Registry entry

Netherlands Private Limited Company Formation (Besloten Vennootschap, BV)

Form a Dutch private limited company — a besloten vennootschap (BV) — by notarial deed of incorporation and registration in the Business Register (Handelsregister), on behalf of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel, KVK). This is the Dutch analogue to gb/companies-house/company-incorporation-in01, ie/cro/company-incorporation, ca/on/registration/business-incorporation, us/ca/sos/business-entity-llc-formation, au/asic/proprietary-company-registration, de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll, and fr/inpi/sasu-or-eurl-formation, distinct from nl/kvk/sole-proprietorship-registration-eenmanszaak (which covers only the one-owner eenmanszaak, not a legal entity with separate legal personality). A BV must be incorporated by a notarial deed (oprichtingsakte) before a civil-law notary (§ 2:175 Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 2, BW2); the deed and its annexed articles of association (statuten) are then filed with KVK, which enters the BV in the Handelsregister — the BV acquires legal personality on execution of the deed (§ 2:175 lid 2 BW2), but third parties acting on its behalf before Handelsregister registration remain personally liable until the company ratifies their acts (§ 2:203 BW2). Scoped to the simplest case: a single founder who is also the BV's sole shareholder and sole managing director (bestuurder), mirroring the single-founder scope already used for de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll. Out of scope: multi-founder/multi-shareholder incorporations, a monistic board (one-tier board with executive and non-executive directors, only relevant once a BV has more than one bestuurder), a supervisory board (raad van commissarissen), non-cash (in-kind) capital contributions, a naamloze vennootschap (NV, the public-company sibling also covered by KVK Formulier 3), and the separate post-incorporation UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) filing in KVK's UBO-register (KVK Formulier 30) and Belastingdienst tax registration, neither of which this document models. It does not submit anything or imply government endorsement.

Registry entry

nl/kvk/bv-formation

Jurisdiction
Netherlands · national
Version
1.0.0
Verification
draft
Authority
Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, via a Dutch civil-law notary

Authoritative source KVK Formulier 3 ('Besloten vennootschap of naamloze vennootschap inschrijven', March 2026 edition) and KVK Formulier 11 ('Functionarissen van een rechtspersoon inschrijven', December 2025 edition); Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 2, Titel 5, §§ 2:175, 2:178, 2:186, 2:191, 2:203

Machine access

Schema document
registry/nl/kvk/bv-formation/1.0.0/schema.jsonapplication/schema+json
Verification record
registry/nl/kvk/bv-formation/1.0.0/VERIFICATION.mdtext/markdown
Registry catalog
registry/index.jsonone record per schema id

Field reference

61 fields across 7 steps, read from the published schema.json, with names, types, requiredness, and validation as the document states them. The live government form remains the authoritative source.

Start or continue

  • registrationType enum required

    Determines which start-date and prior-business fields apply. 'Continuing' means an existing business or establishment is taken over (e.g. by purchase) and carried on as a BV, distinct from incorporating one from scratch.

    enum: new_bv | continuing_existing_business
  • startDate date optional

    Usually the date the BV begins helping customers, though earlier registration is sometimes necessary (e.g. to request quotes).

  • existingBusinessName string optional

    Name of the existing business or establishment being taken over

    length: 1–200
  • existingBusinessLocation string optional

    Location of the existing business or establishment being taken over

    length: 1–100
  • existingBusinessKvkNumber string optional

    KVK number of the existing business or establishment

    patternlength: 8–8
  • continuationDate date optional

    The date on the signed takeover contract, when the BV takes over the business or establishment.

  • originalEstablishmentDate date optional

    If unknown, KVK enters it instead, so this field is never required even on the continuation path.

Name, seat, and capital of the BV

  • companyName string required

    Copied from the statuten (articles of association) annexed to the notarial deed of incorporation, including the mandatory 'B.V.' legal-form suffix.

    length: 1–200
  • registeredSeat string required

    The Dutch municipality that is the BV's statutory seat, copied from the articles of association. Distinct from the visiting address (businessVisitingAddress).

    length: 1–100
  • incorporationDeedDate date required

    The date the notary executes the deed. The BV acquires legal personality on this date (§ 2:175 lid 2 BW2).

    classification: pii
  • effectiveDate date optional

    Date of effect, if different from the deed date

  • issuedCapitalAmount number required

    Since the 2012 Flex-BV reform there is no statutory minimum issued-capital amount for a BV (unlike the pre-2012 requirement of EUR 18,000); the amount is fixed only by the articles of association.

    range: 0.01–∞
  • issuedCapitalCurrency string required

    Currency of the issued capital

    pattern
  • paidUpCapitalAmount number required

    Must be paid up in full before or at incorporation for a cash contribution; may be as low as one eurocent under the Flex-BV regime.

    range: 0.01–∞
  • paidUpCapitalCurrency string required

    Currency of the paid-up capital

    pattern

Trade names and activities of the BV

  • primaryTradeName string required

    The trade name (handelsnaam) the BV uses to do business, written first if there is more than one.

    length: 1–200
  • hasAdditionalTradeNames boolean required

    Does the BV have more than one trade name?

  • additionalTradeNames string optional

    Additional trade names

    length: 0–500
  • businessActivities string required

    Description of the BV's current activities, products, and services — not planned future activities. KVK uses this to assign one or more SBI (Standard Industrial Classification) codes.

    length: 1–1000
  • mainBusinessActivity string required

    Main activity of the BV

    length: 1–500
  • sellsToConsumersRetail boolean required

    Does the BV sell products to consumers (retail)?

  • retailInShop boolean optional

    Sells in a shop

  • retailAtMarket boolean optional

    Sells at a market

  • retailViaStreetTrading boolean optional

    Sells via street trading

  • retailViaInternet boolean optional

    Sells via the internet

  • retailFromHome boolean optional

    Sells from home

  • retailOtherChannel boolean optional

    Sells via another channel not listed

  • retailOtherChannelDescription string optional

    Description of the other sales channel

    length: 0–200
  • sellsWholesale boolean required

    Does the BV sell products to other businesses or legal entities (wholesale)?

  • importsGoods boolean required

    Does the BV import products from abroad?

  • exportsGoods boolean required

    Does the BV export products abroad?

Address, contact details, and staff

  • businessVisitingAddress string required

    The address of the BV's principal establishment. Cannot be a PO Box. If not the same as a director's home address, proof of the right to use the address (e.g. rental agreement, proof of ownership, or a declaration of consent) may be required.

    length: 1–200
  • hasDifferentPostalAddress boolean required

    Is the postal address different from the visiting address?

  • businessPostalAddress string optional

    May be a PO Box address, unlike the visiting address.

    length: 1–200
  • businessPhoneNumber1 string required

    Not published in the Business Register.

    length: 1–20classification: pii
  • businessPhoneNumber2 string optional

    Telephone number 2

    length: 0–20classification: pii
  • businessWebsiteUrl string optional

    Website (URL)

    length: 0–200
  • businessEmailAddress string required

    Business email address

    length: 1–100
  • employeeCount15PlusHoursPerWeek integer required

    Includes directors, employees, hired and temporary workers, and other persons (e.g. family members) working at the principal establishment.

    range: 0–∞
  • employeeCountUnder15HoursPerWeek integer required

    Number of people who work less than 15 hours per week

    range: 0–∞

Advertising and hiring-out-employees declarations

  • allowMarketingUseOfAddress boolean required

    If declined, KVK records on the Business Register extract that sellers may not use the BV's address for marketing purposes.

  • hiresOutEmployeesForPayment boolean required

    Triggers a notification obligation under the Wet Waadi (Wet allocatie arbeidskrachten door intermediairs). Answer 'no' if hiring out employees is itself one of the BV's activities (e.g. a staffing agency) — that case is described under businessActivities instead.

