deeds and powers of attorney are apostilled by the president of the Landesgericht (regional court) of the notary’s district. Administrative documents are apostilled by the Landeshauptmann or the office of the state government. Federal documents are apostilled by the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA). This ministry also issues e-apostilles on digitally signed documents.
Good to know. The same language rule as for Germany applies. The Firmenbuchauszug shows the shareholders of a GmbH directly. You therefore need one document fewer than for Germany.
If a company from Austria becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Firmenbuch. A Firmenbuchauszug is ordered via a notary, lawyer or the justice portal. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Austria: business register and trade
Austria's commercial register is the Firmenbuch, which replaced the Handelsregister in 1991 and is managed as an electronic database. The competent courts are the regional courts (Landesgerichte), and the document archive has been electronic since 2005.
Anyone may access the register database. The summary information with the main details of a legal entity is free, and requests for other data are subject to a charge.
Extracts and documents can be retrieved through JustizOnline with a mobile phone signature and online payment, or requested from the courts. Clearing houses (Verrechnungsstellen) contracted by the Ministry of Justice offer permanent online access, as do all notaries, lawyers, auditors and tax advisers.
In 2024, Dutch goods exports to Austria were worth €10.9 billion and imports from Austria €3.8 billion.
Your next step from Austria
Get free first advice Your own document list · How a Dutch BV is set up