Business & Self-Employment
How long does it take to found a GmbH?
Estimated wait
14 days – 56 days
Typically ~33 days
Based on published sources
Timeline guide
- Faster cases~22 days
- Average cases~33 days
- Slower casesUp to 56 days
The single biggest delay is defects — missing capital proof, an objected-to company name or a too-vague business purpose — plus regional register backlog. Online notarisation and a Musterprotokoll speed up the front end but do NOT remove the register court's processing time.
From the notary appointment to entry in the commercial register (Handelsregister), a GmbH realistically takes about 3–4 weeks when everything runs smoothly, and 4–8 weeks on average; a well-prepared digital case can finish in 1–2 weeks. The register entry itself — the decisive official step — is typically 5–8 business days, but can stretch to up to 8 weeks if the application has defects.
More details
The company can already operate as a GmbH i.G. (in Gründung) once the contract is notarised; it becomes a full GmbH only on register entry.
How the process works
- 1Notarise the articles of association (Musterprotokoll: ~1 day; individual contract: up to weeks)
- 2Open the business account and pay in the share capital (~1 week)
- 3Handelsregister entry — the decisive step (5–8 business days; up to 8 weeks with defects) ↑ the time on this page
- 4Full GmbH exists; operating as GmbH i.G. was already possible after notarisation
Last updated: 10 Jul 2026
Information is for general knowledge only.