Do you need an apostille to form a Dutch BV?

What an apostille is

An apostille is a certificate that one country attaches to a public document so another country will accept it as genuine. It was created by the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, signed in 1961, which most countries have now joined. Before the Convention, getting a document recognised abroad meant a chain of consular stamps; the apostille replaced that with a single, standardised certificate that every member country agrees to honour.

Crucially, an apostille authenticates the official, not the content. If a document is signed or certified in front of a local notary, the apostille confirms that notary is real and authorised to act, so the Dutch notary on the other end can rely on their signature and seal. It doesn't vouch for what the document says or for the legal effect of a signature; that remains a matter for the underlying document and the law that governs it.

The standard signing route now: QES and a video call

For every founder, wherever you're based, the way you sign your power of attorney is a qualified electronic signature (a QES, issued by a qualified trust service provider after identity verification under the EU's eIDAS rules), followed by a short video call with the Dutch notary, who explains the power of attorney before you sign. There's no local notary and no apostille in this route: your identity is verified electronically and confirmed again on the call.

This is what makes fully remote formation possible for individual shareholders. Plain scans of your passport and proof of address are accepted; nothing needs a foreign notary's stamp. For the detail on the document itself and how the signing flow works, see our power of attorney guide.

When you still need an apostille

The QES-and-video-call route above is the standard path, but an apostille (or, where your country isn't a Convention member, consular legalisation) still comes up in two situations:

• As a fallback. If QES signing genuinely isn't practical for you, for example because a qualified trust service provider isn't readily available where you are, signing in front of a local notary and apostilling that signature is the alternative route.
• For corporate shareholder documents. If a company holds the shares, some jurisdictions, for example China and Turkey, require your registry extract, articles of association, register of shareholders and confirmation of signatory authority to be certified by a local notary and apostilled before the Dutch notary can rely on them. This can add days to weeks; see how it works for how that sits alongside the rest of the timeline.

Outside those two cases, individual shareholders generally don't need an apostille at all. Our before you start page sets out the full document list for both individual and corporate shareholders.

Which authority issues it

If you do need an apostille, whether as the fallback route or for corporate documents, there's no single global office. You apostille in the country where the document was signed or certified, through that country's designated competent authority. A few examples relevant to our founders:

Naming and the exact process can change, so confirm the current designated authority on the Hague Conference (HCCH) list of competent authorities for your country before you book an appointment. If a document is signed in a country different from where you live, you apostille in the country of signing, not your country of residence.

How long it takes

Where the apostille route applies, turnaround varies a lot by country and by the route you choose, and it sits outside our control:

• Postal or standard service. Many authorities process by post or online submission; this can range from a few working days to a couple of weeks (verify the current turnaround for your country before relying on it).
• Premium or expedited counter service. Some authorities, and private legalisation agencies, offer a faster walk-in or courier service for an extra fee.
• Agency handling. A specialist legalisation agent can collect, apostille and courier a document for you, which costs more but can save time on a tight schedule.

Treat these as a starting point, not a promise. If this route applies to you, for example because you're a corporate shareholder in a jurisdiction that requires it, it's one of the things that can add days to weeks to the overall timeline; see how it works for the best-case and typical estimates, and what else can add time.

Where it fits in the process, if you need it

When the apostille or consular-legalisation route applies to you, here's where it sits:

1. The notary drafts the power of attorney (and, for a corporate shareholder, sets out what it needs to confirm about signatory authority and beneficial owners).
2. You sign in front of a local notary instead of using a QES, where that's the path that applies to you.
3. You apostille the signed document, or arrange consular legalisation if your country isn't a Convention member, so the Dutch notary can rely on the local official's certification.
4. The Dutch notary executes the deed once it has everything it needs, then registers the BV with the KVK and files the UBO details.

None of this needs a trip to the Netherlands itself; the apostille or legalisation step happens in your own country, and the rest of the process stays remote, in keeping with the rest of formation. See our non-EU founders guide for how this fits into the wider picture.

If your country isn't in the Convention

A handful of countries haven't joined the Hague Apostille Convention. If a document is signed in one of them, an apostille simply isn't available, and the fallback is consular legalisation instead: the document is certified by your local authorities and your foreign ministry, then stamped by the Dutch embassy or consulate that covers your country. There can be an extra notary or chamber-of-commerce step in between.

Consular legalisation is generally slower and more expensive than an apostille, sometimes by weeks, so if you're in this position, start it as early as possible. We'll confirm which route applies, apostille or consular, as soon as we know your country and shareholder structure.

Common mistakes that cost time

• Apostilling when a QES would do. Check whether the QES-and-video-call route works for you before starting a local-notary-and-apostille process you don't actually need.
• Apostilling the wrong document. Where the fallback route applies, you sign the power of attorney the Dutch notary drafts in front of your local notary and apostille that, not a generic letter you wrote yourself.
• Apostilling in the wrong country. The apostille must be issued where the document was signed or certified; signing in one country and trying to apostille in another doesn't work.
• Leaving it until last, where it does apply. For corporate shareholders in a jurisdiction that requires it, this is usually the longest single step, so start it early rather than treating it as an afterthought.
• Assuming your country is in the Convention. Check before you plan around an apostille; a non-member country needs the slower consular route instead.
• A stale document. The notary wants a reasonably recent document, so don't reuse an old apostilled certificate from a previous matter.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules and rates change; check the current position and get advice on your own situation before acting.

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