Business establishment procedures in Germany provide entrepreneurs with legal certainty in commercial law, creating transparency and offering companies the highest level of security in their day-to-day business activities. Essential functions are fulfilled by German civil law notaries and Germany's unique commercial register.
Civil law notaries are appointed lawyers sworn to impartiality and entrusted with public functions. Depending on where the notary is appointed in Germany, they practice either as a "single profession notary" or an "attorney-notary." The number of notaries in each federal state is limited to ensure independence and impartiality. In Germany, notarization is required, among other things, to establish corporations and to file applications for entry in the commercial register. Notary fees are stipulated by law and are subject to the value of the transaction. The notary fees for a GmbH establishment depend, among other things, on the share capital. The estimated total costs for a standard GmbH are approximately EUR 900.
The public commercial register (Handelsregister) ensures legal certainty in commercial law by providing necessary information about registered companies. It is administered by the local courts (Amtsgericht). Some of the company data is also available online. This means it is relatively quick and easy to check any company's existence and power of representation. Every corporation and numerous other businesses that need to establish their operations commercially must undergo registration in the commercial register. Notably, since August 2022, there has been a substantial expansion in the availability of online procedures for submitting applications to the commercial register.
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