---
canonical: "https://euincnow.com/eu-inc-registration"
dateModified: "2026-10-24"
---

# EU Inc Registration: How It Works, and What It Will Cost

EU Inc registration is not open and there is no confirmed launch date. The Commission proposes a digital fast track of 48 hours for at most €100 when its conditions are met. Other routes have different timing and cost rules. Parliament and Council are still negotiating the text. You can assess an existing national EU company if you need an entity now.

## Can you register an EU Inc yet?

- Not yet. EU Inc is a **proposal, not a live company form**. The European Commission published the draft 28th Regime regulation on 18 March 2026. The [Council agreed its negotiating position on 23 October][1], but the institutions still need a final text and formal adoption. There is **no confirmed registration date**. The Council mandate proposes general application at the end of the 21st month after entry into force. The Commission proposed 12 months. The final timetable is not agreed. See the timing provisions and remaining steps.
- So if you searched for "EU Inc registration" hoping to sign up today, the honest answer is that the portal does not exist yet. The good news: the EU company that comes closest to EU Inc, an Estonian OU formed online, can be registered right now, and any later conversion would depend on the final EU Inc rules and your eligibility. We cover both paths below.
- Status
- Registration is not open. No opening date is confirmed.
- The facts below describe how EU Inc registration is _proposed_ to work. Treat them as the draft, not the final rulebook, the details can change as the law is negotiated.

## The proposed EU Inc registration process

- The draft regulation describes a digital-first registration built to remove the friction founders hit today. As proposed, the steps would look like this:

1. **Choose your member state.** You freely pick the EU country in which the EU Inc is incorporated, with full access to the single market either way.
2. **Verify your identity once.** Identity is confirmed digitally through eIDAS, the EU's electronic identification standard, under the proposed digital process. Additional identity or anti-fraud checks may be required.
3. **Submit your details once.** Under a "once-only" data principle you enter your company information a single time through an EU-level interface, instead of resubmitting it to several authorities.
4. **Use the EU standard template.** Standardised articles of association mean you are not drafting bespoke documents for each country.
5. **Get registered, EU-wide.** The target is formation in around 48 hours (five working days without the standard template), producing an EU Company Certificate that banks, investors and registries recognise across all 27 member states.

- These figures come straight from the European Commission's proposal. You can read the primary source on the Commission's own page, [EU Inc: a new harmonised corporate legal regime][2], and the launch announcement, [EU Inc: making business easier in the European Union][3].

## What you would need to register

- The proposal keeps the requirements deliberately light, which is the whole point of a digital, startup-ready form:

* **Verified identity** for the required signatories, using the permitted electronic identification process and any required additional checks.
* **At least one EU-resident director** under Article 42(2). Non-EU shareholders and director residence are separate questions.
* **Basic company information**: name, registered member state, directors and shareholders, and your business activity.
* **No minimum capital.** You would not lock up any share capital to incorporate. In place of a capital buffer, distributions must pass a balance-sheet and solvency test.
* **Standardised articles of association**, supplied as an EU template you adopt rather than draft.

## What EU Inc registration will cost

- The proposal sets a ceiling of **€100 for the qualifying fast-track route**, with **no minimum capital** to deposit. That is a deliberate contrast with the EU's older pan-European company, the Societas Europaea, which needs €120,000 of capital and never reached startups.
- Two caveats. First, the proposed €100 ceiling is conditional, not a price for every formation route. The Council draft addresses the fast-track cost ceiling in Article 16 and the standard route in Article 17. Second, separately commissioned advice and ongoing company costs need their own budget. Until EU Inc is live, the real cost question is what it takes to register an existing EU company today, which is what we quote you.

## Where you register an EU Inc

- An EU Inc would not be a "stateless" company. You would **choose one member state of incorporation** and register there through the EU-level interface. The country you pick still matters, because anything the regulation does not cover is filled by that country's national company law (a German EU Inc would sit on GmbH law, for example), and because tax follows where the company is genuinely run. We explain that split in EU Inc taxes.
- Behind the scenes, the national business registers are already linked through the EU's **Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS)**, which is what lets one registration be recognised everywhere. That existing plumbing is a big reason the 28th Regime can promise EU-wide standing from day one.
- For ownership and management conditions, see EU Inc for non-EU residents. For a current alternative, compare EU Inc and an Estonian OÜ.

## How to register an EU company today

- Because EU Inc registration is not open, founders who need an entity now register the closest existing option, an EU company they can form fully online. The process with us is simple:

1. **Tell us your plan.** Where you live, where your customers are, and what you are building. This is the free plan, no commitment.
2. **We recommend a jurisdiction.** We match you to the right country and company type on tax, cost, setup speed and how remote you can stay.
3. **Licensed counsel files it.** We handle identity checks, articles of association and the registration itself with regulated local partners.
4. **Your company is registered in days.** An Estonian online application can be processed in days once digital IDs and documents are ready. Digital ID collection, banking and any required VAT registration are separate steps.

- When EU Inc launches, you revisit it from a clean, EU-based starting point. To choose a country first, compare all 43 jurisdictions on cost, tax and setup time.

## Registering as a non-EU resident

- The proposal allows non-EU founders, but Article 42(2) requires at least one EU-resident director. Identity verification and a registered office also matter. Those conditions do not prevent non-EU ownership, but they must be planned for separately. Read EU Inc for non-EU residents for the distinction and current national options.

## Primary sources

- Legislative status checked 24 October 2026. The registration routes described above come from the Commission proposal unless stated otherwise. They can change before adoption.

* [European Parliament: procedure 2026/0074(COD)][4]
* [Council: negotiating position adopted, 23 October 2026][1]
* [Council negotiating mandate, ST 14376/26][5]

- [European Commission: EU Inc, a new harmonised corporate legal regime][2] (proposal, documents and factsheet).
- [European Commission news: EU Inc, making business easier in the European Union][3] (18 March 2026).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I register an EU Inc company now?

- No. Registration is closed and no opening date is confirmed. The regulation must be agreed and adopted before its preparation period and application date can be finalised.

### How will EU Inc registration work?

- The proposal describes digital registration through an EU interface or national register. A qualifying fast track targets 48 hours using standard templates. Other routes and additional checks have different rules. The final process is not agreed.

### Where do you register an EU Inc?

- You would freely choose the EU member state in which to incorporate, then register through the EU-level digital interface. Your data flows to the business register of the country you pick, which is linked to every other member state through the EU Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS).

### Can a non-EU resident register an EU Inc?

- Nobody can register one yet. Non-EU founders are allowed under the proposal, but at least one director must be resident in the EU under Article 42(2). Shareholder residence and director residence are separate conditions.

## Source URLs

[1]: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/10/23/eu-inc-council-adopts-position-on-a-new-eu-corporate-law-for-innovative-companies/

[2]: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/business-and-industry/doing-business-eu/company-law-and-corporate-governance/eu-inc-new-harmonised-corporate-legal-regime_en

[3]: https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/eu-inc-making-business-easier-european-union-2026-03-18_en

[4]: https://oeil.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/procedure-file?reference=2026%2F0074%28COD%29

[5]: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-14376-2026-INIT/en/pdf