Thirty terms you will meet while setting up a company in Germany, each in plain English and, where there is one, with the provision it comes from, so you can look it up yourself instead of taking our word for it.
Two questions come before the vocabulary: which legal form fits, and which documents you need if you are founding from India.
A certificate under the 1961 Hague Convention confirming that a foreign public document is genuine, so a German authority will accept it. For documents from India the usual chain is notarisation, state attestation, then the apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs. Budget two to four weeks and start it before anything else.
Placing your own employee with a client who directs them and integrates them into their organisation. It requires a licence from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit. What the contract is called does not decide it, how the work is actually carried out does.
Permission to stay in Germany. A permit for self-employment has its own test: an economic interest or regional need, expected positive effects on the economy, and secured financing. The immigration office must obtain opinions from the chamber of commerce and the trade authority. Owning a German company creates no entitlement.
The body insuring employees against accidents at work. Every company must notify the competent institution within one week of starting activity, even with no employees. Registration is free; contributions arise once you employ people.
The number you need before you can register anyone for social insurance. Issued free of charge by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, usually within about three working days. Apply before the first employee starts.
A fixed place through which a business is carried on. It matters because an address used by many companies for post alone, with no rooms in regular use and nobody on site, is generally not accepted as one, which can hold up your tax number.
Where German companies file their annual accounts. Filing is compulsory for a GmbH and a UG, and failure to file is pursued by the Federal Office of Justice through administrative fine proceedings.
Economic Operators Registration and Identification, the number customs uses to identify your company. Needed for customs declarations, so for goods arriving from outside the EU. Not the same as a VAT ID, which is what you need for trade inside the EU. Issued free of charge; one per legal entity, valid EU-wide.
The authority that issues your tax number and VAT ID and collects corporation and trade tax. Registration runs through the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung, normally completed by a tax adviser.
The form through which a new company registers with the tax office. It is how you obtain the tax number and, on request, the VAT identification number.
The person who legally represents the GmbH and is registered as such. Need not be German or resident in Germany, but the absence of a German residence permit can affect banking and, in some cases, which tax office handles the company.
Where the central management of a business is actually exercised. It determines which tax office is competent, and it is why a company run entirely from abroad can find its file transferred to a central office.
The office to which court fees are paid. Its account is held at a German state bank, so the IBAN begins with DE. A demand claiming to be a court fee but naming a private payee or a foreign account is reason to stop and check against the court's published details.
The constitutive document of a GmbH, which must be notarised. Either individually drafted or, for a simple company, the statutory model protocol.
Registration of the business with the municipality where the company is based. A small fee applies and it varies by town.
Germany's standard limited company. Registered share capital of €25,000; before filing for registration, at least a quarter of each share and together at least half of the minimum capital must be paid in: § 7(2) GmbHG, which governs cash contributions. Contributions in kind are dealt with separately in § 7(3).
The company between notarisation and registration. It can already hold an account, sign contracts and receive money, but whoever acts in its name before registration is personally and jointly liable, and it must trade under the addition i. G.
The public register of companies, kept by the local court. A GmbH comes into existence as such only on registration. Entries are published openly, which is why fraudulent invoices reach newly registered companies within days.
Membership is compulsory for a registered company. The chamber also gives an opinion on whether an intended company name can be registered, and is consulted by the immigration office on business plans for self-employment permits.
Balance sheet and notes for the financial year, prepared by a tax adviser for a small company and filed with the Bundesanzeiger.
An address at which legal documents can actually be served on you, a summons, a court order, an enforcement notice. That requires a real place and somebody who can receive them. What matters is not the label but whether the address meets the requirements for a domestic business address and whether you can actually be reached there.
A statutory template for a simplified formation. Available for a company with at most three shareholders and exactly one managing director; the document must match the template, so you fill in the blanks but cannot change the substance. It also brings a favourable rule for the notary's fee value.
A public office holder who notarises the formation and files it with the register. Fees are set by law and are not negotiable. A notarisation held in a foreign language carries a statutory surcharge of 30 % on the notarisation fee, usually far less than a sworn interpreter plus a translation of the deed.
A contribution payable by every business premises in Germany. The amount depends on the premises and the number of employees; small companies pay the lowest tier.
The registered capital of a GmbH or UG. It is not a fee and is not deposited with an authority, it is paid into the company's own account and remains the company's money, subject to the capital maintenance rules.
The number the tax office assigns to the company, without which you cannot invoice properly. Distinct from the VAT identification number.
The register of beneficial owners. Every GmbH and UG must be recorded in it and pays an annual fee.
A GmbH variant that can start from €1 of share capital. The capital must be paid in full before registration, and a quarter of each year's profit must be retained until the reserve reaches €25,000, at which point it can convert into a GmbH.
The number you need for trade inside the EU. Applied for through the tax office or the Federal Central Tax Office, which cross-checks the address data before issuing it.
A contract under which a defined result is owed, a deliverable that can be accepted or rejected. You direct your own staff and carry the risk that the result works. Distinct from a Dienstvertrag, where an activity rather than a result is owed.
Missing a term? Tell us and we will add it properly, with the reference. This page is descriptive and not legal advice, in Germany only admitted lawyers and tax advisors may give that.