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The Netherlands company register is the Handelsregister, in English the Business Register, kept by the Kamer van Koophandel (KVK), the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, under the Handelsregisterwet 2007. Under that act the UBO register is part of the Handelsregister, not a separate database. Every BV and NV with its statutory seat in the Netherlands is registered (Article 6). The notary who executes a BV’s deed of incorporation files its first entry, due within one week (Article 20); afterwards each director must report changes within one week (Article 18). For the German Handelsregister, kept by the local courts, see our page on the German company register.
| Number | Format | Who has one | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| KVK number (KVK-nummer) | 8 digits | Every registered business and legal entity | Identifies the BV; by law it goes on letters, invoices, the website and business emails; unchanged when the shares are sold |
| RSIN (Rechtspersonen en Samenwerkingsverbanden Informatienummer) | Generated at registration | Every registered organisation except an eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship) | Data exchange with government bodies such as the Belastingdienst; a BV’s VAT number is NL, the RSIN, B and two digits |
| Establishment number (vestigingsnummer) | 12 digits | Each establishment; associations and foundations without establishments have none | Identifies a place of business; it stays with an establishment that is taken over |
The free search can find a company by its RSIN, but KVK shows another company’s RSIN only on its extract, which is paid. How these numbers compare with other countries is on our page about the company registration number.
Searching at kvk.nl is free: KVK says basic information such as the KVK number and trade name can be looked up without paying. A search matches names, addresses, KVK and establishment numbers and the RSIN, and returns at most 50 results. Who runs the company is on the extract only.
| Item | Free search result | KVK extract |
|---|---|---|
| KVK number, legal structure, establishment number | Shown | Shown |
| Address | Usually the visiting or postal address | Shown |
| Deregistration | Marked on the establishment | Current data; history is a separate product |
| RSIN | Not shown | Shown |
| Board members, authorised representatives (gevolmachtigden) and their authority to sign | Not shown | Shown on the principal establishment’s extract |
| Sole shareholder | Not shown | Shown only where one person holds all the shares |
| Incorporation date, bankruptcy | Not shown | Shown |
The extract comes as an uncertified online view, which is not official proof, a digitally certified PDF that KVK emails within 10 minutes, or certified paper. It shows the data in force on the day it is made; most recipients want one under a month old.
Two Dutch rules limit what any extract reveals. Residential addresses, shielded visiting addresses and telephone numbers are visible only to those who need them for a legal duty. And a BV with two or more shareholders shows none of them: the full list is in the shareholders’ register the board keeps under Article 2:194 of the Civil Code, which is open to shareholders but not to the public.
The record has legal force: under Article 25 of the Handelsregisterwet 2007 a BV cannot rely on an unregistered fact, such as a director’s dismissal, against a third party unaware of it.
A BV’s ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) are the natural persons with more than 25% of the shares, voting rights or ownership interest, or with effective control; where nobody qualifies, the statutory directors are registered as pseudo-UBOs. Under Article 15a of the Handelsregisterwet 2007 KVK holds each UBO’s identity, birth details, home address, nationality and the nature and extent of the interest, with copies of the documents used to verify them.
General access ended after a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in November 2022. KVK now describes three access levels: UBOB1 for accountants, lawyers and trust companies under the Wwft, certain insurers and pension funds, and organisations viewing their own registration; UBOB2 for financial firms such as banks and investment firms; UBOB3 for the Financial Intelligence Unit, authorities such as De Nederlandsche Bank, the Belastingdienst and the National Police, and public-function bodies including civil-law notaries. Rules for natural persons with a legitimate interest are still being prepared.
So a buyer cannot look up a Dutch BV’s UBOs. UBOs can see their own data, and a person authorised to sign for the BV can order its UBO register extract, a paid product, after logging in with DigiD or a European eID. In a sale, ask the seller for it. Dutch banks usually ask for that extract too, as our page on bank accounts for Dutch companies explains.
Article 2:394 of the Civil Code requires a BV to deposit its annual accounts at the Handelsregister within eight days of adoption and no later than twelve months after the financial year ends; KVK puts the limit at ten months and eight days where all shareholders are also directors. They are filed in Dutch or, where not drawn up in Dutch, in French, German or English.
