If you have decided what kind of business you would like to start, it must be registered at the Kamer van Koophandel. Registration can anywhere from one week before you start your business.
All businesses (including branches of foreign companies) in the Netherlands must be listed in the Trade Register (Handelsregister) of the Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel) and must register anywhere between one week before and one week after the start of business. Legal forms without corporate personality must visit the Chamber of Commerce personally. A civil-law notary will arrange for registration of all legal forms with corporate personality.
Upon registration the business will receive a Chamber of Commerce number. Legal entities and partnerships also receive a Legal Entities and Partnerships Identification Number (Rechtspersonen en Samenwerkingsverbanden Informatienummer or RSIN).
If your business consists of several branches, each branch will receive a unique 12-figure branch number. In the Netherlands, businesses are obliged to state your commercial name and commercial register number from the Chamber of Commerce in outgoing letters, e-mails, fax messages, orders, offers, invoices and on your website.
After the registration of a business, The Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) are automatically informed by the Dutch chamber of commerce. They will then issue, for example, a VAT-number which can be used for tax deductions applicable to your company.
