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ShelfCompanies24 has been forming Danish companies for international founders since 1995. Our Copenhagen team handles every step of company formation in Denmark on a single service contract, from picking the right legal form through Erhvervsstyrelsen registration, SKAT tax registration, Reelle Ejere filing and your first Danish bank account. Most clients are trading inside 1 to 3 weeks via the digital virk.dk portal, or in 3 to 7 working days via a ready-made færdigregistreret ApS.
Our service covers Erhvervsstyrelsen filings, Reelle Ejere, virtual hjemsted.
ApS + hjemsted + Danish banking + statsautoriseret revisor under one roof.
Standard formation 1 to 3 weeks. Danish-speaking case manager.
eIDAS-qualified e-signature, Danish consulate, or delegate to our Copenhagen attorney via fuldmagt.
We draft the vedtægter, file Erhvervsstyrelsen, register moms, file Reelle Ejere.
Right for Denmark. Neither the shareholders of an ApS nor the members of its management or board need Danish, EU or EEA residency or citizenship; the residence requirement that once applied was removed with the modern Companies Act. The company itself needs a registered address in Denmark. In practice the management will also need Danish digital identification in order to sign and file with the Business Authority, which is the step that catches most non-resident owners out.
The ApS is the workhorse of Danish commerce. Governed by the Selskabsloven (Companies Act).
Joint-stock form for listed entities. Min capital DKK 400,000 (25% paid up). Min 1 aktionær. Bestyrelse + Direktion dual-tier governance.
| Form | Min. capital | Formation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ApS | DKK 40,000 | 1 to 3 weeks | Default, SMEs, holdings |
| A/S | DKK 400,000 | 4 to 8 weeks | Listed groups |
| Filial | Parent-dependent | 3 to 6 weeks | Foreign multinational presence |
| Færdigregistreret ApS | DKK 40,000 (paid) | 3 to 7 days | Need immediate trading |
Confirm legal form, member structure, business activity (with Branchekoder, Denmark’s NACE-aligned classification), hjemsted, capital and banking preferences.
The articles and founding document drafted by our Copenhagen attorney, bilingual Danish-English.
Open a kapitalkonto at a Danish bank, deposit DKK 40,000 (ApS) or DKK 100,000 (A/S, 25% of DKK 400,000). Bank issues a confirmation.
Files submitted electronically via Denmark’s virk.dk business portal. Processing: 1 to 5 working days. Erhvervsstyrelsen issues a CVR-nummer and the company appears in the public register at cvr.dk.
The CVR-nummer doubles as the tax identification. The company files for:
Beneficial owners filed in the Danish UBO register at virk.dk within 14 days.
Convert kapitalkonto to operating account. Danish banks: Danske Bank, Nordea Danmark, Jyske Bank, Sydbank, Spar Nord, Arbejdernes Landsbank.
| Scenario | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| ApS via virk.dk | 1 to 3 weeks |
| A/S (joint-stock) | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Filial of foreign company | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Færdigregistreret ApS, transfer | 3 to 7 working days |
You can file an ApS yourself on virk.dk if you hold a Danish MitID, have a Danish bank relationship for the capital account and read enough Danish to answer the registry’s queries. Most foreign founders have none of the three, which is what a company formation agent in Denmark is for. Our Copenhagen team drafts the vedtægter and the stiftelsesdokument, arranges the capital account and the bank confirmation, files with the Erhvervsstyrelsen, answers registry queries in Danish, registers the company for moms where it applies, files Reelle Ejere inside the 14 day window, and introduces the bank that matches your activity.
What varies between one engagement and the next is scope rather than the registry procedure: whether an A/S suits you better than an ApS, whether a branch or a subsidiary fits the group, whether the hjemsted and mail handling are ours or yours, whether accounts, moms returns and payroll run on a retainer afterwards, and whether documents need apostille and sworn translation for your home jurisdiction. Tell us which of those apply and the scope of work is agreed in writing before anything is filed.