Managing director (bestuurder) and sole shareholder

  • directorLastName string required

    This document scopes to a single managing director, who is also the sole founder and sole shareholder.

    length: 1–100classification: pii
  • directorFirstNames string required

    Managing director — first name(s)

    length: 1–100classification: pii
  • directorCitizenServiceNumber string optional

    Found on a Dutch passport, ID card, or driving licence. Left blank if the director has no BSN.

    patternlength: 8–9classification: pii
  • directorDateOfBirth date required

    Managing director — date of birth

    classification: pii
  • directorPlaceOfBirth string required

    Managing director — place of birth

    length: 1–100classification: pii
  • directorCountryOfBirth string required

    Managing director — country of birth

    length: 1–100classification: pii
  • directorGender enum required

    Managing director — gender

    enum: male | female | otherclassification: pii
  • directorHomeAddress string required

    Managing director — home address

    length: 1–200classification: pii
  • directorResidesOutsideNetherlands boolean required

    Gates the proof-of-address document requirement. A director resident in the Netherlands must instead have the correct address registered in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP) before this form can be processed.

  • directorIsSoleShareholder boolean required

    This document scopes only to the single-founder case where the managing director and the sole shareholder are the same person, matching the scoping already used for de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll.

  • soleShareholderSinceDate date optional

    Sole shareholder since

  • directorAuthorityType enum required

    Constrained to sole authority (alleen bevoegd): with exactly one managing director (this document's scope), joint authority (gezamenlijk bevoegd, requiring a co-signing officer) or no authority (niet bevoegd) do not apply.

    enum: alleen_bevoegd
  • directorHasTitle boolean required

    A title may be described in the articles of association or set on appointment; a director or commissioner need not have one.

  • directorTitle string optional

    Managing director's title

    length: 0–100
  • directorStartDate date required

    May be in the future.

Signing this filing

  • signerLastNameAndInitials string required

    Only a managing director of the BV or a notary may sign the registration filing. By signing, the signer declares that all information entered is correct and that they are authorised to sign on behalf of the BV.

    length: 1–100classification: pii
  • signerEmail string required

    Signer — email address

    length: 1–100classification: pii
  • signerPhoneNumber string required

    Signer — telephone number

    length: 1–20classification: pii
  • signingDate date required

    Signing date

Verification record

This file is the source-review record for this document version, per the manual-source-review-v1 practice.

Current claim

  • status: draft
  • verification.method: manual-source-review-v1
  • verification.lastVerifiedAt: 2026-07-05