Size decides how much is public. A micro BV publishes only a condensed balance sheet (Article 2:395a(8)); a small BV a condensed balance sheet and notes, with no profit and loss account and no management report (Article 2:396(7) and (8)). Anyone can order filed financial statements from KVK, as a paid product, for up to seven years back, and KVK’s deposits overview lists by book year what has been filed.
Late filing stays with the company whoever owns it. Under Article 2:19a KVK dissolves a BV when at least two listed circumstances coincide, such as a default of at least a year in publishing accounts and not being reachable at the registered address. KVK first enters a notice of its intention in the register and dissolves after eight weeks unless the grounds have gone. Missing the twelve-month limit is also an economic offence under the Wet op de economische delicten, and in a bankruptcy a failure to publish counts as improper performance by the board, presumed to be an important cause (Article 2:248(2)).
| Check | Where | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Free KVK search | The exact name ending in B.V., the KVK number, the legal structure, no deregistration note |
| Board | Current extract | Each director’s authority, alone or jointly, authorised representatives, a sole shareholder matching the seller, any bankruptcy |
| Warnings | Current extract | A notice of KVK’s intention to dissolve (Article 2:19a(3)) or a note that a detail is under investigation (Article 16(2) Handelsregisterwet 2007) |
| History | KVK corporate history | Former names, resigned officials and former addresses, online from 23 May 2010; a never-traded BV should show little |
| Accounts | Deposits overview | Financial statements for every book year that ended more than twelve months ago, and any liability declared by a parent company |
| Articles | Filed documents | Articles and amendments, including transfer rules: Article 2:195 requires an offer to co-shareholders unless the articles say otherwise |
| Shareholders and UBOs | The seller | The shareholders’ register, which records any pledge on the shares (Article 2:194), and the BV’s UBO extract |
| Incoming directors | Director Disqualification Register | Free without logging in; disqualifications from 1 October 2024 onwards and their length |
| Address | Extract and lease | A business-centre address is a visiting address only where work is done there with independent access, otherwise a postal address |
The shares then pass by a deed before a Dutch notary (Article 2:196), and KVK needs the new directors within one week and the UBO change within 7 days; because of Article 25, file at once. The full sequence is on our page about buying a shelf company in the Netherlands.
A ready-made BV already has its KVK number, RSIN and incorporation date; a new BV gets its numbers when the notary registers it (see company formation in the Netherlands). We can supply either and prepare the KVK and UBO filings; the register is kept by KVK alone. More is on our Netherlands page, and in Russian on our page on Dutch companies.
Yes. The search at kvk.nl is free and returns a company’s KVK number, trade name, legal structure, establishment number and usually an address. Directors, people authorised to sign, a sole shareholder and the RSIN appear only on a KVK extract, which is paid, as are filed annual accounts.
The 8-digit KVK number identifies the business or legal entity and must appear on letters, invoices, the website and business emails. The RSIN is the number government bodies use to exchange data about the BV, and its VAT number is built from it. The 12-digit establishment number identifies each place of business.
Only in part. A KVK extract names a sole shareholder where one person holds every share, but a BV with two or more shareholders shows none. The complete list is in the board’s shareholders’ register, which is not public, and the UBO register is closed too. In a purchase, ask the seller for both.
Not the public. KVK gives access at three levels: Wwft-obliged professionals such as accountants and lawyers; financial firms such as banks; and the Financial Intelligence Unit, authorities and civil-law notaries. UBOs see their own data and a company its own registration. Rules for people with a legitimate interest are still being prepared.
At KVK, where a BV deposits them within eight days of adoption and no later than twelve months after the year end. They can be ordered, as a paid product, for up to seven years back. A small BV files only a condensed balance sheet and notes, with no profit and loss account.
Mijn KVK (My KVK) is where you view and change your organisation’s details in the Business, LEI and UBO registers. You log in with DigiD or a European eID and see only organisations for which you are personally registered. A new statutory name, articles, seat or capital goes to KVK by post on form 15.
Checking a Dutch BV before you take it over, or want one already on the Handelsregister? Tell us which company and what it is for, and we will go through its KVK record with you. We also answer on Telegram and WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.