Starting a business in Germany

Legal Forms of Companies

Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung (GmbH): limited liability company

Number of partners: No minimum: one or more partners.
Capital (max/min): EUR 25,000 minimum with at least half fully paid up at the creation of the company.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed by all shareholders.

Aktiengesellschaft (AG): public limited company

Number of partners: No minimum: one or more partners.
Capital (max/min): EUR 50,000 minimum with at least one quarter fully paid up at the creation of the company.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed by all shareholders.

Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG): general partnership

Number of partners: Minimum: two; no maximum.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is joint and indefinite on the obligations and debts of the company.

Kommanditgesellschat (KG): limited joint-stock partnership

Number of partners: Minimum: two; no maximum. There are two types of partners: active partners and silent partners.
Capital (max/min): EUR 50,000.
Shareholders and liability: The liability of active partners is personal and indefinite. The liability of silent partners is limited to the amount of capital contributed.

 

Business Directories

Financial Information Directories

Dun & Bradstreet - Worldwide directory with financial information on businesses
Handelsregister - Common register portal of German Federal States
Kompass Germany - Business directory for Germany
Unternehmenregister - Register of German companies

To go further, check out our service Business Directories.

 

Professional Associations

General Professional Associations

SIHK - South Westphalian Chamber of Commerce
BDA DIE ARBEITGEBER - Confederation of German Employers‘ Associations
BDI - Federation of German Industries

Business Setup Procedures

Source: Doing Business - Latest available data.