Entity Formation in Denmark

Ready for a permanent Danish presence? We help you incorporate the right way, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including telling you when it is too early.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Honest timing

What incorporating in Denmark means

An ApS (Anpartsselskab, private limited company) is the standard vehicle for a permanent business presence, registered digitally through Virk.dk with no notary required. Larger operations sometimes use an A/S (Aktieselskab, public limited company, minimum capital DKK 400,000, 25% payable at formation). When you form one, you become the legal employer and operator in Denmark, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees, in exchange for the setup time and the ongoing obligations.

01

Your own company

Your own ApS makes you the legal employer and operator in Denmark, with full control of employment terms and a local brand presence.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Setup takes time

Incorporation itself is fast, often 1 to 3 business days once documents and capital are ready, but you cannot employ anyone until CVR registration completes, and building payroll and contribution setup from scratch takes longer. Timing the move matters, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in Denmark works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, then prepare the founding documents, run the company-name availability check, and arrange your registered Danish office address.

02 — Capital & MitID filing

No notary is required. Minimum share capital for an ApS is DKK 20,000, and the full amount must be paid in cash or in-kind at formation; no partial payment is allowed (unlike an A/S, where 25% of the DKK 400,000 minimum can be paid up front). The founding documents are filed digitally through Virk.dk, authenticated with MitID.

03 — Register the company

The company is entered in the Central Business Register (CVR) via Virk.dk, then registered with Skattestyrelsen for corporate tax and for VAT if turnover will exceed DKK 50,000/year, so you can operate and employ compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in Denmark costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. Denmark’s formation cost is low; the real commitment is the ongoing compliance. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

Minimum share capital for an ApS is DKK 20,000 (reduced from DKK 40,000, effective 27 February 2025), paid in full at formation, cash or in-kind. The Virk.dk registration fee is DKK 670. There is no notary fee, since Denmark does not require notarisation to incorporate.

Corporate tax

22% standard rate (unchanged since 2016). Financial-sector undertakings (banks, mortgage-credit institutions, investment managers, insurers) pay an effective 26% via a factor-model surtax in force since 2024. Cooperative associations pay 14.3%.

VAT

Standard VAT is 25% flat, the only EU member state with a single rate and no reduced tier. Registration is mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds DKK 50,000 in a rolling 12-month period.

Ongoing obligations

Accounting, monthly payroll (AM-bidrag, layered income tax, and the ATP/AES/Barsel.dk/AUB flat-fee contributions), VAT and corporate tax filings, and annual financial statements filed with the Central Business Register, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your Danish company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in Denmark through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear after registration. We stay on for the accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your company runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

Tax and accounting partners we have vetted and worked with, coordinated for you, so the fully digital Virk.dk process moves and nothing gets missed.

  • Vetted specialists
  • Coordinated for you
  • Nothing gets missed

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Incorporation is the start, not the finish. We stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts, so your company operates from day one without you building a local finance function.

  • Full back office
  • Accounting & payroll
  • Annual accounts

The incorporation trap nobody flags

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper Danish company. It sounds responsible. It usually is not, yet. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Employment & payroll obligations

Expectation: it is a quick, one-step digital filing and nothing more. Reality: incorporation itself can be fast via Virk.dk, but a registered Danish office, Skattestyrelsen tax registration, and enrolment in the ATP, AES, Barsel.dk, and AUB schemes all apply, and you cannot legally employ anyone until those registrations are live.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: dissolving a company needs a shareholder resolution, creditor notification, and a winding-up or liquidation process through Virk.dk. And once it exists, the obligations do not stop: annual financial statements, monthly payroll filings, corporate tax and VAT returns, and (above the small-company size thresholds) a statutory audit. None of this is a reason not to incorporate. It is a reason to do it at the right time, with the right partners already in place.

What we handle for your company

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant Danish payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with AM-bidrag, layered income tax, and the ATP/AES/Barsel.dk/AUB flat-fee contributions calculated, withheld, and filed each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in Denmark.

How long does it take to incorporate in Denmark?

Usually 1 to 3 business days once documents, the full share-capital deposit, and the registered address are in place, filed digitally through Virk.dk with no notary required. You cannot legally employ anyone until CVR registration completes, which is why timing matters and why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

DKK 20,000, reduced from DKK 40,000 in February 2025, and the full amount must be paid in cash or in-kind at formation, no partial payment allowed. The Virk.dk registration fee is DKK 670. The real cost is the ongoing accounting and compliance, which we can run for you.

Yes. There is no residency or citizenship requirement for shareholders or directors; a non-EU, non-resident individual can be sole shareholder and sole director, managing remotely. You will need a registered Danish office, which we arrange.

Incorporate when you have permanent, proven headcount and want full control, and the per-head savings justify the ongoing costs. Use EOR while you are still validating the market or need people working quickly. Most companies start with EOR and incorporate later. We advise on the crossover.

Accounting, monthly payroll (AM-bidrag, layered income tax, and the ATP/AES/Barsel.dk/AUB flat-fee contributions), corporate tax and VAT filings, and annual financial statements filed with the Central Business Register (plus a statutory audit above the small-company size thresholds). We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your Danish company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in Denmark?

Tell us your plans for Denmark and we will tell you honestly whether now is the time to incorporate, then handle it end to end if it is, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (Skattestyrelsen, Virk.dk, ATP). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.