COMPANY FORMATION AUSTRIA

In Austria the incorporation of a limited liability company (GmbH – Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) requires a notarial deed. Thus the founding shareholder/s have to legally sign the Articles of Association and the shareholder decision for the appointment of the managing director/s using the services of a notary.  In case the founding shareholder is a foreign legal entity, the power of representation of its/their managing director/s has/have to be consistently verified by a legalized and apostilled register extract.  The appointed managing director/s of the Austrian limited company then has/have to sign a sample signature and the court application for the registration of the the company with commercial courts. The notary meeting can be held in person or remotely using the WEB-ID authentication process. Please read more about each step at the sections below.

Compared to other countries, Austrian notary fees are more expensive.

We will guide you through the entire process of your limited company formation in Austria. The incorporation process requires the preparation of different paperwork which will be orchestrated by us.

  • Organization of all Appointments in connection to the formation of the limited liability company in Austria

  • Gathering all necessary paperwork

  • Overall Assistance during and after the incorporation of your Austrian company

  • All notary meetings can be done remotely using WEB-ID authentication

MINIMUM CONFIGURATION LIMITED COMPANY (GMBH)

  • company name
  • company seat
  • company activity
  • share capital
  • share capital contribution (100% or 50%)
  • at least one managing director
  • power of representation (single / joint)
  • at least one shareholder
  • fiscal year

GMBH SHARE CAPITAL OPTIONS

10K Company Formation

€10000share capital
  • at least € 5.000 (50%) have to be paid to an Austrian bank account before registration with commercial courts
  • the standard share capital amounting to €10.000 is registered from the beginning

35K Company Formation

€35000share capital
  • at least € 17.500 (50%) have to be paid to an Austrian bank account before registration with commercial courts
  • the standard share capital amounting to €35.000 is registered from the beginning

Since 2014 the minimum share capital of a limited company in Austria (GmbH) amounts to EUR 10.000. The traditional limited company with a share capital amounting to EUR 35.000 therefore ceased to exist. Still limited companies with a share capital more than EUR 10.000 can be incorporated. The privileged company consequently also ceased to exist. Those former types are now treated the same as normal EUR 10.000 companies under §9a corporate law.

Not included are third party costs such as notary fees, commercial court fees and publication fees.

If you want to get more information on the costs involved please do not hesitate to contact us!

Get more information

If you want to request more detailed information about the registration of your company in Austria please give us your contact details!

* required field

Process Company Formation

  • Arrangement of all appointments with the public notary, commercial court, bank, tax authority, chamber of commerce and the city municipality of Vienna)
  • Obtaining all necessary information in order to getting the establishment documents prepared by the public notary
  • Assisting with obtaining all necessary documents and proof for the commercial register (company register copies, legalizations, translations, Apostille, notary statements, letters of good standing)
  • Guidance before, during and after the incorporation process
  • legalized signing of the Articles of Association by the founding shareholder
  • shareholder decision for the appointment of the managing director
  • sample signature of the managing director
  • signing of the court application for the registration of the Austrian limited company (GmbH)
  • Opening of an Austrian bank account requires the legalized Articles of Association and the shareholder decision (appointment managing director)
  • Alternatively the notary can provide an escrow account. The escrow account cannot be used for operative business later on
  • Transfer of the share capital EUR 35.000 / 10.000 or 50% thereof EUR 17.500 / 5.000
  • Filing of the incorporation documents with commercial courts for the registration with the company register
  • The registration of the company takes between 2-10 days. Currently due to the new digitalized filing system registration take 2-3 days.
  • Application of the business license / Appointment of a so called “trade director”. In Austria all operative activities require a business license / trade license. Holding and Investment company not necessarily need such a license.
  • Tax incorporation of the company. Every Austrian limited company (GmbH) needs to register for a tax number. Operative companies can also apply for a VAT number (Value Added Tax Number).