B: Establishment and registration of companies

Establishment and registration of companies

A company is established by signing a memorandum of association containing the company’s articles of association. The company’s foundation must be registered in the Danish Business Authority’s IT system or notified for registration no later than 2 weeks after the foundation document has been signed. Otherwise, registration cannot take place.

The deposit in companies can be cash or values other than cash. Deposit limits for the company forms are:

  • For ApS, the deposit must be at least DKK 40.000. There is no upper limit on the deposit.
  • For A/S, the deposit must be at least DKK 400.000. There is no upper limit on the deposit.

Registration and deadlines

You register a company digitally via “Start company” on virk.dk. The digital registration must be done within 14 days after the signing of the founding document. It is also possible to use the company form, which must be received by the Danish Business Authority no later than 14 days after the signing of the memorandum of association.

Requirements for founders

The founder is the person or persons who sign the founding document. Founders of a company can be either natural or legal persons. Natural persons must be of legal age at the time of foundation (18 years and not under guardianship or joint custody). The founder may not be the owner of a company that is undergoing reconstruction or bankruptcy. The founder is not obliged to contribute any capital but must have permanent residence either in Denmark or abroad. There are no special requirements for nationality. Legal persons can be partnerships, companies (ApS, A/S, P/S), associations or business foundations.

A company incorporated as a founder may not itself be incorporated. The Danish state and Danish municipalities can also be included as founders. Legal persons included as founders have no obligation to inject capital. Sole proprietorships cannot be incorporated as legal founders. A sole proprietorship can, however, be invested as capital by a natural person (but not in entrepreneurial companies) and then closed, but they cannot as a company act as a founder. Sole proprietorships that are invested in a company must not be under reconstruction or bankruptcy.

What must be registered?

When registering a company, state the following:

  • Name and any secondary names of the company. It can be an entrepreneurial company, a private limited company, a public limited company, or a partner company, or you can use the abbreviations ApS, A/S or P/S, which must appear in the name and middle name. as an example: minvirksomhed ApS
  • The company’s address and other contact information as well as the names of founders, directors, board members or supervisory board members and any auditor. If the persons have a CPR number or CVR number, these must be provided.
  • Date of foundation, which must be identical to the date on the foundation document
  • The purpose of the company
  • The company’s subscription rule, which describes who in the management has the right to sign on behalf of the company and thus can enter into binding agreements for the company in situations that are outside the company’s daily operations.
  • The company’s capital – the invested capital, the deposit method, and the exchange rate. Financial year and name of auditor, unless the company has opted out of auditing annual reports.

Documentation

When registering the company, attach:

  • Memorandum of association with articles of association. If the articles of association are not part of the memorandum of association, they must be attached separately. The articles of association must be dated the same day as the memorandum of association. In addition, the founder or founders must sign the founding document.
  • Documentation of capital. As documentation for cash payment of the share capital, the following can be used:
  • Bank vouchers showing that the capital, including any share premium is deposited in an account belonging to the company under incorporation. A printout from online banking is not sufficient documentation.
  • Extracts from a lawyer’s client account, from which it appears that the capital is booked in a lawyer’s bookkeeping at the company in question during incorporation.
  • Statement from a lawyer that the capital is deposited in the lawyer’s bank account or client account, which belongs to the company.
  • Statement by an approved auditor that the capital is deposited in a bank account belonging to the company or that the capital is available as cash.

At “start business” on virk.dk/indberet, you can invite your accountant, lawyer, or bank to approve capital by entering their email under “Approve Capital” (godkend kapital) in business registration.

Documentation in entrepreneurial companies

Entrepreneurial companies that are established with a share capital of DKK 25.000 or less can submit a declaration from the founders that the capital is present as proof of cash payment of the share capital.