Sources examined

What was confirmed against the source

| Source element | Field(s) | |---|---| | Formulier 3, §1.1: start/continue choice and dates | registrationType, startDate, existingBusinessName, existingBusinessLocation, existingBusinessKvkNumber, continuationDate, originalEstablishmentDate | | Formulier 3, §2.1: name, seat, deed date, effective date | companyName, registeredSeat, incorporationDeedDate, effectiveDate | | Formulier 3, §3.1-3.2: issued/paid-up capital of the bv | issuedCapitalAmount, issuedCapitalCurrency, paidUpCapitalAmount, paidUpCapitalCurrency | | Formulier 3, §5.1: trade name(s) | primaryTradeName, hasAdditionalTradeNames, additionalTradeNames | | Formulier 3, §5.2-5.3: activities | businessActivities, mainBusinessActivity | | Formulier 3, §5.4: retail/consumer sales and channels | sellsToConsumersRetail, retailInShop, retailAtMarket, retailViaStreetTrading, retailViaInternet, retailFromHome, retailOtherChannel, retailOtherChannelDescription | | Formulier 3, §5.5-5.7: wholesale/import/export | sellsWholesale, importsGoods, exportsGoods | | Formulier 3, §5.8-5.9: visiting/postal address | businessVisitingAddress, hasDifferentPostalAddress, businessPostalAddress | | Formulier 3, §5.10: contact details | businessPhoneNumber1, businessPhoneNumber2, businessWebsiteUrl, businessEmailAddress | | Formulier 3, §5.11: staff numbers | employeeCount15PlusHoursPerWeek, employeeCountUnder15HoursPerWeek | | Formulier 3, §6.1: advertising/marketing preference | allowMarketingUseOfAddress | | Formulier 3, §7.1: Waadi Act hiring-out-employees notification | hiresOutEmployeesForPayment | | Formulier 3, §8: signing, accepted identity-document types | signerLastNameAndInitials, signerEmail, signerPhoneNumber, signingDate, documents[].signerIdentityDocument, documents[].signerHandwrittenSignature | | Formulier 11, §3.1: functionaris (natural person) identity/address | directorLastName, directorFirstNames, directorCitizenServiceNumber, directorDateOfBirth, directorPlaceOfBirth, directorCountryOfBirth, directorGender, directorHomeAddress, directorResidesOutsideNetherlands, documents[].directorForeignAddressProof | | Formulier 11, §3.2-3.3: role (bestuurder) and enig-aandeelhouder status | directorIsSoleShareholder, soleShareholderSinceDate, documents[].soleShareholderProof | | Formulier 11, §3.4: bevoegdheid | directorAuthorityType | | Formulier 11, §3.5: title | directorHasTitle, directorTitle | | Formulier 11, §3.6: start date and identity/signature | directorStartDate, documents[].directorIdentityDocument, documents[].directorHandwrittenSignature | | Formulier 3, Uitleg 2: statuten must be attached | documents[].articlesOfAssociation | | § 2:175 BW2: incorporation by notarial deed | documents[].notarialDeedOfIncorporation, incorporationDeedDate description |

What is NOT independently confirmed / out of scope

  • No PDF-level required flags. Every AcroForm annotation on both PDFs was programmatically checked (page.getAnnotations()[].fieldFlags, bit 2 / value 2, the PDF Required flag): none of Formulier 3's 131 fields or Formulier 11's 157 fields set the PDF's own Required bit — the identical pattern already documented for nl/kvk/sole-proprietorship-registration-eenmanszaak. This document's required: true/requiredWhen assignments are therefore derived from the forms' own prose instructions ("Wat zijn de gegevens van...", section numbering implying mandatory disclosure) and standard registration necessity, not a confirmed submission-time gate.
  • Monistic board model (monistisch bestuursmodel) and executive / non-executive bestuurder split. Formulier 11 §3.2 asks this only when more than one bestuurder exists; out of scope by this document's single-director scoping (see Scope notes below), so directorAuthorityType is constrained to the single value alleen_bevoegd rather than reproducing the form's full niet/alleen/gezamenlijk bevoegd enum.
  • Personenvennootschap or rechtspersoon as functionaris (Formulier 11 §5-§6, a partnership or legal entity acting as director) — out of scope; this document models only a natural-person managing director.
  • Second natural-person functionaris (Formulier 11 §4, e.g. a second director or commissaris) — out of scope by the single-director scoping.
  • NV (naamloze vennootschap). Formulier 3 covers both bv and nv on the same form (§1.1 offers both as siblings, and §4 is nv-only capital fields); this document models the bv branch only. The nv-only fields (oprichtingskosten, maatschappelijk kapitaal, unpaid-share apportionment) are not reproduced.
  • UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) registration. KVK's own guidance states a BV's UBOs must separately be entered in the UBO-register using KVK Formulier 30 ("UBO van bv, nv, SE of SCE inschrijven") — mandatory before KVK will register the BV at all, per the "Starten met een bv" overview page. This is a distinct filing with its own field set (identity documents, nature-of-interest evidence, percentage-of-interest banding) not sourced or modelled in this document; a natural sibling candidate for a future research cycle, matching how de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll also does not model Germany's equivalent Transparenzregister filing.
  • Belastingdienst (Tax Administration) post-registration steps (VAT/ turnover-tax number issuance) — out of scope, a downstream consequence of registration rather than part of the registration filing itself.
  • In-person KVK appointment / notarial appointment logistics. Not modelled as a field or step; this document's scope ends at preparing the filing's answers.
  • Address decomposition. businessVisitingAddress, businessPostalAddress, and directorHomeAddress are modelled as single free-text strings, matching each PDF's own single free-text address box rather than a decomposed street/number/postal-code/city object — the same convention nl/kvk/sole-proprietorship-registration-eenmanszaak uses for the identical box style.
  • Address shielding (afscherming). Unlike nl/kvk/sole-proprietorship-registration-eenmanszaak's Form 1 §2.10 (an explicit "shield the visiting address?" checkbox), Formulier 3's extracted text mentions afscherming only in its explanatory ("Uitleg") prose, with no corresponding checkbox question in the numbered form itself — so no shieldVisitingAddress-equivalent field is modelled here; this asymmetry between the two sibling KVK forms is intentional, not an oversight, and should be re-checked against a live filing before a verified claim.

