Company domiciliation in Ghent: approved addresses and providers

Key takeaways

• Domiciliation in Ghent is legal provided the provider is registered with the FPS Economy (law of 29 March 2018 providing for the registration of providers of company services); operating without registration is punishable by a fine of €250 to €100,000.
• The CAC requires Dutch for the articles of association and deed of incorporation of any company whose registered office is in the Dutch-language region.
• Ghent is the capital of East Flanders Province and one of Belgium's leading technology, academic and port hubs.
• CBE registration costs approximately €111.50 per establishment unit (statutory rate indexed annually, the same throughout Belgium).
• Check the minimum duration requirements and termination conditions with the accredited business counter before signing a domiciliation contract.

Choosing Ghent for a company's registered office means anchoring its legal identity in the second-largest city of the Flemish Region by population and the capital of East Flanders Province. Company domiciliation in Ghent serves a clear purpose: gaining access to a dense business fabric, a world-class academic hub anchored by Ghent University (UGent) and a major inland and maritime port. This guide sets out what makes Ghent distinctive, recalls the legal framework that applies throughout Belgium and details the steps for registering your Ghent registered office.

Ghent, an academic, technology and port hub in East Flanders

The Ghent economy rests on three complementary pillars that give it a recognisable commercial identity.

Ghent University (UGent) is one of Belgium's largest universities, with more than 50,000 students and a network of spin-offs and research centres active in biotechnology, engineering, life sciences and digital industries. For a start-up or innovative SME, a registered office address near this ecosystem sends an immediate credibility signal to investors and technology partners.

The port of Ghent is one of the country's largest inland port infrastructures. Since the 2018 merger, it operates under the North Sea Port authority, which also manages the port of Terneuzen in the Netherlands. The Ghent-Terneuzen Maritime Canal connects Ghent directly to the North Sea and to European rail and road networks. This multimodal position attracts companies active in logistics, heavy industry, food processing and chemicals.

Ghent has also established itself as a creative and technology hub, home to tech companies, design agencies and digital-media players. This triple positioning makes a Ghent address a credible anchor signal, whether your business targets Flemish markets, international trade or the academic world.

What company domiciliation means

Every Belgian company has a registered office: the official address stated in its articles of association and registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE). This is not necessarily where you work day-to-day; it is the company's legal address, the one at which it receives official correspondence and to which it is administratively linked.

Domiciliation means establishing this statutory registered office at the address of a specialised provider rather than at your private home or in premises you rent alone. The Companies and Associations Code (CAC), which came into force on 1 May 2019, requires every company governed by Belgian law to have its statutory registered office on Belgian territory; a domiciliation address in Ghent fully satisfies this requirement. The provider makes the address available and, depending on the contract, receives and manages your mail.

To help you decide between establishing your registered office at your home or with a dedicated provider, see our guide on using a business address or your home as your registered office.

What the law says about domiciliation in Ghent

Domiciling a company is legal. Providing a registered office address to companies on a professional basis, however, has been a regulated activity since 2018.

The law of 29 March 2018 providing for the registration of providers of company services requires every domiciliation provider to register with the FPS Economy before operating. Failure to register is punishable by a fine of €250 to €100,000. In practice, once an address is chosen, the registered office is recorded with the CBE via an accredited business counter, at a rate set by royal decree and the same throughout Belgium.

A point specific to Flanders: the CAC, in its language provisions, requires that the articles of association and deed of incorporation be drafted in the language of the linguistic region where the registered office is located. As Ghent is in the Dutch-language region, your articles must be in Dutch. For French-speaking founders, this means appointing a bilingual notary for the incorporation.

Domiciling in Ghent: advantages and points to watch

From a strictly legal standpoint, a Ghent address confers the same rights and obligations as an address in Brussels, Liège or Namur. The choice comes down to image, commercial coherence and the local ecosystem.

Ghent compares naturally with Antwerp and other Flemish cities. For a broader view, read our overview of company domiciliation in Flanders, which also covers Antwerp, Leuven and the Flemish suburbs of Brussels.

Steps for domiciling your company in Ghent

The procedure is the same as elsewhere in Belgium, with the additional step of choosing a notary who works in Dutch for the company incorporation.

1. 1

   Choose a provider registered with the FPS Economy

   Step 1

   Check the provider's registration in the FPS Economy's public register before signing. An unregistered provider is not compliant and could put your registered office at risk.

2. 2

   Sign the domiciliation contract

   Step 2

   The contract formalises the provision of the Ghent address. Check the minimum duration requirements and termination conditions with the accredited business counter before signing.

3. 3

   Appoint a bilingual notary for the incorporation

   Step 3

   The deed of incorporation and articles must be drafted in Dutch. A bilingual notary (Dutch-French) makes it easier for French-speaking founders to understand the deed without departing from the language requirement.

4. 4

   Include the address in the articles in Dutch

   Step 4

   The Ghent registered office is stated in the articles drafted in Dutch and published in the Annexes to the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad).

5. 5

   Register with the CBE

   Step 5

   The address is registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises via an accredited business counter, at the statutory rate of approximately €111.50 per establishment unit.

Points to verify before signing

• The provider's registration with the FPS Economy

  The register is public; an unregistered provider is not compliant and may put your registered office at risk.

• Minimum contract duration and termination conditions

  Check the minimum duration requirements with the accredited business counter and the conditions for early exit before signing.

• The scope of services included

  Address provision, mail reception, scanning and forwarding: compare providers in Ghent on an equal-service basis.

• The language of the deed of incorporation

  Mandatory in Dutch for a registered office in the Dutch-language region under the CAC's language provisions; a bilingual notary is recommended for French-speaking founders.

If your company already exists and you want to move its registered office there, the process is different: see our guide on transferring a registered office in Belgium for the applicable procedure.

Domicile your company in Ghent

A recognised registered office address in East Flanders, with a registered provider, mail management and administrative support.

See our Flanders addressesAll our domiciliation packages

Further reading

• Company domiciliation in Flanders: rules, languages and cities in 2026: the Flemish regional framework that covers Ghent, including the Flanders-Brussels comparison
• Business address or home as your registered office: to choose between a private address and a dedicated address
• Transfer of registered office in Belgium: if your company already exists and you want to domicile it in Ghent
• The official framework for registration of providers of company services on the FPS Economy website