Legal form and brand
Register a VOF (General Partnership) in the Netherlands
One of you registers with their own DigiD; every partner attends. We prepare the contract checklist, each partner's BSN and DigiD, the form and the booking.
- One partner registers, every partner who is a person attends
- KVK fee EUR 85.15, one-off (2026)
- No minimum amount to start
- KVK appointments bookable up to 8 weeks ahead
Two partners, one file, one appointment.
VOF registration for two or more founders
Only one partner registers a VOF, with their own DigiD, and every partner who is a person attends the KVK appointment. We prepare the file around that, also for partners abroad or from outside the EU. A BV is a separate route with its own costs and taxes: see opening a BV in the Netherlands for a first business.
A VOF (vennootschap onder firma, general partnership) is a partnership to carry on a business under a common name (art. 16 WvK). At least two people or organisations take part, each a co-owner. It is not a legal entity and needs no minimum amount to start. Two other partnership forms exist; the CV and the maatschap guide compares them.
What's included
You register the VOF yourselves; we prepare everything around it.
The contract checklist
The KVK's list of what a contract always contains, and its optional topics, gone through with you. For the name: the Benelux trade mark page.
Right to work, asked first
EU, EEA and Swiss partners need no permit; anyone else first needs a residence permit that allows self-employment.
A BSN and a DigiD for each person partner
The form needs every person partner's BSN and the registration a DigiD; we map each partner's route, through the RNI from abroad.
The Dutch-only form, prepared with you
We prepare it with the registering partner, form 2 as the English key; that partner logs in and submits.
The UBO decision
The partners agree who the UBOs are before the appointment; without them the KVK cannot register. We walk you through its 50/50 example.
One booking, one briefing
A date every person partner can make, and what each brings: ID, the contract and, from abroad, the extract and address agreement.
The first weeks
The Belastingdienst letter, the KOR conditions, the eHerkenning route and the business account, explained as each arrives.
Where the service stops
We never log in or attend for a partner; no legal advice on the contract. A client who takes this service does not take our address. Buying an existing BV is separate: the ready-made companies page.
How the registration works, step by step
Who acts, in order. Background: what registering with the KVK means for a new founder.
Check each partner's right to work
EU, EEA or Swiss: nothing needed; anyone else first needs a residence permit that allows self-employment, see the freelance visa for the Netherlands. On benefits? Ask the UWV or municipality first.
Agree the terms and the contract
(the partners, with us). Start date, name and activities, the four items every contract holds, any joint-signature limit.
A Dutch visiting address, and papers from abroad
You arrange the address; we supply none. A partner abroad also brings the population-register extract, no more than 2 months old, and the signed address agreement.
One booking for everyone
(the registering partner). Online with DigiD at any KVK office, up to 8 weeks ahead; a slot within a week may not exist.
The appointment
(every person partner, with valid ID). The KVK registers the VOF, its registrable terms and the UBOs; the KVK number comes at once when you register within a week of the start date. Fee: EUR 85.15 (2026).
The first weeks
The Belastingdienst letter comes within 2 weeks of the start date (KVK), the BTW number within 10 workdays of registration (business portal). Then come the KOR choice, eHerkenning if wanted, and a Dutch business account for a new company.
Any later change goes to the KVK within one week (art. 20 lid 2 Hrw 2007).
- Right to work checked firstEach partner: EU, EEA or Swiss needs no permit; others need a permit that allows self-employmentNo official time is published
- BSN, then DigiDEach person partner; a partner abroad registers in person at an RNI deskBSN at once and free; Breda or Venlo only for non-EU nationalsCollection code valid 30 days, activation code valid 21 days
- Population-register extractA partner who lives abroad brings itNo more than 2 months old
- Form submitted, UBOs agreedThe registering partner submits with own DigiD; the partners agree the UBOs before the visitNo official time is published
- One booking for everyoneThe registering partner books online with DigiDUp to 8 weeks aheadEarly visit up to 3 months before the start; KVK number by post in the start week
- The appointmentEvery person partner attends with valid ID; the KVK registers the VOFFirst registration from 1 week before to 1 week after the start (art. 20 lid 1 Hrw 2007)KVK number at once inside that window
- Registration feeCharged to the VOF, one-offEUR 85.15 (2026)
- Belastingdienst letterSent by the BelastingdienstWithin 2 weeks of the start date (KVK)
Is every partner ready for the same appointment?
