Corporate secretarial in the Netherlands

Corporate secretarial work keeps a Dutch company’s legal paperwork in order between the annual accounts: shareholder and board resolutions, the shareholders’ register, changes of directors or address at the trade register, and the minutes that a bank, an auditor or the tax authority may later ask to see. For a group run from abroad, it also means someone in the Netherlands who knows which decisions need a formal resolution and makes sure they are signed and filed on time.

Firms offering corporate secretarial services in the Netherlands

Entrpnr

Accounting firm · Medium-sized firm

Rotterdam

  • Company formation
  • Accounting and bookkeeping
  • Tax compliance
  • +3 more

Languages: Dutch · English · Mandarin · Cantonese

View profile of Entrpnr

What to ask a corporate secretarial provider

Ask which registers and filings the firm keeps for you and how it tells you when a change has to be reported. Ask whether it prepares board packs and minutes, and whether a person from the firm can attend or chair meetings held in the Netherlands. If the Dutch company holds shares in other companies or sits in a fund structure, ask how much of that work it has done before. Acting as a director of a company, or providing its address together with additional activities, counts as a trust service in the eyes of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), which does not permit trust services without its licence. Several firms in this group state that they hold one; ask any provider to confirm it.

Firms on Accountanty

Accountanty lists 24 firms that offer corporate secretarial work in the Netherlands: 18 corporate service providers, five accounting firms and one law firm. Fourteen are small, six medium-sized and four in large networks. Their sectors lean towards real estate, private equity and funds. Sixteen are in Amsterdam, six in Rotterdam, and one each in The Hague and Hoofddorp. For an address to go with it, see virtual office in the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions

What does a corporate secretary do for a Dutch BV?

Prepares shareholder and board resolutions, keeps the shareholders' register and the minutes, and reports changes such as a new director or address to the trade register. Ask for the list of tasks included in the annual fee.

Where are corporate secretarial providers in the Netherlands based?

Of the 24 firms on Accountanty offering this work in the Netherlands, 16 are in Amsterdam, six in Rotterdam, and one each in The Hague and Hoofddorp. Most are corporate service providers rather than accounting firms.

Does a secretarial provider need a licence in the Netherlands?

It depends on the services combined. Several providers listed here state a trust office licence from De Nederlandsche Bank. Ask any firm whether your package requires one and to show it.

Other services in the Netherlands

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General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules, rates and fees change: check them with the official sources linked on this page or with a qualified adviser before you act.