Austria company incorporation: forming a GmbH

To start a business in Austria as a GmbH, sign a notarial deed in German. It becomes the operative legal entity on entry in the Commercial Register. The registration process follows a set order. This guide takes them in that order: whether a GmbH or a branch of an existing foreign company suits the plan, what the founders' documents have to establish before the notary appointment, why the cash contribution is paid after the deed is signed but before the filing, and which license and tax registrations follow the register entry. Most delays come from document readiness, proof of the capital payment and trade-law questions, so the steps work best as one sequence.

Once the Commercial Register entry is complete, the GmbH is the operative legal entity, and what follows is licensing and registration rather than formation. Business activity in Austria generally needs a trade license, and the activity decides how much that involves: an unregulated trade has light requirements, while a regulated one may call for proof of qualifications or a trade-law managing director. The tax registrations come next, and, if the account that received the capital contribution is not meant to be the long-term operating account, the need to open a corporate bank account for day-to-day business. So the one question worth settling early, ideally while the company's activity is still being defined, is which trade it will actually carry on.