Starting a Business · Italy
How to start a business in Italy as a foreigner (2026)
Italy shaded by its starting a business status
Starting a business in Italy as a foreigner: moderate.
FrameworkItalian Civil Code (Art. 2463 et seq. for SRL; Art. 2463-bis for simplified SRL/SRLS), Companies Register (Registro delle Imprese) at the Chamber of Commerce, Single Business Communication (ComUnica) via impresainungiorno.gov.it; EU freedom of establishment for EU/EEA nationals and reciprocity principle for non-EU nationals
Italy has a well-defined but notarially mediated company-formation regime: the standard vehicle (SRL) requires a notarial public deed, a 25% paid-in capital deposit on a €10,000 nominal (100% if single-member), and filing with the Registro delle Imprese via ComUnica. EU/EEA citizens enjoy full freedom of establishment with no residency or local-director requirement, whereas non-EU founders must satisfy the Italian reciprocity principle and generally hold a valid residence permit or qualifying visa, making the process straightforward but not frictionless.
Key points
EU/EEA nationals have unrestricted freedom of establishment and can incorporate without a residence permit. Non-EU founders are admitted subject to the reciprocity principle (an Italian investor must be able to do the equivalent in the founder's home state) or an applicable bilateral investment treaty, and typically need a valid residence permit or self-employment/startup visa.
Standard SRL nominal capital is €10,000, of which at least 25% must be paid in at incorporation (100% if there is a single shareholder). A simplified SRL (SRLS, Art. 2463-bis CC) can be incorporated with capital between €1 and €9,999, but is reserved to natural persons — foreign corporate shareholders cannot use it.
All SRL and SpA incorporations must be executed by Italian public notarial deed (atto costitutivo and statuto); the notary verifies legality and files with the Registro delle Imprese within 10 days, after which the company acquires legal personality.
ComUnica, administered via impresainungiorno.gov.it, consolidates registration with the Chamber of Commerce Business Register, the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate — codice fiscale and VAT number / Partita IVA), INPS (social security) and INAIL (workers' insurance) into a single electronic filing, with administrative fees typically €18–€90.
Core steps: (1) obtain an Italian codice fiscale for each founder/director; (2) draft articles and bylaws and (if signing abroad) prepare an apostilled, translated power of attorney; (3) deposit share capital with an Italian bank; (4) execute the notarial deed; (5) notary files with the Registro delle Imprese; (6) ComUnica filing delivers VAT number and INPS/INAIL registrations; municipal SCIA where required to start operations.
A straightforward SRL incorporation in Italy generally takes 5–15 working days from notarial deed to Business Register entry; for non-resident foreign founders, overall timing more realistically runs 4–8 weeks because of bank-account KYC, document legalisation/apostille and certified translations.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The Ministry of Enterprise (MIMIT) published a circular clarifying the post-reform requirements for registering and remaining in the special section of the Business Register for innovative startups, including the new size limits and the ban on consulting/agency activity. It tells founders exactly how the 2024 reform is applied in practice.
MIMIT (Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy) ↗The Legge annuale per il mercato e la concorrenza tightened the definition of innovative startup (must be an SME, no consulting/agency purpose, max €5M output) and cut the base time in the special register from 5 to 3 years, extendable up to 5-9 years for scale-ups. It significantly reshapes the incentive regime that drove much of Italy's recent business formation.
MIMIT ↗Italy transposed EU Directive 2019/1151, allowing ordinary and simplified limited liability companies to be incorporated fully online via videoconference on the National Notarial Council's platform (cash contributions only). It was the first move toward digital company formation, though a notary remains mandatory.
Normattiva (Official Gazette portal) ↗The decree allowed the ordinary SRL to be formed with capital as low as €1 (below the historic €10,000 floor), abolished the short-lived 'SRL a capitale ridotto', and removed the under-35 age cap on the simplified SRL (SRLs), broadening low-capital company formation to everyone.
Gazzetta Ufficiale ↗The conversion of Decree-Law 179/2012 (Decreto Crescita 2.0) created the innovative-startup status, granting registration-fee and stamp-duty exemptions, flexible corporate rules, equity crowdfunding, labor flexibility and investment tax incentives. It became the cornerstone of Italy's pro-entrepreneurship policy.
MIMIT ↗Ministry of Justice Decree 138/2012 set the mandatory standard statute template for the simplified limited liability company, making notary incorporation of an SRLs cheap and largely fee-free. It operationalized the new €1-capital company introduced months earlier.
Gazzetta Ufficiale ↗The Segnalazione Certificata di Inizio Attività (introduced via Decree-Law 78/2010, converted by Law 122/2010) lets most businesses begin operating immediately upon filing a certified notice, replacing prior licenses and permits whose grant depended only on verifying legal requirements. It eliminated weeks or months of waiting to start trading.
impresainungiorno.gov.it (Govt One-Stop Shop) ↗From this date all registration formalities, Business Register, Revenue Agency (VAT/Partita IVA), INPS and INAIL, are handled through one electronic filing, enabling a business to be started in a single day. It unified previously separate bureaucratic steps into one digital procedure.
impresainungiorno.gov.it (Govt One-Stop Shop) ↗The organic reform of company law gave the limited liability company its own autonomous, flexible regime (greater statutory freedom, member-tailored governance) instead of borrowing rules from the joint-stock company. It made the SRL the practical default vehicle for small and medium Italian businesses.
Parlamento Italiano ↗The 1942 Italian Civil Code introduced the società a responsabilità limitata as a capital company sitting between partnerships and joint-stock companies, with members liable only up to their contributions. It established the legal foundation on which all later business-formation reforms were built.
Gazzetta Ufficiale ↗Italy - other topics
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