{ "$schema": "https://govschema.org/spec/v0.3/govschema.schema.json", "govschemaVersion": "0.3.0", "id": "de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll", "version": "1.0.0", "title": "Germany GmbH/UG (haftungsbeschränkt) Formation via Musterprotokoll (Single Founder)", "description": "Form a German limited-liability company — a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH) or its low-capital variant, the Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt) (UG) — using the simplified, single-founder Musterprotokoll (model protocol) that Anlage 1 to § 2 Abs. 1a GmbHG annexes directly to the statute. The Musterprotokoll may be used only when the company has at most three shareholders and one managing director; this document scopes further, to the single-founder/single-managing-director case (often the same natural person), the GmbH/UG counterpart to gb/companies-house/company-incorporation-in01, ie/cro/company-incorporation, and us/ca/sos/business-entity-llc-formation. Under German law the Gesellschaftsvertrag (articles of association) must be notarized (§ 2 GmbHG); when the Musterprotokoll is used it simultaneously serves as the articles of association, the shareholder list (Gesellschafterliste), and the power of attorney to file for registration. A notary executes the deed and electronically transmits it, together with the § 8 GmbHG application particulars, to the Handelsregister (commercial register) maintained by the competent Amtsgericht (Registergericht); the company acquires legal personality only on entry in the register (§ 11 GmbHG). Out of scope: the multi-founder (up to three shareholders) Musterprotokoll variant, the video-communication notarization variant (Anlage 2, § 2 Abs. 3 GmbHG), any bespoke (non-template) Gesellschaftsvertrag, in-kind (Sach-)contributions, and the separate post-formation Gewerbeanmeldung (trade registration, already covered by de/gewerbeamt/business-registration) and Finanzamt tax registration (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung). It does not submit anything or imply government endorsement.", "status": "draft", "jurisdiction": { "country": "DE", "level": "national" }, "authority": { "name": "Notaries executing the statutory Musterprotokoll under § 2 Abs. 1a GmbHG, whose deed is then entered in the Handelsregister (commercial register) maintained by the competent Amtsgericht (Registergericht), per the Gesetz betreffend die Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbHG)", "abbreviation": "Handelsregister", "url": "https://www.handelsregister.de" }, "process": { "type": "registration", "language": "de-DE" }, "source": { "url": "https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gmbhg/BJNR004770892.html", "retrievedAt": "2026-07-04", "documentRef": "GmbHG Anlage 1 (zu § 2 Abs. 1a) a) Musterprotokoll für die Gründung einer Einpersonengesellschaft; §§ 2, 5, 5a, 7, 8, 11 GmbHG" }, "verification": { "method": "manual-source-review-v1", "lastVerifiedAt": "2026-07-04", "verifiedBy": "GovSchema Engineering (Standards Engineer)", "nextReviewBy": "2027-01-04", "notes": "GOV-1136 research cycle: a full catalog audit (137 published schemas across 11 jurisdictions) found every gap named in the issue's own notes (DE Steuer-ID, SG NRIC loss/damage + re-registration, NZ RealMe, remaining voter registration) already closed in prior cycles — those notes were stale. Fresh gap analysis of the Business Formation vertical found a real, unaddressed one instead: DE, FR, NL, and SG each publish only a sole-trader/micro-entrepreneur registration schema, none a true limited-liability company formation (the 'LLC' analogue named in the issue), unlike GB (IN01), IE (Form A1), CA/ON, NZ, IN (SPICe+), US-CA/FL, and AU (ASIC). Germany's GmbH was chosen because Anlage 1 GmbHG annexes the Musterprotokoll directly to the statute itself — a fixed-text model form in the primary legal source, not a policy description — making it exceptionally tractable to source with precision. Sourced from gesetze-im-internet.de's own numbered sections (§§ 2, 5, 5a, 7, 8, 11 GmbHG, each fetched and quoted verbatim) plus the German government's own existenzgruendungsportal.de (Bundesministerium's start-up portal) PDF reproduction of the Anlage 1(a) template text, extracted in full with pdfjs-dist (2 pages, all blanks and footnotes). See VERIFICATION.md for the field-by-field source table and a mock conformance run (conformance/de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll/1.0.0/application-packet.json) exercising both companyType branches." }, "maturity": { "level": "structural-reference", "criteria": { "structuralReference": true, "verifiedSchema": false, "agentReadySchema": false, "executionTestedSchema": false }, "method": "maturity-self-assessment-v1", "assertedBy": "GovSchema Engineering (Standards Engineer)", "assertedAt": "2026-07-04" }, "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "fields": [ { "name": "companyType", "label": "Company type", "type": "enum", "required": true, "description": "gmbh = standard Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (§ 5 GmbHG minimum capital rules apply); ug_haftungsbeschraenkt = Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt), the low-capital variant under § 5a GmbHG. Both use the same Musterprotokoll template; the differences are the share-capital floor and payment rule (see shareCapitalAmountEur/capitalPaymentMode) and the mandatory legal-form suffix in companyName.", "sourceRef": "§ 5a GmbHG — 'eine Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, ... mit einem Stammkapital gegründet wird, das den Betrag des Mindeststammkapitals nach § 5 Abs. 1 unterschreitet'", "validation": { "enum": ["gmbh", "ug_haftungsbeschraenkt"] } }, { "name": "companyName", "label": "Company name (Firma) and registered seat", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "Must include the mandatory legal-form suffix: 'GmbH' or 'Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung' when companyType is gmbh; 'UG (haftungsbeschränkt)' or 'Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt)' when companyType is ug_haftungsbeschraenkt (§ 5a Abs. 1 GmbHG naming requirement). Corresponds to the template's blank 'unter der Firma _____'.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §1 — 'errichtet hiermit ... eine Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung unter der Firma _____'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 200 } }, { "name": "registeredSeat", "label": "Registered seat (Sitz)", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "The German municipality (city/town) that is the company's registered seat, determining the competent Registergericht. Corresponds to the template's blank 'mit dem Sitz in _____'.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §1 — 'mit dem Sitz in _____'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 100 } }, { "name": "businessPurpose", "label": "Business purpose (Gegenstand des Unternehmens)", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "Free-text description of the company's business activity/object.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §2 — 'Gegenstand des Unternehmens ist _____'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 500 } }, { "name": "shareCapitalAmountEur", "label": "Share capital (Stammkapital), in EUR", "type": "number", "required": true, "description": "Whole-euro amount (§ 5 Abs. 2 GmbHG). When companyType is gmbh, must be at least 25000 (§ 5 Abs. 1 GmbHG minimum). When companyType is ug_haftungsbeschraenkt, must be at least 1 and less than 25000 (§ 5a Abs. 1 GmbHG); above 25000 the company is a standard GmbH, not a UG. Corresponds to the template's blank '_____ € (i. W. _____ Euro)'.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §3; § 5 Abs. 1 GmbHG — 'Das Stammkapital der Gesellschaft muß mindestens fünfundzwanzigtausend Euro betragen'; § 5a Abs. 1 GmbHG", "validation": { "minimum": 1 } }, { "name": "capitalPaymentMode", "label": "Capital contribution payment terms", "type": "enum", "required": true, "description": "full_immediate = the full share capital is paid in cash before the registration application. fifty_percent_now_remainder_on_demand = at least one quarter of each share's nominal value is paid, and in aggregate at least half of the § 5 Abs. 1 minimum (EUR 12,500) is paid, with the remainder called up later by shareholder resolution (§ 7 Abs. 2 GmbHG) — available for companyType gmbh only. When companyType is ug_haftungsbeschraenkt, in-kind contributions are excluded and the capital must be paid in full before registration (§ 5a Abs. 2 GmbHG), so this must be full_immediate; the template's own footnote 3 requires striking the second alternative for a Unternehmergesellschaft.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §3 and footnote 3 — 'Die Einlage ist in Geld zu erbringen, und zwar sofort in voller Höhe / zu 50% sofort, ... Bei der Unternehmergesellschaft muss die zweite Alternative gestrichen werden'; § 7 Abs. 2, § 5a Abs. 2 GmbHG", "validation": { "enum": ["full_immediate", "fifty_percent_now_remainder_on_demand"] } }, { "name": "incorporationCostsCapEur", "label": "Formation costs borne by the company (cap, EUR)", "type": "number", "required": true, "description": "Fixed by the template itself: the company bears formation costs up to EUR 300, but no more than the amount of its own share capital (relevant chiefly to a UG with capital below 300); costs above that cap are borne by the founder personally.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §5 — 'Die Gesellschaft trägt die mit der Gründung verbundenen Kosten bis zu einem Gesamtbetrag von 300 € höchstens jedoch bis zum Betrag ihres Stammkapitals'", "validation": { "minimum": 300, "maximum": 300 } }, { "name": "founderFullName", "label": "Founder's full name", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "The sole founding shareholder, who subscribes the entire share capital (Geschäftsanteil Nr. 1). This document scopes to a single founder; the statute separately permits up to three shareholders under a different Musterprotokoll variant, out of scope here.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, preamble — 'Herr/Frau _____'; §3 — 'wird vollständig von Herrn/Frau _____ ... übernommen'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 200 }, "classification": "pii" }, { "name": "founderDateOfBirth", "label": "Founder's date of birth", "type": "date", "required": true, "description": "Every notarial deed must identify its parties precisely enough to exclude doubt (§ 10 BeurkG); standard notarial practice for a Musterprotokoll records each party's date of birth alongside their name, even though the compact template prints only a name blank.", "sourceRef": "§ 10 BeurkG — 'die Person der Beteiligten so genau bezeichnet werden, daß Zweifel und Verwechslungen ausgeschlossen sind'", "classification": "pii" }, { "name": "founderResidentialAddress", "label": "Founder's residential address", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "Recorded for the same notarial-identification reason as founderDateOfBirth.", "sourceRef": "§ 10 BeurkG — party-identification requirement", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 300 }, "classification": "pii" }, { "name": "founderMaritalStatus", "label": "Founder's marital/civil-partnership status", "type": "enum", "required": true, "description": "The template's footnote 2 requires the notary to note the founder's Güterstand (marital property regime) and, where relevant, the consenting spouse's/civil partner's signature. Gates spousalConsentObtained.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, footnote 2 — 'Hier sind ... ggf. der Güterstand und die Zustimmung der Ehegattin bzw. des Ehegatten ... zu vermerken'", "validation": { "enum": ["unmarried", "married_or_civil_partnership_community_of_accrued_gains", "married_or_civil_partnership_other_property_regime", "divorced", "widowed"] }, "classification": "sensitive-pii" }, { "name": "spousalConsentObtained", "label": "Consenting spouse's/civil partner's signature obtained", "type": "boolean", "required": false, "description": "Only legally necessary when the founder is married or in a civil partnership under the default community-of-accrued-gains regime (Zugewinngemeinschaft) AND contributing the share capital would dispose of substantially all of their assets (§ 1365 BGB); the notary makes this determination case by case at the appointment, so this field is modeled as an optional attestation rather than an enforced requirement pending live-notary confirmation for a given case.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, footnote 2 — spousal consent notation; § 1365 BGB (whole-assets disposal rule, cited by secondary practitioner guidance, not itself part of the GmbHG template text)" }, { "name": "directorFullName", "label": "Managing director's (Geschäftsführer) full name", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "This document scopes to a single managing director — the maximum the Musterprotokoll permits — often (but not necessarily) the same natural person as founderFullName; modeled independently since the underlying template does.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §4 — 'Zur Geschäftsführerin bzw. zum Geschäftsführer der Gesellschaft wird Herr/Frau _____ ... bestellt'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 200 }, "classification": "pii" }, { "name": "directorDateOfBirth", "label": "Managing director's date of birth", "type": "date", "required": true, "description": "Printed directly on the template.