Publication in the Moniteur belge: role, procedure and costs

Key takeaways

• The Moniteur belge is Belgium's official gazette; company acts appear in its annexes.
• Publication makes the act enforceable against third parties (art. 2:18 of the Companies and Associations Code).
• The company acquires legal personality when the extract is filed at the registry, even before appearance.
• Incorporating a company costs 286,17 € incl. VAT electronically, an amendment 207,76 € incl. VAT (2026 tariffs).

Incorporating a company or amending its articles only becomes fully enforceable once the act appears in the official gazette. Publication in the Moniteur belge is that step: the act is filed at the registry of the enterprise court, then forwarded for appearance in the annexes to the Moniteur belge, where anyone can consult it. Since 1 March 2026, publishing the incorporation of a company costs 286,17 € incl. VAT for an electronic filing. This article details the role of this publication, the acts concerned, the step-by-step procedure, the deadlines and the fees.

The Moniteur belge, official gazette of company acts

The Moniteur belge (Belgisch Staatsblad in Dutch) is Belgium's official gazette. It publishes laws, royal decrees, official appointments and much of the country's legally relevant information. For businesses, it is the "annexes to the Moniteur belge" section that matters: this is where the acts of legal persons, companies as well as associations, appear.

Publishing a company act in these annexes means bringing it to the public's knowledge. Anyone can then freely consult a company's incorporation, the identity of its managers or the address of its registered office. This transparency is the foundation of Belgian company law: a third party dealing with a company must be able to check who binds it and under which rules.

What publication makes enforceable

Publication is not a mere administrative formality: it conditions the enforceability of the act. As long as an act whose publication is mandatory has not appeared, you cannot invoke it against a third party in good faith.

Two moments stand apart. First, the company acquires legal personality on the day the extract of its deed of incorporation is filed at the registry of the enterprise court (art. 2:6 of the Companies and Associations Code). Then, the act becomes enforceable against third parties from its publication in the annexes to the Moniteur belge (art. 2:18 of the same code), unless the third party already knew of it.

The company acts to publish in the Moniteur belge

Publication accompanies the company throughout its life, not only at its birth. The list of particulars to publish for a company is set out in article 2:14 of the Companies and Associations Code.

The main acts subject to publication

• Incorporation of the company

  As an extract of the articles of association: name, legal form, registered office, purpose, contributions, directors or managers.

• Statutory amendments

  Change of name, purpose, capital or contributions, transfer of the registered office recorded in the articles.

• Appointment and termination of office

  Appointment or departure of directors, managers and other persons authorised to bind the company.

• Dissolution and liquidation

  Decision to dissolve, appointment of the liquidator, closure of the liquidation.

• Restructuring operations

  Merger, demerger, conversion of the legal form, contribution of a branch of activity.

For an extract of the articles at incorporation, only the essential particulars are published, not the entire notarial deed. The full coordinated text of the articles remains filed at the registry and available for consultation.

The publication procedure, step by step

For most companies (SRL, SA), the deed of incorporation is executed before a notary, who then handles the filing and publication. When the act can be executed under private signature (simple company, certain associations), the founder files it themselves via the e-greffe application. This step naturally fits into the process of creating your company.

1. 1

   Execute or draft the deed of incorporation

   Step 1

   The deed of an SRL or an SA is notarial; some forms are incorporated by private deed.

2. 2

   File the extract at the registry

   Step 2

   The notary (via e-filing) or the founder (via e-greffe) files the extract of the act at the registry of the enterprise court.

3. 3

   Acquire legal personality

   Filing day

   The company legally exists on the day the extract is filed at the registry (art. 2:6 of the Companies and Associations Code).

4. 4

   Forward to the Moniteur belge

   2 working days

   After the filing is accepted, the registry has two working days to forward the act to the Moniteur belge.

5. 5

   Appear in the annexes

   Publication

   The act is published in the annexes to the Moniteur belge and becomes enforceable against third parties.

The publication fees are settled at the time of filing: by the notary when they file the act, or online by the founder when filing via e-greffe.

How much a publication in the Moniteur belge costs

The publication fees are set by royal decree and reindexed every year on 1 March. They depend on the type of act and the filing method, electronic filing being cheaper than paper. The amounts below apply to legal forms classified as enterprises, from 1 March 2026.

These fees only cover the publication in the Moniteur belge. For a company incorporated by notarial deed, they are added to the notary's fees and to any fees of an approved enterprise counter for CBE registration. Associations benefit from a reduced tariff: incorporating an ASBL by electronic filing costs 177,27 € incl. VAT.

Create your company without getting lost in the formalities

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Going further

• Setting up an SRL in Belgium: the essential steps, where publication in the Moniteur belge closes the incorporation process.
• Transfer of the registered office in Belgium: procedure and formalities, for the most frequent statutory amendment.
• The official publication tariffs of the Moniteur belge on the e-Justice portal.