Deregistering a company or legal entity

  • 8 October 2016
  • Edited 1 March 2023
  • 1 min

If you end your company or legal entity, you must deregister it. You use a form for this. You can also deregister an official (such as a director, partner, commissioner, or authorised representative) or a branch.

Dissolve the legal entity first

You can only deregister a legal entity if it has been dissolved first. Legal entities are: private or public limited companies (bv or nv), cooperatives, mutual insurance societies, associations, and foundations. Read more about dissolving a legal entity in the factsheet dissolution of a legal entity.

Dissolve a legal entity

Consequences (financial) institutions

If a legal entity is dissolved, this may affect, for example, permits from the municipality, financing, insurance, pension funds, or bank accounts of that legal entity. Consult the website of the relevant (financial) institution to find out what steps to take if the legal entity ceases to exist.

Checklist for ending your business

What else must you bear in mind when you end your company?

Use the step-by-step plan for ending your business

Deregistering an official or branch

Do you only want to deregister an official or a branch, without dissolving the legal entity? That is also possible. To do so, follow 1 of the links below, enter the name or KVK number of your company and follow the steps.

Deregister an official (in Dutch)

Deregister a branch (in Dutch)

English forms

Please note: the 2 links above take you to online forms. These are only available in Dutch. If you want to fill in an English form, you can use one of the following forms to end your registration:

Frequently asked questions

How quickly we process your change depends on how you communicate your change to us.

  • Are you submitting the change online? We process digital changes within 2 days.
  • Are you submitting the change by post? We will process it within 10 working days after receiving it.

If the information you provide is not complete, we will contact you.

After your change has been processed in the Business Register, you will receive official confirmation by letter, or digitally via your Message Box account. Are you submitting the change online? Then you will also receive confirmation by email.

We cannot provide information about the status of the processing between the time of receipt and processing.

Are you submitting a change for a future date? Then you will only see the change in the Business Register on that date. The Business Register always shows the current situation.