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §4 — 'geboren am _____'", "classification": "pii" }, { "name": "directorResidentialAddress", "label": "Managing director's residential address", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "Printed directly on the template.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §4 — 'wohnhaft in _____'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 300 }, "classification": "pii" }, { "name": "representationAuthority", "label": "Scope of the managing director's representative authority", "type": "enum", "required": true, "description": "The Handelsregister application must separately state the type and scope of the managing directors' power of representation. Because this document scopes to exactly one managing director (the Musterprotokoll's own limit), that director always holds sole (rather than joint) representative authority — the only value this document supports.", "sourceRef": "§ 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG — 'Art und Umfang der Vertretungsbefugnis'", "validation": { "enum": ["sole_representation"] } }, { "name": "section181BgbExemptionGranted", "label": "Managing director exempted from § 181 BGB self-dealing restriction", "type": "boolean", "required": true, "description": "Without this exemption a sole managing director cannot validly sign contracts on the company's behalf with themself (e.g. as its sole shareholder) or as representative of a third party at the same time — a routine constraint for a single-founder/single-director GmbH/UG, and a standard election recorded on the Handelsregister application alongside representationAuthority.", "sourceRef": "§ 181 BGB (self-dealing restriction, cross-referenced by standard Handelsregisteranmeldung practice for the scope of Vertretungsbefugnis under § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG)" }, { "name": "directorEligibilityAffirmationConfirmed", "label": "Affirmation: no grounds disqualifying the managing director from appointment", "type": "boolean", "required": true, "fieldRole": "eligibility", "eligibleValues": [true], "description": "The managing director must affirm to the register that none of the disqualifying grounds in § 6 Abs. 2 GmbHG apply to them (e.g. certain insolvency-related or financial-crime convictions, or a court/administrative order barring them from managing a business), and that they have been instructed of their unlimited duty to disclose information to the court.", "sourceRef": "§ 8 Abs. 3 GmbHG — managing directors' affirmation regarding § 6 Abs. 2 disqualifying grounds and their unlimited disclosure duty" }, { "name": "capitalContributionAffirmationConfirmed", "label": "Affirmation: capital contributions made and at the managing director's free disposal", "type": "boolean", "required": true, "fieldRole": "eligibility", "eligibleValues": [true], "description": "The managing director must affirm that the payments required under § 7 Abs. 2/3 GmbHG (see capitalPaymentMode) have been made and that the contributed funds are finally at the managing director's free disposal.", "sourceRef": "§ 8 Abs. 2 GmbHG — 'die Versicherung, daß die ... bezeichneten Leistungen [§7 Abs.2/3] bewirkt sind und daß der Gegenstand der Leistungen sich endgültig in der freien Verfügung der Geschäftsführer befindet'" }, { "name": "domesticBusinessAddressStreet", "label": "Domestic business address (Geschäftsanschrift) — street and number", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "A German business address the company can be reached at, distinct from registeredSeat (which is only a municipality name); mandatory on the Handelsregister application.", "sourceRef": "§ 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG — 'eine inländische Geschäftsanschrift'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 160 } }, { "name": "domesticBusinessAddressPostalCode", "label": "Domestic business address — postal code (PLZ)", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "German 5-digit postal code.", "sourceRef": "§ 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG — 'eine inländische Geschäftsanschrift'", "validation": { "pattern": "^[0-9]{5}$" } }, { "name": "domesticBusinessAddressCity", "label": "Domestic business address — city", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "Must be a real, deliverable German location; normally the same city as registeredSeat, but stated separately per § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG.", "sourceRef": "§ 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG — 'eine inländische Geschäftsanschrift'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 100 } }, { "name": "notaryName", "label": "Notary's name", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "The notary before whom the founder appears to execute the Musterprotokoll.