An ApS filed through virk.dk takes 1 to 3 weeks end to end. The Erhvervsstyrelsen itself normally processes the filing in 1 to 5 working days; the rest is document preparation, the capital deposit and the bank confirmation. An A/S takes 4 to 8 weeks and a branch 3 to 6 weeks. Taking over a færdigregistreret ApS instead completes in 3 to 7 working days.
DKK 40,000, paid in cash before the company is registered and confirmed by the bank that holds the capital account. The money belongs to the company rather than to the registry, so it is available for trading once the kapitalkonto becomes the operating account. An A/S needs DKK 400,000 with 25% paid up. The IVS, which allowed DKK 1, was abolished in 2019.
Yes. Neither the anpartshavere nor the direktør of an ApS need Danish or EU residency, and no work permit is attached to owning or directing a Danish company from abroad. What you do need is a hjemsted in Denmark, identification that survives the bank’s due diligence, and a Reelle Ejere filing naming everyone above the 25% control line. Signature is remote, so the process never requires you to enter the country.
Selskabsskat is 22% of taxable profit and has been stable since 2016. Moms (VAT) is 25% with no reduced rate and is recoverable for most business to business operators. Dividends to a qualifying EU corporate parent leave Denmark without withholding under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, while distributions to individuals carry 27%. Qualifying research and development spending attracts a 108% deduction in 2026.
While 25% standard VAT is among the EU’s highest, it is mostly recoverable for B2B operators. Combined with 22% CIT (mid-range), exceptional digital infrastructure, and Denmark’s reputation for transparency, the country offers a uniquely well-organised operating environment for international companies.
Yes, and many owners do. Board decisions, filings and banking are all handled remotely. The point to watch is tax residence: Denmark applies a place of effective management test, so a company managed entirely from another country may be treated as tax resident there as well. Where that matters we map the management arrangements, and the treaty position between Denmark and your country, before the company is registered.
SKAT moms registration, Reelle Ejere filing, bank account opening, statsautoriseret revisor (auditor) engagement above audit thresholds. Most clients are operational within 2 to 3 weeks.
Four things: a legal form, which for almost everyone is the ApS; DKK 40,000 of selskabskapital paid into a Danish capital account; a hjemsted, meaning a registered office address in Denmark; and at least one direktør of any nationality. Add identification for every owner above the 25% line for the Reelle Ejere register, and a description of the activity that maps to a Branchekode so the Erhvervsstyrelsen can classify the company.
Yes, and it is one of the more common uses. An ApS registered for moms receives an EU VAT number for VIES, so it can sell into the other 26 member states and account for distance sales through the EU one stop shop instead of registering in each country separately. Card acquiring and e-commerce processing are a banking question rather than a company law one, and we match the bank to the payment profile before you apply.
Ready to register your Danish ApS? Contact our Danish desk.
Denmark is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Denmark for your ApS specifically? Nordic gateway, digital-first registration is the headline reason, but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you are weighing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For Denmark specifically: 22% CIT / 25% VAT; ApS DKK 40,000 minimum; virk.dk e-portal; IVS abolished 2019.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Denmark:
Yes. A name change is filed with the CVR via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing, typically clears in 48 hours. We include up to one name change as standard for both shelf-company purchase and new formation.
Yes. A Danish tax resident ApS is inside the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive and the Interest and Royalties Directive, and it can use Denmark’s own network of roughly 75 comprehensive double taxation agreements. One gap is worth knowing about: Denmark has had no treaty with Spain since it was terminated with effect from 2009. Treaty relief is conditional on the principal purpose test and on Danish beneficial ownership case law, which is unusually demanding on conduit structures.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
Material tax changes (rate moves, new minimum-tax regimes, treaty amendments) get communicated to active clients with our analysis of impact. Where the change is structural, for example the OECD Pillar Two implementation in Denmark or a domestic tax-base reform, we proactively flag clients whose structures may need restructuring and offer a defined remedial path. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
An ApS is a separate legal entity Danish-tax-resident with its own corporate tax filings and beneficial-owner record. A branch is an extension of a foreign parent, the foreign parent is the legal entity, the Denmark branch books local-source income but the parent’s overall tax liability cascades. Most foreign owners pick an ApS for liability ring-fencing and clean tax accounting; branches are sometimes preferred where the parent has specific group-relief or treaty considerations that depend on common legal personality.
