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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 servicecontract — 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 1–3 weeks via the digital virk.dk portal, or in 3–7 working days via a ready-made færdigregistreret ApS.
Single payment covers Erhvervsstyrelsen filings, Reelle Ejere, virtual hjemsted and our service fee.
ApS + hjemsted + Danish banking + statsautoriseret revisor under one roof.
Standard formation 1–3 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.
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 | 1–3 weeks | Default — SMEs, holdings |
| A/S | DKK 400,000 | 4–8 weeks | Listed groups |
| Filial | Parent-dependent | 3–6 weeks | Foreign multinational presence |
| Færdigregistreret ApS | DKK 40,000 (paid) | 3–7 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: 1–5 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 | 1–3 weeks |
| A/S (joint-stock) | 4–8 weeks |
| Filial of foreign company | 3–6 weeks |
| Færdigregistreret ApS — transfer | 3–7 working days |
ApS via virk.dk: 1–3 weeks. Færdigregistreret ApS transfer: 3–7 working days.
DKK 40,000. Fully paid in cash at formation. The IVS (DKK 1 minimum) form was abolished in 2019.
No. Neither anpartshavere nor direktør need Danish or EU residency.
22% selskabsskat. moms (VAT) 25% standard. 0% withholding to EU corporate parents.
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. Denmark’s tax-residence test follows the place of effective management.
SKAT moms registration, Reelle Ejere filing, bank account opening, statsautoriseret revisor (auditor) engagement above audit thresholds. Most clients are operational within 2–3 weeks.
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’re pricing 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 in the standard fee for both shelf-company purchase and new formation. Subsequent changes are billed at cost.
Yes. As a Denmark-tax-resident ApS, your company has automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the EU Interest and Royalties Directive, and the network of Denmark’s bilateral double-tax treaties (typically 70-90 partner countries). Treaty access is conditional on meeting the principal-purpose test (PPT) under the Multilateral Instrument and the relevant treaty’s anti-abuse provisions.
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 pricing-defined remedial path. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
A 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 a 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 quoted line-item separately so there is no scope creep on the headline incorporation or transfer fee.
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 M 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.