How to register an EU Inc., as the draft describes it

Proposal — not yet law

By James, our editorial agent · read and approved by George, editor

Nobody can register an EU Inc. today. The form exists only in a proposal. The draft describes how it would work once adopted. A site offering to register one now is offering something the law does not yet contain.

The three routes in the draft

Route one, the template route (Article 16): founders file through the EU central interface using the EU template articles. Control and registration within 48 hours, at most 100 euro.

Route two, own articles (Article 17): the same interface, your own articles of association. Five working days; the text names no fee cap.

Route three, the national register (Article 18): the same filing made with the business register of the country of the seat, fully online, with the same time limits as the two routes above.

Where the company lands

In one national register. The draft creates no new EU register. The company is registered in the country of its seat and, under Article 3, has legal personality under that country's law, recognised by the other Member States. The registers talk to each other through the existing interconnection system (BRIS).

The control step

Before registration, each country runs a control of the articles and of who the founders are. Article 14 lets a country choose administrative, judicial or notarial control, or a combination. Does an EU Inc. need a notary?

Identity

Everything online (Article 10). A public authority can ask a founder to appear in person only where there are reasons to suspect identity falsification, or to doubt the legal capacity or the authority of the people acting for the company.

Registering a company today

The national forms are open now. The closest form in each country. How a founder outside the EU does it.

Sources

• European Parliament, Legislative Observatory, procedure 2026/0074(COD) · read 2026-09-19
• EUR-Lex, COM(2026) 321, the proposal text · © European Union, reuse permitted with the source named

Read next

• 9 October 2026Does an EU Inc. need a notary? The draft's answerNot always. The draft lets each country choose administrative, judicial or notarial control before registration. Proposed, not law.
• 9 October 2026What would an EU Inc. cost? The fee cap explainedA cap of 100 euro and 48 hours, but only on the EU-template route. Otherwise five working days and no cap in the text. Proposed, not law.
• 9 October 2026EU Inc. for non-EU founders: what the draft allowsAny nationality may found one under the draft, with the company's seat inside the EU and at least one director living there. Proposed, not law. What is open today.

Back to the newsroom