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, preamble — 'erschien vor mir _____'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 200 } }, { "name": "notaryOfficialSeat", "label": "Notary's official seat (Amtssitz)", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "The municipality where the notary is officially seated.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, preamble — 'Notar/-in mit dem Amtssitz in _____'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 100 } }, { "name": "registerCourtName", "label": "Competent Registergericht (register court)", "type": "string", "required": true, "description": "The Amtsgericht (local court) responsible for the Handelsregister covering registeredSeat, e.g. 'Amtsgericht Charlottenburg (Berlin)'. The company acquires legal personality only once entered in this court's register.", "sourceRef": "§ 11 GmbHG — the company as such (as a GmbH) exists only upon entry in the Handelsregister; Anlage 1(a) Musterprotokoll §6 — 'beglaubigte Ablichtungen ... das Registergericht'", "validation": { "minLength": 1, "maxLength": 160 } }, { "name": "declarationDate", "label": "Date of notarization", "type": "date", "required": true, "description": "The date the founder appears before the notary and the deed is executed.", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, preamble — 'Heute, den _____'", "classification": "pii" } ], "documents": [ { "id": "founderIdentityDocument", "label": "Founder's identity document (passport or national ID card)", "category": "identity-document", "required": true, "belongsTo": "applicant", "sourceRef": "§ 10 BeurkG — notarial identification requirement" }, { "id": "directorIdentityDocument", "label": "Managing director's identity document (passport or national ID card)", "category": "identity-document", "required": true, "belongsTo": "applicant", "sourceRef": "§ 10 BeurkG — notarial identification requirement" }, { "id": "notarizedMusterprotokoll", "label": "Executed, notarized Musterprotokoll deed", "category": "attestation", "required": true, "belongsTo": "applicant", "issuingAuthority": "The executing notary", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, §6 — 'Von dieser Urkunde erhält eine Ausfertigung die Gesellschafterin bzw. der Gesellschafter, beglaubigte Ablichtungen die Gesellschaft und das Registergericht'" }, { "id": "spousalConsentDocument", "label": "Consenting spouse's/civil partner's signed consent", "category": "supporting-evidence", "required": false, "requiredWhen": { "field": "spousalConsentObtained", "equals": true }, "belongsTo": "applicant", "sourceRef": "Anlage 1(a) GmbHG Musterprotokoll, footnote 2 — spousal consent notation; § 1365 BGB" } ], "steps": [ { "id": "company_basics", "title": "Company type, name, and seat", "fields": ["companyType", "companyName", "registeredSeat", "businessPurpose"], "next": "share_capital" }, { "id": "share_capital", "title": "Share capital and formation costs", "fields": ["shareCapitalAmountEur", "capitalPaymentMode", "incorporationCostsCapEur"], "next": "founder" }, { "id": "founder", "title": "Founding shareholder", "fields": ["founderFullName", "founderDateOfBirth", "founderResidentialAddress", "founderMaritalStatus", "spousalConsentObtained"], "next": "managing_director" }, { "id": "managing_director", "title": "Managing director appointment and affirmations", "fields": [ "directorFullName", "directorDateOfBirth", "directorResidentialAddress", "representationAuthority", "section181BgbExemptionGranted", "directorEligibilityAffirmationConfirmed", "capitalContributionAffirmationConfirmed" ], "next": "registration_filing" }, { "id": "registration_filing", "title": "Notarization and register filing", "fields": [ "domesticBusinessAddressStreet", "domesticBusinessAddressPostalCode", "domesticBusinessAddressCity", "notaryName", "notaryOfficialSeat", "registerCourtName", "declarationDate" ] } ] }