What the law asks of a business address
To register a company in the Dutch Business Register, the company needs a Dutch address. The KVK registers it as the visiting address of your company and checks it when you register.
- A street address in the Netherlands. A Dutch PO box serves as a postal address only.
- Proof that your company may use the address. For example a tenancy agreement, a purchase agreement or a certificate of ownership from the Land Registry (Kadaster). When the landlord rents the space from someone else, the KVK also asks for the main tenancy agreement with the owner’s permission to sublet.
- Regular presence. Your company is present at the address on a regular basis. In a building with several companies, your contract gives your company access to a workstation or a space during opening hours, for a large part of its work.
- A suitable building. The KVK checks that the address is in the national address register (BAG) and that your activity suits the permitted use of the building.
- A public entry. The visiting address and the postal address are public in the Business Register.
The rules can change. Check the current details on kvk.nl or business.gov.nl on the day you sign.
You choose the address and sign the contract
The address is your own choice. Your company signs the contract with the owner, the landlord or the provider of the space, and pays them directly. The choice of provider is yours alone.
We receive our fees only from you, for our own work. Under Dutch supervision law, a firm that gives a company an address and also does other work for that company, such as bookkeeping, tax returns or the annual accounts, needs a licence from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). We do the bookkeeping and the tax returns for our clients. So the address stays fully in your hands, and we keep to your company, the tax numbers and the bookkeeping.
Statutory seat and business address
Two terms come up in the deed. The statutory seat (statutaire zetel) is the place named in the articles of association. The business address (vestigingsadres) is the street address in the Business Register, where your company receives official letters.
When your company relocates, it registers the new address at the KVK. The statutory seat in the articles can stay the same.
What the business address is used for
| Use | What it means for your company |
|---|---|
| The Business Register | The address is on your KVK extract. Banks, notaries and business partners ask for this extract first. |
| Official letters | The Tax Administration, the KVK and the courts send their letters to this address. |
| The bank file | The bank checks the address against the register when your company applies for an account. |
| Your company details | Your company uses the same address on its invoices, contracts and website. |
When your company needs the address
The notary puts the address in the deed and files the registration at the KVK. So your company signs its address contract before the deed.
Once all documents are complete, the setup is usually done within one week. After the registration, the Tax Administration sends its letters, such as the letter with the VAT number, to the address in the register.
What we set up for your company
- The deed at the notary, signed with a power of attorney from your own country.
- The registration at the KVK, with the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of your company.
- The tax numbers: VAT, corporate income tax and, when your company pays salaries, payroll tax.
- The bookkeeping, the VAT returns, the annual accounts and the corporate income tax return.
- eHerkenning, the business login for Dutch government portals.
See company formation in the Netherlands for non-residents for the steps and the documents from your country. Your first advice is free. Want our team to have a look?