Tell us where each partner stands: BSN, DigiD, documents, a permit. We reply with your order of steps.
The VOF contract, the statute and the KVK
The law and the registrar, side by side. Whether a document is a deed is a lawyer's question.
What the statute says
Art. 22 WvK: a VOF must be entered into by a notarial or a private deed, and the lack of a deed cannot be held against third parties.
What the official portals say
business.gov.nl: "A partnership agreement is not mandatory, but it is advisable." The KVK advises a VOF contract that records each partner's authority, and asks for it at the appointment.
What the KVK registers from it
Duration, purpose and authority, with third-party effect. The KVK's example: a registered rule that all sign above EUR 10,000 lets the partners reverse a EUR 20,000 machine one of them bought alone.
Without agreed limits
Every partner can then contract for any amount; by statute, each partner not excluded may act for the VOF (art. 17 lid 1 WvK). Beyond their signing powers, a partner is personally liable, not the VOF.
If a partner dies
By law the VOF stops, unless the contract provides otherwise. The business portal calls that a survival or takeover clause.
Who can write it
The partners themselves, a solicitor or a notary, says the business portal. We go through the KVK's list with you.
Source: the KVK's VOF contract page. A diagram of its list, not legal advice.
Documents, fees and deadlines in 2026
No minimum amount is required to start a VOF; the rest is below.
Documents, state charges and deadlines for a VOF in 2026, from the KVK, NetherlandsWorldwide, the IND and the statutes cited. Our fee is on request.
| Item | Who | What the KVK or the law asks | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proof of identity | Every person partner | Valid and not expired; an emergency passport is not accepted | KVK |
| BSN and DigiD | Every person partner; the registering partner logs in | The form needs each person partner's BSN; registration and booking run on DigiD | KVK |
| RNI registration | A partner abroad without a BSN | In person and free; BSN at once; only in Breda or Venlo for nationals from outside the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland | NetherlandsWorldwide; KVK |
| Residence permit | A partner from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland | A permit that allows self-employment, before working; IND fee EUR 423 (2026), first application | business.gov.nl; IND |
| Population-register extract | A partner who lives abroad | Original on paper with the home address, no more than 2 months old, in Dutch, English, French or German or with a sworn translation; legalised if the address is outside the EU | KVK |
| Visiting address agreement | The partners | A Dutch visiting address; a copy of its agreement signed by both parties | KVK |
| VOF contract and UBO decision | The partners | The contract brought to the appointment; the UBOs decided together, or no registration | KVK |
| Registration fee | The VOF | EUR 85.15 (2026), one-off, tax-deductible for entrepreneurs, updated every year | Financiële regeling handelsregister 2019, art. 5 |
| Certified extract, as proof | The VOF, if ordered | EUR 19.20 on paper; EUR 9.60 digital (2026) | Financiële regeling handelsregister 2019, art. 2(b) and 1(f) |
| Deadlines | The partners | First registration from 1 week before to 1 week after the start; every change within 1 week | Hrw 2007, art. 20(1) and (2) |
An organisation partner is entered by its business name or KVK number.
Tax after registration: the VOF and each partner
The VOF is the VAT entrepreneur, each partner pays income tax on their own share, and you keep the records. Conditions, not advice: see how to get a VAT number in the Netherlands.
