Starting a Business · Germany
Starting a business in Germany: foreigner's guide (2026)
Germany shaded by its starting a business status
Germany is fully open to foreign ownership — there are no general nationality or ownership limits, and a non-resident can own 100% of a German company. However, formation is procedurally demanding: mandatory notarization of the articles, entry in the Commercial Register, GmbH minimum share capital of €25,000 (half paid up before filing), plus trade-office and tax-office registrations, with a typical timeline of several weeks. Non-EU/EEA nationals who want to actively run the business additionally need a Section 21 residence permit, which adds significant time.
Key points
Germany imposes no general restriction on foreign ownership of companies; a non-resident or foreign entity may hold 100% of a German GmbH. Acquisitions are only reviewed case-by-case under FDI screening (≥25% voting rights for non-EU investors generally, ≥10% for critical infrastructure and defence/security-relevant sectors).
A GmbH (limited liability company) requires €25,000 share capital, of which at least €12,500 must be paid in before registration. The UG (haftungsbeschränkt), or 'mini-GmbH', can be founded from €1 but must retain reserves until it reaches €25,000.
The articles of association (in German) and the formation must be notarized by a German notary, who files for entry in the Commercial Register (Handelsregister) at the local district court; the company legally exists only upon registration.
Core sequence: (1) draft & notarize articles, (2) open a German business bank account and deposit capital, (3) notary files entry in the Commercial Register, (4) register the trade with the local trade office (Gewerbeanmeldung, fee ~€20–60), (5) register with the tax office via ELSTER and obtain tax/VAT numbers. Forming a GmbH typically takes several weeks.
EU/EEA/Swiss nationals enjoy freedom of establishment. Non-EU nationals who will actively manage the business generally need a residence permit for self-employment under Section 21 AufenthG, requiring a business plan demonstrating economic benefit; pure (non-managing) shareholders typically do not need a permit. This adds weeks to months.
Foreign investments are screened by the BMWE under the AWG/AWV on national-security/public-order grounds. Most sectors are not pre-notifiable, but cross-sectoral review can apply to non-EU acquisitions of ≥25% voting rights, and ≥10% for critical infrastructure and certain technologies; defence/security acquisitions ≥10% are mandatorily notifiable.
Timeline - major decisions & events
Germany's BEG IV reduced red tape for businesses, allowing text-form (digital) employment contracts and long-term commercial leases instead of wet-signature documents, easing the administrative burden of setting up and running a company.
Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette) ↗The MoPeG overhauled German partnership law for the first time in over a century, granting civil-law partnerships (GbR) statutory legal capacity and creating a voluntary public partnership register (eGbR), clarifying a major founding option for small businesses.
Deutscher Bundestag (DIP) ↗Supplementing DiRUG, the DiREG allowed online notarized formation of GmbH/UG via non-cash (in-kind) contributions and online articles-of-association amendments and capital increases, widening the scope of fully remote company formation.
Heuking ↗For the first time, founders could incorporate a cash-funded GmbH/UG entirely online through a video conference with a notary using electronic eID identification, ending the requirement of physical presence at the notary's office.
Bundesnotarkammer (Federal Chamber of Notaries) ↗The regulation mandated online access to key administrative procedures—including registering a business—across the EU, reinforcing Germany's Points of Single Contact and online trade-registration access for founders.
EUR-Lex (European Union) ↗The most sweeping GmbH reform since 1892 introduced the Unternehmergesellschaft (UG, haftungsbeschränkt) that can be founded with as little as €1 in capital, dramatically lowering the entry barrier to a limited-liability company in Germany.
IHK Region Stuttgart (Chamber of Commerce) ↗Germany pioneered the private limited liability company as a lighter-regulation alternative to the Aktiengesellschaft; the GmbH (minimum capital later set at €25,000) remains the dominant corporate form for German businesses today.
Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) ↗The North German Confederation's Trade Regulation Act enshrined the right to start and operate a business; its §14 trade-registration (Gewerbeanmeldung) requirement still governs how sole traders and businesses register today.
Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) ↗Germany - other topics
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →