First online formation of a GmbH in Germany

Today, August 1, 2022, a GmbH was founded online for the first time in Germany. It was notarized in a video conference via the portal of the Federal Chamber of Notaries. The founder was based in Berlin, the notary in Munich. The formation marks the start of the notarial online procedure. "Today is a milestone in the digitalization of the notary's office," said Prof. Dr. Jens Bormann, President of the Federal Chamber of Notaries, welcoming the premiere. "The notary is going online, while the process remains simple and secure."

In addition to founding a GmbH, it is now also possible to register with the commercial, cooperative and partnership registers digitally. Anyone who is appointed as a managing director or wants to change the business address of their company, for example, no longer has to visit the notary on site, but can carry out the notarization in a video conference with the notary conveniently from anywhere. "All you need is a laptop or tablet, a smartphone with the free notary app and a current ID document," explains Bormann. "The procedure is therefore easily accessible."

At the same time, the highest data protection and security requirements are met. Online notarization is only permitted via the video conferencing system of the Federal Chamber of Notaries. The data is encrypted and stored on servers in Germany. "Confidentiality between notary and client is also fully protected digitally," emphasizes Bormann. The parties involved are identified using an electronic proof of identity of the highest security level, for example with the eID function of the German ID card. The system checks whether the ID document has been forged or stolen. "In this way, we prevent companies from being founded under false identities. This is an important contribution in the fight against money laundering, tax fraud and other crime," says Bormann.

In a year's time, the notarial online procedure will be expanded once again: from August 1, 2023, it will also be possible to incorporate a GmbH in kind, amend a GmbH articles of association and register an association online. Other transactions will continue to be notarized exclusively in person. Bormann explains: "When buying property or dealing with inheritance and family law matters, there are usually private individuals with no special prior knowledge involved who need to be given special protection. This is much easier to guarantee in person. The pandemic in particular has made us all aware of the difference between a face-to-face exchange and a video conference."

In addition to the notarial online procedure, the Bundesnotarkammer has successfully implemented two major digitization projects this year with the electronic document archive. Bormann comments: "The notaries are actively driving digitization forward with great commitment."

Further information on the notarial online procedure can be found at online-verfahren.notar.de.