The VOF and each partner, 2026. The Wet IB 2001 text for 2027 reads EUR 900 and EUR 2,123; Tax Plan 2027 proposes ending the starter's increase from 2028, a proposal, not law.
| Item | Whose | Rule or figure (2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT numbers | The VOF | The VOF pays VAT and receives the VAT numbers if its activities are VAT-taxable | business.gov.nl |
| Small businesses scheme (KOR) | The VOF | Turnover at most EUR 20,000 a calendar year; no input VAT recovery and no VAT on invoices; from the first return period at least four weeks after the notification | Wet OB 1968, art. 25a; business.gov.nl |
| Income tax | Each partner | On their own share; box 1 below state pension age: 8.10% to EUR 38,883, 37.56% to EUR 78,426, 49.50% above | Wet IB 2001, art. 2.10(1) |
| Hour criterion (urencriterium) | Each partner | At least 1,225 hours in the calendar year, plus one further condition; supporting work with a related person may not count | Wet IB 2001, art. 3.6 |
| Self-employed deduction (zelfstandigenaftrek) | Each qualifying partner | EUR 1,200, with the hour criterion met and below state pension age | Wet IB 2001, art. 3.76(1) and (2) |
| Starter's increase (startersaftrek) | Each qualifying partner | EUR 2,123 on top, if not an entrepreneur in one or more of the five preceding years and the deduction was applied no more than twice in that period | Wet IB 2001, art. 3.76(3) |
| SME profit exemption (MKB-winstvrijstelling) | Each partner | 12.7% of the profit after the entrepreneur's deduction | Wet IB 2001, art. 3.79a |
| Add-back | Each partner | 11.94% of these deductions is added back above the top-bracket threshold | Wet IB 2001, art. 2.10(2) and (3) |
| National insurance and health insurance | Each partner | Contributions to the national insurance schemes; no employee benefits; basic health insurance mandatory | business.gov.nl |
| Annual accounts | The VOF, in one case | Only where every fully liable partner is a foreign capital company | BW Book 2, art. 2:360(2) |
Spouses (man-vrouwfirma): where the Tax Administration sees both as self-employed, both can get the deductions; it checks that both are active, with equal input. The 30 percent ruling is an employee scheme.
Problems we solve
- One of us lives abroad and cannot come that day
Every person partner must attend. We plan the BSN, DigiD and booking around one date: slots run up to 8 weeks ahead, early visits up to 3 months before the start.
- We have no contract yet
The KVK asks for it at the appointment. We go through its list with you; without agreed limits, each partner can bind the VOF for any amount.
- Am I liable for what my partner signs?
For the VOF's debts, yes, jointly and severally (art. 18 WvK), with your own funds. A joint-signature rule registered at the KVK binds third parties. A spouse may be liable too, on the business portal's flowchart.
- The form is only in Dutch
The KVK's form 2 is the English key. We prepare the online form with the registering partner, who submits it.
- A partner joins or leaves, or you want a BV later
KVK and UBO filings within one week. For tax, a new partner means a discontinuation profit (stakingswinst) and a new VAT number, and a move to a BV counts as a new business. A leaving partner stays liable until deregistered.
Weighing a VOF against a BV?
From a profit of EUR 150,000 you pay less tax on average with a BV, but it costs more, says business.gov.nl. We set out both routes; you choose.
Who prepares your file
Daan Mulder, Launch and legal forms lead, Amsterdam. Eleven years on Dutch start-up files; Dutch, English, French.
From our practice: every person partner's BSN and DigiD come first, since the form needs each BSN and the booking the registering partner's DigiD; then a date everyone can attend.
Frequently Asked Questions
If only one partner can register the VOF, what does your service do?
The KVK lets only one partner register a VOF, logging in with their own DigiD, and every partner who is a person attends the appointment with valid ID. We prepare the online form with the registering partner, check every partner's documents, plan the BSN and DigiD route, support the booking and follow up the first weeks.
Do we need a notary to register a VOF?
No. The partners register the VOF with the KVK themselves, online and then at an appointment. A notary is not part of the registration. The partners may write their partnership agreement themselves, or ask a solicitor or a notary to draw it up, as the business portal sets out.
Is a partnership agreement mandatory, or can we register without one?
