What exactly is a company number?
Every company that carries out commercial activities must register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE). Once your application has been approved, the CBE assigns you a company number. This serves as a unique means of identification for your company.
What is the company number used for?
The company number is not only a formal identification code of your company for the CBE and the tax authorities, but your customers and partners can also use it to identify you.
You are therefore obliged to provide your company number on all your official communications and commercial documents, such as invoices, offers or letters. It must also be shown on your website.
How do you apply for a company number?
You can simply request the company number via a Securex enterprise counter in your area or directly from the CBE. We will handle the request for you and support you with additional information. Thus, you can focus on what really matters to you: your brand-new business.
For smooth registration, please provide us with the following information:
- Identity card (and/or professional card),
- Bank account number,
- Description of your company's activities,
- Trade name of your business,
- Any prior authorisations required to start (e.g. an itinerant trader’s card or professional card),
- For a company: a private deed as proof of incorporation.
Are you setting up a company by way of a private deed? Then you will receive your company number from the clerk's office of the Commercial Court. With this number, you can visit the Securex business counter in your area, where we will dot the i's together.
What does a company number cost?
Each company number has a fixed administrative cost, regardless of the size or type of your company. The fee is set by the FPS Finance and is indexed annually. In 20210, a company number costs € 90,5 euro.
Do you have any questions about your business’ company number?
Contact us
Company number vs. VAT number
In common parlance, the company number is also referred to as the VAT number. That is only partly correct. Since 2003, company numbers have also been used as VAT numbers. Therefore, in practice, both terms are usually used to indicate the same thing. Why, exactly, is that?
In most cases, your company is subject to VAT. This means that you must have your company number activated as a VAT number. At Securex, we do this automatically for you, so that you can get started from day one. As soon as your company number has been activated as a VAT number at the CBE, you can start sending invoices and incurring tax-deductible business expenses.
Apply for your company number before you start, it will cost you about €90. At Securex, you can rest assured that we will quickly take care of the paperwork for you and in good time.