Company number

What is a company number?

When a sole proprietorship or a company is started, the business receives a unique 10-digit company number in the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO). Third parties such as government bodies and administrations use it to identify every entity with legal personality. The company number currently still consists of a 0 or a 1, followed by 9 digits. Soon, numbers starting with the digit ‘2’ will be issued. Example: 0123.456.789. Both a company and a self-employed person have a company number. Every business owner and company must state that number on all official commercial documents.

Applying for a company number

Whether you are self-employed, a sole proprietorship or a company, everyone must apply for a company number at the KBO. This is done via a business counter (ondernemingsloket) such as Liantis, Xerius, Partena or others. That counter registers the activity with the KBO together with the required additional information, such as the intended business activities, the address, the start date, etc. In addition, the business counter checks whether the self-employed person or company meets the required conditions for a given activity (sometimes extra requirements apply, such as a certificate of professional competence).

A company must file its deed of incorporation with the registry of the Enterprise Court. For a private limited company (BV), public limited company (NV) or a cooperative company (CV), this is done with the notarial deed, which the notary takes care of. For a general partnership (VOF) or limited partnership, a private deed between the founders suffices, i.e. without a notary, which is filed by one of the partners.

Looking up a company number

The Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO) collects and manages all basic data on Belgian businesses in one place. Much of the data is publicly accessible via the public search module. Anyone can look up a business there and consult the available data free of charge.

Company number versus VAT number

Anyone doing business must also have a VAT number before he or she can start (this also applies to a company). A business counter also applies for that number at your request. The Belgian VAT number starts with BE, followed by the same number as the company number. The activation of the VAT number with the VAT authorities is also handled by the business counter.