From a vennootschap onder firma (vof) to an eenmanszaak

15 December 2022
Edited 30 April 2024
2 min

Read how to transfer a vennootschap onder firma or vof (general partnership) to an eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship), what is involved, and what you should pay attention to.

Step 1: Fill in forms

Form 17a: ‘Dissolution of a partnership or shipping company’. All partners must agree to and sign point 3.1. Under point 4.2, indicate that you wish to transfer the business to the new owner.
Form 1: eenmanszaak registration form.

Step 2: Make an appointment

Make an appointment at a KVK office and bring:

the completed forms
Valid proof of identity

Registration fee

To register the business with a new KVK number, the new owner must pay a registration fee.  Do you not need to visit in person? Then you will receive an invoice by post.

Identification exception

If you are a former partner, are now becoming the owner of an eenmanszaak, and personally identified yourself at KVK after 1 March 2002, you do not have to schedule an appointment in person. Simply send the signed forms and enclosed documents to the KVK’s postal address.

Does the vof have branch offices or an authorised person?

Then they must be re-registered with the eenmanszaak.

Form 9: 'Registration of a company branch'
Form 13: 'Registration of authorised representative'

Visiting address and business activity

When taking over a business, the visiting address and at least 1 business activity must remain the same.

UBO register

An eenmanszaak does not need to register UBOs. KVK deregisters the UBOs for your vof. You do not have to do this yourself.

Effective date

We will finalise the transfer on the effective date. After the change/changes has/have been processed, you can immediately request a certified KVK Business Register Extract.

Netherlands Tax Administration

Due to the change of legal form, the KVK number and VAT ID will also change. We will report this change in the Business Register to the tax authorities. If you employ staff, your payroll tax number will also change. To find out what to do, visit the website of the Dutch Tax Administration.

Existing contracts

Find out which contracts are in the vof’s name, including rental contracts, maintenance contracts, and insurance policies. Change the name on the contracts to the eenmanszaak’s name.

Do you already own an eenmanszaak?

If you already own an eenmanszaak, you cannot register a second one. What can you do?

If the business you are acquiring has a different address than your current business, you can choose to register a branch office. Send form 9 (‘Company branch’ registration form) and form 17a (‘dissolution’ form) to us by post in 1 envelope. Also send a copy of a valid ID for each of the signatories of the forms and a copy of the lease, purchase, or rental contract signed by 2 parties. You do not have to schedule an appointment at KVK.
If the address is the same as the address of your eenmanszaak, do not register a branch office. In this case, submit the changes to your current eenmanszaak online, such as by adding new business activities or a new trade name.

More information

You will find more information on transferring a company in the articles Final tax return when closing down, selling, or inheriting a business and A guide to changing your business structure on Business.gov.nl.