What are the steps to create a company in Belgium?

The typical path for a capital company runs: choose the legal form, draft a financial plan, sign the incorporation deed at the notary, file the deed at the registry to acquire legal personality, register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises through a business one-stop shop, activate VAT, then join a social insurance fund and organise the accounting.

Is a minimum capital required to create a company?

It depends on the form. The SRL and the cooperative company no longer require a legal minimum capital since the reform of the Code of Companies and Associations, but a financial plan justifying sufficient resources is required. The SA keeps a minimum capital of 61.500 €, to be fully paid up at incorporation.

How long does it take to create a company in Belgium?

For a capital company, count generally three to five weeks between preparing the file, the notary appointment and CBE registration. The timeline depends on the notary's availability, the constitution of the contributions and the completeness of your file.

Do you have to go through a notary?

For an SRL, an SA or a cooperative company, yes: the incorporation deed must be authentic, so signed before a notary. The société simple, without legal personality, is formed by a simple written contract, without a notary or capital. The choice of form therefore determines the formalism.

Is it better to start as self-employed or as a company?

The sole proprietorship is lighter and cheaper, but offers no separation between private and professional assets. The company protects the assets and can be tax-advantageous beyond a certain income, at the price of more formalism and higher costs. The right choice depends on the risk, the expected income and the project.

Creating a company in Belgium: the complete step-by-step guide

Key takeaways

Creating a company means first choosing a legal form: SRL, SA, cooperative company or société simple.
Capital companies follow a common path: financial plan, notary, registry, CBE, VAT.
The SRL, with no minimum capital, is by far the most chosen form; the SA still requires 61.500 € of capital.
Count generally three to five weeks to finalise the incorporation of a capital company.

Creating a company in Belgium is not a single act but a path that starts with a choice: which legal form to adopt, and whether to go through a company at all rather than remain self-employed. Once that is settled, capital companies follow a marked-out route, from the financial plan to registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. This guide is a starting point: it helps you choose the form, sets out the common steps, prices the costs and timelines, and links to our dedicated guides for each form to go deeper.

Self-employed or company: the first choice

Before choosing a company form, the real first question is that of status. You can operate as a sole proprietorship, as a natural person, or create a company endowed with its own legal personality.

The sole proprietorship is simple and inexpensive, but your private assets answer for the debts of the business. The company separates the assets and can become tax-attractive beyond a certain income, at the cost of more formalism. Our guides to becoming self-employed in Belgium and the sole proprietorship detail the natural-person route; the rest of this article focuses on creating a company.

Choosing your company's legal form

The choice of form determines the capital, the liability and the formalism. Four forms cover most projects.

	SRL	SA	Cooperative company	Société simple
Minimum partners	1	1	3	2
Minimum capital	None	61.500 €	None	None
Liability	Limited to contributions	Limited to contributions	Limited to contributions	Unlimited
Notarial deed
Legal personality

Indicative comparison of the main company forms under the CSA. To be confirmed with a notary for your project.

The SRL is by far the most chosen form for an SME: limited liability, no minimum capital, great flexibility. The SA targets more capital-intensive projects and keeps a minimum capital. The cooperative company suits collective projects with at least three partners, and the société simple mainly serves wealth management, without legal personality. To go deeper, see our guides setting up an SRL, setting up an SA, setting up a cooperative company and setting up a société simple, as well as the full comparison of legal forms in Belgium.

The steps to create your company

Once the form is chosen, the incorporation of a capital company follows a precise order. The société simple, on the other hand, comes down to a written contract between partners.

1
Draft the financial plan
A forecast of needs and resources over the first two financial years, mandatory for the SRL, SA and cooperative company, handed to the notary.
2
Sign the incorporation deed at the notary
The notary authenticates the articles. Cash contributions are deposited into a blocked account, contributions in kind are the subject of a report.
3
Acquire legal personality
The company exists legally when the extract of the deed is filed at the registry of the enterprise court, followed by publication in the Moniteur belge.
4
Register with the CBE
Through an accredited business one-stop shop, which assigns the enterprise number and checks any access-to-profession requirement.
5
Activate VAT and social status
VAT registration, affiliation to a social insurance fund for the directors and setting up the accounting.

Two markers structure this path. First the financial plan: it engages the founders' liability if the company goes bankrupt within three years with manifestly insufficient resources. Our guide to the financial plan details its content. Then the notary, unavoidable for a capital company, who drafts the articles and proceeds with the filing and the publication in the Moniteur belge.

How much it costs and how long it takes

The incorporation budget of a capital company adds up several items, and the total depends on the form and the complexity of the file.

partner is enough

to form an SRL or an SA

0 €

minimum capital SRL

but a financial plan is still required

3 to 5 wks

indicative timeline

from preparation to CBE registration

The main cost items are the notary's fees, the CBE registration fee (around 111,50 € per establishment unit in 2026), VAT activation and, often, the drafting of the financial plan by an accountant. The whole comes to a few hundred to a few thousand euros depending on the form and complexity. As these amounts are set by regulation or by the providers, confirm them with your notary and your accountant before starting.