Engaging us for your Danish new ApS formation covers the following deliverables under one service:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC, we operate the same service globally for Danish corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are scoped separately, so the incorporation or transfer work stays exactly as agreed.
Different jurisdictions are stronger for different commercial activities. Denmark consistently performs well for international operators in:
None of these are exclusive, a Danish ApS can engage in any lawful commercial activity, but choosing a jurisdiction where the activity has a deep operating ecosystem (talent pool, regulatory familiarity, banking and supplier networks) materially shortens the time from incorporation to first revenue. Tell us your activity profile and we will confirm whether Denmark is the right fit before we begin.
A Danish ApS sits within the EU treaty framework, automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive (zero withholding on intra-EU dividends meeting the holding test), the Interest and Royalties Directive, and Denmark’s bilateral double-tax treaties with non-EU partners. The treaty network is shaped by the OECD Multilateral Instrument since 2017, which embedded a Principal Purpose Test (PPT) into existing treaties to deny benefits where a structure was set up primarily for tax advantage rather than genuine commercial purpose.
Common Danish ApS patterns we see: EU-wide trading hub with VAT one-stop-shop, IP holding with treaty-protected royalty flows, regional headquarters serving CEE/Western EU subsidiaries, and licensing-and-distribution structures using EU passport rights. Each pattern has its own substance and transfer-pricing implications which your consultant will map before structuring.
The 2026 corporate-law and tax landscape in Denmark: 22% headline corporate tax. 22% CIT / 25% VAT; ApS DKK 40,000 minimum; virk.dk e-portal; IVS abolished 2019.
Beyond the headline number, three regulatory currents shape every Danish structuring decision in 2026: OECD Pillar Two and the local Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) for groups above €750 million consolidated revenue; the EU’s progressive AML/CTF tightening (AMLD6 and AMLR transitioning into the Anti-Money-Laundering Authority’s direct supervision); and the CVR’s ongoing migration toward digital-only filing and real-time beneficial-owner reconciliation. Smaller entities below the Pillar Two threshold continue under the regular Danish tax regime, but reporting obligations to the CVR apply to every entity regardless of size.
We track these regulatory currents continuously and flag anything material to active clients within working days of the change being announced. You do not need to monitor Denmark regulatory news yourself, that is part of what we provide for the annual retainer.
Three deadline buckets: CVR confirmation/return (typically annual, on the company’s accounting reference date), corporate tax return (filed via the Denmark tax authority following the financial year-end, usually 6-12 months after period close), and VAT/sales-tax returns (monthly or quarterly cadence depending on turnover, where applicable). Beneficial-owner-register updates are event-triggered (filing required when ownership changes) rather than calendar-based.
Penalty consequences vary by jurisdiction but typically follow a pattern: small late-filing fee for short delays, larger automatic penalty for sustained non-filing, and ultimately strike-off from the CVR for prolonged non-compliance. Strike-off voids the company and may require court application to restore. Our retainer service handles the full filing calendar so this never happens to a client on our books.
Three layers determine the after-tax dividend: Denmark corporate tax already paid at the ApS level on profits (22%); Denmark withholding tax on outbound dividends, which is the variable that depends on where the recipient sits, zero under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive for qualifying EU/EEA corporate holders meeting the minimum holding test, reduced rates under bilateral treaties for non-EU recipients, default Danish statutory rate where no treaty applies; and recipient-country tax on the dividend in the parent’s hands (often subject to participation exemption at the recipient level). Your consultant maps this end-to-end in the initial scoping so the after-tax economics are clear before incorporation.