Scope and jurisdiction notes

  • Identified as the open sibling gap flagged by the GOV-1136 research cycle that authored de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll: nl/kvk/sole-proprietorship-registration-eenmanszaak covers only the one-owner sole-trader form, not a true limited-liability company (the "LLC" analogue this registry already has for GB, IE, CA/ON, NZ, IN, US-CA/ FL, AU, DE, and FR).
  • Scoped to the single-founder/single-shareholder/single-managing-director case, the same narrowing de/handelsregister/gmbh-formation-musterprotokoll applies to Germany's GmbH — the natural first cut for a jurisdiction's first true-LLC schema, deferring the multi-founder/monistic-board variant (Formulier 11 §4-§6) to a future version.
  • Conditional flow is expressed with requiredWhen/visibleWhen (GSP-0013) throughout; no branch in this document's scope disqualifies the applicant, so no transitions/exitReason construct is used, the same choice nl/kvk/sole-proprietorship-registration-eenmanszaak made for the identical reason.
  • sg/acra/private-limited-company-incorporation remains the last open candidate in this pair of sibling gaps (Singapore's Pte. Ltd. incorporation); not authored this cycle.

Path to a verified claim (next step)

To advance to status: verified, a reviewer completes an actual notarial BV incorporation (or has independent confirmation from someone who has) with a mock/test scenario, confirming: the exact requiredness KVK enforces when Formulier 3 and Formulier 11 are filed together, whether shieldVisitingAddress genuinely has no bv/nv equivalent (see above), and whether notaris.nl's "entirely digital" incorporation path exposes any field this document's paper-form sourcing does not — and records the outcome here, shipping a new schema version if discrepancies are found (VERSIONING.md §3, immutability).

Test run

A mock conformance/nl/kvk/bv-formation/1.0.0/application-packet.json scenario (Bram Hendriks, a single-founder Rotterdam management-consultancy BV, wholesale-only, EUR 0.01 nominal paid-up capital under the post-Flex-BV regime) was checked with a from-scratch script re-implementing this document's own required/requiredWhen/visibleWhen condition grammar (GSP-0013). Result: 0 errors across all 61 fields (43 collected, 18 correctly marked not-applicable). Two mutation tests confirmed the condition grammar fires correctly in both directions: (1) flipping registrationType to continuing_existing_business without adding the continuation-branch fields correctly raised 4 missing-required-field errors (existingBusinessName, existingBusinessLocation, existingBusinessKvkNumber, continuationDate); (2) dropping soleShareholderSinceDate from the collected values while directorIsSoleShareholder remained true correctly raised 1 missing-required-field error. The schema was also validated against the GovSchema v0.3 meta-schema with tools/validate-ajv.mjs (pass).

Re-verification

Per the practice's Cadence, nextReviewBy is set to 2027-01-05 (6 months).

View the raw record (VERIFICATION.md)

Version history

  • 1.0.0 draft latest this page has verification record schema.json

Independent and non-affiliated

GovSchema is an independent, open-source project. This reference is not produced, reviewed, or endorsed by Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, via a Dutch civil-law notary or any government. The authoritative source is always the live government form and its official instructions.