The Dutch Company Register Explained (Non Resident Guide)

The Dutch company register is where every Dutch company gets listed, including yours, automatically, the moment you register with the KVK.

As a non-resident, that means your company name, address, and director details become part of a public record you don't control, and it comes with obligations that don't end at registration.

In this guide, I'll walk you through what actually becomes public, what stays private, what registration costs, and what you're responsible for keeping up to date afterward.

What is the Dutch company register?

The Dutch company register, known as the Handelsregister, is the official register of businesses and organisations in the Netherlands. It is maintained by the KVK (the Dutch Chamber of Commerce) and contains more than 3.7 million registrations.

• The notary handles registration. When a Dutch BV is incorporated, the civil-law notary normally registers the BV with the KVK Business Register and registers its UBOs.
• You get a unique KVK number. You receive a unique 8-digit KVK number, which is used to identify the company in dealings with customers, suppliers and government bodies.
• It's built for transparency. Anyone, a bank, a supplier, a potential client, can look up your company and confirm it's real, active, and legally who it says it is.

That transparency cuts both ways, which is exactly what the next two sections cover: what becomes public about your company, and what stays private.

Do non-residents need to register too?

Yes. There's no exemption for foreign founders, your nationality and residency don't change the requirement. If you're running a Dutch BV, it must be in the Handelsregister, whether you live in Amsterdam or run the company entirely from abroad.

• Ownership doesn't matter. A BV can be 100% foreign-owned and still registered exactly the same way.
• Residency doesn't matter. You don't need to live in the Netherlands to register.
• The process can be fully remote. A Dutch civil-law notary handles incorporation and KVK registration, so non-resident founders usually don't need to travel.

For the complete walkthrough, including documents and timelines, see our guide to registering a company in the Netherlands.

What information about your company becomes public?

Once you're registered, anyone can look up several core details about your BV, free of charge, on the KVK website. That's the transparency trade-off of being a legal, recognized Dutch company.

• Company name and KVK number. Your registered trade name and the unique 8-digit KVK number assigned to your business.
• Registered address. Your company's official address in the Netherlands. A virtual office address is public here too, not just a physical one.
• Legal form. Whether you've registered as a BV, branch, or another structure.
• Company officers. Who's legally able to sign contracts and make binding decisions on the company's behalf, by name and role.
• Business activity (SBI code). A standardized code describing what your company actually does, assigned by the KVK based on your registration.

What's not included here matters just as much:

• Your personal home address: provided your business uses a separate registered address.
• Shareholders: The names of shareholders in a BV are generally held in the company's private Shareholders' Register. However, if a BV has a sole shareholder, that person's name and date of birth are recorded publicly in the Business Register.
• Detailed financial statements: are not included in the free basic company search. However, BV financial statements that have been filed with KVK are public and can be ordered separately for a fee.

What about your personal privacy?

Your company's registered address is public. Your home address generally isn't, but the protection works differently depending on your role and company structure.

• BV directors and officers: private home addresses aren't public. The one exception is the home address of the keeper of books and records, per KVK's own privacy statement. This rarely applies to non-resident founders, since that role is usually an outsourced accountant.
• Sole proprietors, VOF, and partnership owners: since 1 January 2022, your residential address is no longer visible in the register if your business address differs from it. Before that date, these structures didn't get the same protection.
• Who can still see protected data: authorities like courts, notaries, tax authorities, and law enforcement retain access even where the public can't. This is privacy from public search, not from the Dutch government.

For most non-resident BV founders, this means your name and role are public, but your personal address isn't. This applies as long as your company uses a registered business address, including a virtual office, rather than your home address.

How much does Netherlands company registration cost?

Netherlands company registration costs depend on structure. A sole proprietorship can be registered for as little as €85.15, the fixed KVK fee. A standard Dutch BV realistically costs €385 to €1,585 to register, once notary fees are included.

• KVK registration fee: A fixed cost of €85.15, the same for every structure.
• Notary fees (BV only): typically €300–€1,500, since notaries set their own rates rather than following a government scale.
• UBO filing: included in your KVK registration, not a separate government fee. Your ultimate beneficial owners are declared as part of the same incorporation step.

You may see higher all-in figures quoted elsewhere, sometimes €1,200–€3,500 or more.

Those aren't necessarily wrong, they often include items beyond business registration itself: a registered address, accounting setup, or a Netherlands company formation agent's service fee.

