With Qonto, you can complete your business registration entirely online and much faster than through traditional channels. You benefit from:

Time savings & convenience:

• Business registration, tax number, and business account — all in one place
• A straightforward online form instead of complex paper applications
• No trips to government offices — everything is handled digitally through us

Security & support:

• Automatic data validation prevents errors and follow-up queries
• Automatic identification of the relevant trade office
• Legally valid digital signature
• Personal support from our experts whenever you need it

Self-registration:

You answer all questions online, step by step. You then receive the completed registration form as a PDF by email. You can submit your business registration to the trade office in whichever way suits you — in person, by post, or online if your local office offers that option. Whether online submission is available depends on your local trade office.

With full support:

Once you've answered all the questions, we submit your registration directly on your behalf — fully digitally or, depending on your trade office's requirements, by post. Processing is handled by the trade office and usually takes just a few days; in some cities, delivery of the trade certificate by post can take up to four weeks.

With Qonto, you can complete your online business registration for free. Enter your details and we'll provide you with a completed PDF registration form ready to submit to your local trade office. At the same time, we'll take care of applying for your tax number.

With our all-inclusive service for €59, we also handle the submission of your business registration for you, so you can focus entirely on launching your business.

Please note that a fee is payable to the trade office upon registration. This is added to the €59 for our all-inclusive service.

Below are some trade offices and their fees for business registration:

• Berlin (Bezirksamt Pankow) – €15
• Munich – €60
• Hamburg-Nord – €20
• Cologne – €26
• Düsseldorf – €26
• Stuttgart – €60

At this time, we offer online business registration for sole traders only.

Incorporating without Qonto:

• Up to three months' wait for the commercial register entry
• Delays and additional costs due to formal errors
• Coordinating all appointments yourself (notary, bank, trade office, tax office, etc.)
• No available appointments at the notary or bank
• A time-consuming, bureaucratic process with a lot of paperwork

Incorporating with Qonto:

• All-in-one incorporation package from just €99
• Personal support from our experts throughout the entire process
• Commercial register entry in just a few days*
• Fully digital and transparent process
• Notary appointment within 7 days — online or in person, your choice
• We coordinate all steps with the relevant authorities
• Error-free, professional handling
• Referrals to experienced tax advisors across Germany

* Commercial register entry typically takes 1–3 weeks

In addition to your chosen incorporation package, the following costs apply:

Notary fees:

Incorporation for sole founders and small teams: approx. €200

Incorporation for companies with multiple founders: approx. €800

Note: Additional costs may apply, for example for translations (for international customers) or powers of attorney.

Government fees:

Commercial register entry: approx. €200

Business registration: €20–60 (depending on the city)

Transparency register entry: approx. €5 / year

Higher fees may apply for specific business structures requiring special permits.

Qonto business account: from €9 / month

Find out more here:

Costs of incorporating a GmbH

Costs of incorporating a UG

To incorporate your company, you will need:

1. Full names of all shareholders and managing directors
2. Home address, place of birth, date of birth, and marital status of the managing directors
3. Amount of share capital
4. Distribution of shares
5. Proposed company name(s)
6. Initial description of the company's purpose
7. Business address in Germany (required by the notary appointment at the latest)

The incorporation process with Qonto runs in four straightforward steps:

1. Choose your legal structure and draft your articles of association

Our experts guide you through the process. You can draft your articles of association online in just 10 minutes.

2. We handle the formalities

We check your company name and arrange your notary appointment — online or in person if preferred — within 7 business days.

3. Open your business account and deposit your share capital

Open your Qonto business account online, deposit your share capital, and receive your deposit confirmation.

4. We take care of the official registration

We initiate the commercial register entry and prepare your business registration.

To incorporate your GmbH or UG digitally, you can also choose to incorporate with our partner Recht 24/7 or our partner Digitale Gründung instead of incorporating with Qonto. Once you've chosen the right option, you'll be guided through the incorporation process step by step.

With Qonto, every step — from the articles of association and notary appointment to the share capital deposit — is completed within a few days: digitally, efficiently, and supported by our network of partner notaries.

The commercial register entry is the official completion of the incorporation. Until then, your company is "in formation"; once registered, it is officially incorporated. The time it takes to complete the commercial register entry depends on the relevant authorities and may vary by region.

If you have an eID, you can complete your notary appointment online via video call. Alternatively, an in-person notary appointment is also available.

Important note for international/English-speaking founders:

Most notary appointments currently take place in German. For English-speaking founders, this may result in longer waiting times, greater travel distances for in-person appointments, and additional costs at the notary and for our service. We are already working on a solution to make incorporation easier and faster for English-speaking founders in the future.

Setting up a holding company without Qonto:

• You risk waiting up to three months for commercial register entries for both the parent and subsidiary, frequent delays and additional costs due to formal errors, and having to independently coordinate all appointments with the notary, bank, trade office, and tax authority.
• Missing notary or bank appointments are not uncommon. The process is paper-heavy, complex, and prone to coordination errors between entities.

Setting up a holding company with Qonto:

• You book the holding incorporation package, receive dedicated support throughout the entire process, and benefit from a fully digital, transparent experience.
• We coordinate all steps with the relevant authorities, arrange notary appointments within seven days — online or in person — and submit the commercial register application within days.

Here's how to set up your holding company with Qonto — lean, digital, and structured:

• Define the holding structure and draft the articles of association: Our experts guide you through the specific steps for both the parent and subsidiary. You create the articles of association online in around 10 minutes — tailored to the holding, its investment purpose, and group services.
• We handle the formalities: We verify the company names of both entities, coordinate notary appointments (online or in person on request), and prepare all documents for the holding structure — typically within seven business days.
• Open business accounts and deposit share capital: Open Qonto business accounts for both the holding and the subsidiary, deposit the respective share capital (UG from €1, GmbH €25,000 — of which €12,500 is payable at incorporation), and receive your payment confirmations.
• Official registrations handled by us: We initiate the commercial register entries for both the parent and subsidiary and prepare the trade registrations — so your holding company launches on solid legal footing.

Yes, you can set up a holding company as a private individual — typically as a GmbH or UG holding that holds shares in an operating subsidiary. To do so, you'll need share capital (UG from €1, GmbH €25,000 — of which €12,500 is payable at incorporation), notarized articles of association, a commercial register entry, and tax registration.

From a financial perspective, this is most worthwhile if you hold equity stakes, reinvest profits, or plan exits. Without equity holdings and with purely freelance activity, a holding company rarely offers significant advantages over a single limited liability company.

The biggest advantage is the tax-privileged receipt of dividends and capital gains at holding level, leaving more capital available for reinvestment. You also benefit from improved liability protection and risk separation between assets and operating business.

You can ring-fence IP or real estate separately, simplify succession and investor structures, and centralize group services. For growth-oriented businesses and investment portfolios in particular, a holding company provides flexibility in structure, financing, and exit strategies.