Art. 22 WvK (the Commercial Code) requires a notarial or a private deed for a VOF, and the lack of one cannot be held against third parties. The business portal calls an agreement not mandatory but advisable, and the KVK asks for the contract at the appointment. Whether a document is such a deed is a lawyer's question.
Do all the partners have to go to the KVK office?
Yes, every partner who is a person. Each brings valid proof of identity that has not expired; an emergency passport is not accepted. The appointment can be at any KVK office and is booked online with the registering partner's DigiD. A VOF whose partners are all organisations registers with forms sent by post.
My co-founder lives abroad. What do they need before the appointment?
A partner from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland first needs a residence permit that allows self-employment. Every person partner needs a BSN, through the RNI for someone abroad (only in Breda or Venlo for non-EU nationals), and then a DigiD. They bring a population-register extract no more than 2 months old, and the business needs a Dutch visiting address.
Am I liable for what my co-partner signs?
For the VOF's debts, yes. Each partner is jointly and severally bound (art. 18 WvK) and pays with their own funds once the VOF's assets run out, even for debts another partner incurred. An act outside a partner's agreed signing powers binds that partner personally. A joining partner is liable for earlier debts; a leaving partner stays liable until deregistered.
What does the state charge to register a VOF?
The KVK charges a one-off registration fee of EUR 85.15 in 2026, tax-deductible for entrepreneurs and updated every year. A certified extract costs EUR 19.20 on paper or EUR 9.60 digitally. Registration in the RNI is free, and a non-EU partner pays the IND EUR 423 for a first self-employed permit application. Our own fee is on request.
How quickly do we get the KVK number and the VAT number?
The KVK gives the number at the appointment when it falls within one week of the start date, or by post in the start week after an early visit. The KVK says the Belastingdienst letter follows within 2 weeks of the start date; the business portal says the BTW number follows within 10 workdays of the registration.
Who pays the tax, the VOF or the partners?
Both, for different taxes. The VOF is the VAT entrepreneur and holds the VAT numbers. Each partner pays income tax on their own share at the 2026 box 1 rates. A partner who meets the hour criterion of 1,225 hours and its further condition, below state pension age, may claim EUR 1,200, and a starter EUR 2,123 more.
Can a VOF use the small businesses scheme (KOR)?
Yes. The small businesses scheme is open to partnerships such as a VOF with a turnover of at most EUR 20,000 a calendar year. Under it the VOF recovers no input VAT and may not mention VAT on its invoices. It applies from the first return period that starts at least four weeks after the notification.
Can we turn the VOF into a BV later?
Yes, through a civil-law notary; the KVK indicates EUR 500 to EUR 1,500 for the notary to incorporate a BV. The Tax Administration treats a change of structure as ending one business and starting another, with a new VAT number. On request and on conditions, the inspector may treat the conversion as no discontinuation (art. 3.65 Wet IB 2001).
Is the VOF being abolished?
Not yet. A bill would replace the VOF and the maatschap with a new form, the openbare vennootschap. On the KVK's page, read on 4 October 2026, no effective date is known, and both chambers of parliament must still approve it. What it would mean for existing VOFs is not known.
What is a VOF in the Netherlands?
A vennootschap onder firma, or general partnership: a partnership to carry on a business under a common name (art. 16 WvK). At least two people or organisations work together, each a co-owner and a partner. A VOF is not a legal entity, no minimum amount is required to start, and every partner is liable for its debts.
What happens if you don't register?
The partners must have the VOF entered in the Business Register (art. 23 WvK). Until it is registered, towards third parties it counts as general, for an indefinite term, with every partner free to act and sign (art. 29 WvK). Failing to register is prohibited (art. 47 Hrw 2007), and the KVK names the Economic Offences Act.
How do you check if you are registered?
The KVK gives the KVK number at the appointment, or by post in the start week after an early visit. A certified extract from the Business Register, which can be ordered at once, serves as proof of registration. The Belastingdienst letter with the VAT numbers follows in the first weeks after the start date.
Ready to prepare your VOF registration?
You register the VOF; we prepare the file, the form and the appointment. Our fee is on request.