Remote Founding of a Company
The law expects as a standard that the founder(s) and new director(s) personally visit the notary to celebrate the founding of a new company. The founder(s) sign the articles of association, and the director(s) apply to register the company before the notary. Each director also affirms that he is in good standing.
At times, a foreign person opening a company might consider it too costly to come to Germany for a whole day just to execute the signatures with the notary and one hour later register with a bank online.
As we also embrace economically wise approaches, we developed a solution with our notary on how to legally avoid the founder(s) and director(s) having to travel. The exact approach depends on how many founders will be opening the company.
If only one person wants to register the company, we have to apply a two-step approach. We will provide you with the relevant power of attorney. After signing it in front of the German consul or, alternatively, your notary, you will send it back to us. We will then visit the notary. The founding takes place. You will then have to sign the remaining documents before the German consul or, alternatively, your notary.
Remote founding is less complicated if two or more people open a company. This will be a one-step procedure. After sending you a draft to "okay" and you approve it, we will go to the notary without power of attorney. Does this sound bogus? Relax! Legally, nothing has yet happened. Our representation at my notary will be valid and legally binding only after you formally approve.
In collaboration with the notary, we will organize the power of attorney and the director's affirmations and let you sign them. Some of these documents need to be signed, and some also need to be notarized and legalized. When forwarding these documents to be signed, we will also provide instructions on how each document needs to be treated.
Remote Opening for a Single Person
In the situation that only one person wants to register the company, we need to proceed in two steps. We will provide you with the appropriate power of attorney. After you have signed it in front of the German consul or alternatively your notary, after that we will visit the notary here. The incorporation will take place. You will then need to sign the remaining documents in front of the German consul or, alternatively, your notary.
Long-Distance Registring for Several Persons
Remote incorporation is less complicated when two or more people start a company. This is then a one-step process. After we send you a draft to "sign off" and you approve it, we go to the notary without a power of attorney. Does this sound unserious? Don't worry! Legally, nothing has happened yet. Only when you formally approve, my representation at the notary is valid and legally binding. It is no problem if each individual goes to a notary or German consul in his area. So it is possible to organize people across continents without any problems.
Different Fee Structure
There will be a fee increase to cover all legal fees (notary, commercial registry, transparency registry) plus a minor surcharge of a few Euros to cover the payment support and the special documentation needed for remote founding. This approach is applied on purpose because we want to keep everybody happy. You want the company, the notary, and the commercial registry wish to be paid. When the commercial registry is not paid, it can refuse entry. Notaries are reluctant to render their services when the payment is unclear. When I vouch for the fees, they are instantly happy.