Proof of visiting address and postal address in the Business Register

Every business and organisation must have a registered visiting address listed in the Business Register. Do you receive your post at a different address? Then you can also provide a postal address.

• What is a visiting address?
• Proof of ownership
• Proof of rental
• Proof of muliti-tenant premises
• Conditions for declaration of consent
• KVK checks

What is a visiting address?

A visiting address is the place where your organisation or business carries out its work or, for example, receives customers and suppliers. Or where staff from KVK and the Netherlands Tax Administration carry out inspections. You must be present on a regular basis at your business’s or organisation’s business address as listed in the Business Register.

The activities of the business or organisation must also take place there. The business address must not be a PO Box. A postal address in the Netherlands must be listed in the Basic Register of Addresses and Buildings (BAG, in Dutch).

If the visiting or postal address is not the same as the residential address of a business owner or managing director as recorded in the Basic Register of Persons (BRP, in Dutch) maintained by Dutch municipalities, you must provide evidence that the business or organisation uses that visiting or postal address.  How you prove that you are using a visiting or postal address depends on the situation.

Proof of ownership

How you prove that you are using a visiting or postal address depends on the situation. Do you own a residential or commercial property where you do not live yourself? If so, you can prove this with a certificate of ownership from the (Land Registry Office, in Dutch) or a copy of a purchase agreement.

Proof of rental

You can also rent premises for your business or organisation. The KVK checks the Land Registry Office to verify whether a landlord is the owner of a property. If the landlord is not the owner of the property, the KVK will require further evidence in addition to the tenancy agreement. This could be a main tenancy agreement in which the owner gives permission for subletting, or, for example, a statement in which the owner of the property gives their consent.

Proof for multi-tenant business premises

If a business or organisation operates from a multi-company building, a commercial agreement serves as proof. This could be a tenancy or service contract. 
Under the terms of the contract, you must always have access during opening hours to a workstation or a space where you carry out a significant part of your work. This may also be a flexible workspace that you share with others. We will check your tenancy agreement against these conditions when you register your business or organisation. 

Do you only rent a flexible workspace or meeting room from time to time? If so, you cannot use that address as your visiting address.

In the case of a multi-company building, the rental company must be listed at the same address in the Business Register. The letting company must also be registered in the Business Register with the business activity: ‘De verhuur of bemiddeling van bedrijfsruimte’ (‘The letting or brokering of commercial premises’).

Declaration of consent

If there is no service, tenancy or purchase agreement to prove that a business or organisation is using a visiting or postal address, in some cases the tenant or owner of a residential address may issue a declaration giving consent for a business or organisation to be registered in the Business Register.

With this declaration, the tenant or owner of the property gives you permission to establish a business or organisation at the residential address and to register it in the Business Register. Read more about a declaration of consent.

Proof of postal address

Do you want to have post for your business or organisation delivered to an address other than your business premises? If so, you must provide a postal address.

If that postal address differs from the residential address of an entrepreneur or managing director listed in the Basic Register of Persons of the Dutch municipalities (BRP), you must provide proof that your business or organisation may use that postal address. If you have a Dutch PO box, this is not required.

For a postal address, you can use the same proof as for a business address: proof of ownership, a tenancy agreement, or a service contract. If you do not have this proof, you may, under certain conditions, use a declaration of consent. We check the proof of the postal address in the same way as we check the proof of the business address.

Check the address

An address must be listed in the Basic Register of Addresses and Buildings (BAG). Use the BAG Viewer (in Dutch) to check that the address in the BAG is correct. Check the street name, house number, suffix (such as 24a or 24b), or designated use (such as retail premises). The activities of the business or organisation must be consistent with the property’s designated use. If something is incorrect, you can report the error on the BAG Viewer website.

The Business Register is linked to the BRP. A residential address must be correctly recorded there. If a residential address is missing or incorrect in the BRP, the municipality must correct it.