For registration specifically, notary and KVK fees are what you're actually paying the government and the notary; anything above that is a service charge, worth knowing so you can see exactly what you're paying for.

Do you really only need €0.01 in capital?

Legally, yes. Since the 2012 Flex-BV reform, the minimum share capital for a Dutch BV is €0.01, replacing the previous €18,000 requirement. You can incorporate with that nominal amount and still get full liability protection as a shareholder.

Practically, it's rarely the number founders actually use.

• Notaries commonly advise €1, split across 100 shares of €0.01 each, a convention rather than a legal requirement.
• A bank evaluating your account application will look at whether your business has realistic working capital, not just your registered share capital on paper.
• If your BV needs to cover genuine startup costs, inventory, or a few months of runway, a token €0.01 balance signals nothing about whether you've actually planned for that.

In practice, most founders we work with capitalize their BV with an amount that reflects real short-term needs, not the legal minimum.

What is a KVK extract and when will you need one?

A KVK extract, or Uittreksel Handelsregister, is an official document proving your company is legally registered in the Netherlands. As a founder, you'll typically need one to open a business bank account, sign a commercial lease, or satisfy an investor during due diligence.

Three versions exist as per the KVK's official 2026 tariff overview:

The digitally certified extract is legally equivalent to the paper version and is suitable for official use. However, you should check with the bank or authority requesting the document to confirm whether it accepts a digital or paper extract.

What do you have to keep updated after business registration?

Your KVK registration isn't a one-time task. You're legally required to report certain changes as they happen, and file annual accounts every year.

Here are some common examples:

• Address changes. If your registered business address changes, whether you move offices or switch registered-address providers, you must update the KVK within one week.
• New or departing directors. Any change to who's legally authorized to act on behalf of the company needs to be reported and reflected in the public register.
• Trading name changes. If you start trading under a different name, or add a new one, that needs registering too.
• Business activity changes. If what your company actually does shifts meaningfully from your original SBI code, update it, this affects how you're classified and taxed.
• Annual accounts. Every BV must file annual financial statements with the KVK within 12 months of its fiscal year end.

Falling behind on any of these isn't just an administrative loose end. It's the kind of gap a bank, an investor, or an auditor will notice, and it's exactly the sort of thing a formation agent tracks on your behalf so it never becomes one.

What's your UBO filing obligation?

If you own or control more than 25% of your BV, you must report yourself as a UBO to the KVK. This is separate from your standard company registration, and it's your responsibility to file it, not something that happens automatically.

• Who counts as a UBO. Anyone holding more than 25% of the shares, or anyone with the ultimate authority to make decisions, even without formal shares. For most solo non-resident founders, that's simply you.
• How to file. Submit a UBO report through KVK, either alongside your initial registration or shortly after. Updating or removing a UBO can be done through My KVK. Registering a new one requires a fresh UBO report.
• Who can actually see this data. Unlike your standard business listing, UBO data isn't publicly searchable. Following a November 2022 EU court ruling, general public access was closed. Only you, your own company, banks and notaries carrying out anti-money-laundering checks, and government authorities like the tax office can view it.

Can you use the Dutch business register to check other companies too?

Yes. You can search the Netherlands Business Register by company name, address or KVK number and view basic information for free.

• Search by name or KVK number on kvk.nl, no account needed.
• You'll see the basics for free: company name, KVK number, address, legal form, and company status (active or dissolved).
• For anything more, you'll need to order an extract at the same rates covered above.

It's a quick, genuinely useful check. A company that doesn't appear in the register at all, or shows as dissolved, is a real warning sign worth investigating before you commit to any working relationship.

Netherlands company register - FAQs

Need support with a Netherlands company registration?

Starting a company in the Netherlands itself is only the first step. Keeping your company listing accurate, filing your UBO report, and staying ahead of annual deadlines is an ongoing job, one that's easy to get wrong from another country.

Why foreign founders choose Intercompany Solutions:

• Since 2017, we've registered over 2,000 companies with the KVK on behalf of founders from 50+ countries across the UK, North America, Europe and Asia.
• We handle your KVK filing, UBO report, and any updates that come up afterward, so nothing gets missed.
• Fixed pricing, confirmed before you commit, with no hidden fees added once the process starts.
• One team covers registration, VAT, accounting, and payroll, so you're not coordinating separate providers.