Digital Formation of LLCs (GmbH) in Austria

Setting up a company in Austria (especially as a non-resident) requires signing the articles of association in the form of a notarial deed and so signatories must be physically present or powers of attorney (PoA) are to be used. Formalities like the notarisation of a PoA (and possibly the need for an apostille) while adding legal certainty slowed down the process significantly. 

This is why the Austrian legislator recently made it possible to set up limited liability companies remotely via video conference. Although this measure had been introduced in the beginning of 2019, the demand for digital formations remained rather low.

Now, in times of social distancing, digital legal acts are on the rise. On 1 April 2020 CMS Austria and notary Dr. Philipp Nierlich of nhp notaries conducted the first digital formation of a limited liability company in Austria with non-German-speaking founder and managing director. One signatory completed the whole formation process using only his smartphone. 

The promising start-up is setting up a subsidiary in Austria and is a member of CMS' global start-up programme equIP, which has been developed for tech start-ups that require premium legal advice on framework conditions for start-ups. The focus of equIP is on technology, media and telecommunications, energy, life sciences, bio tech, fintech and digitalisation.

If you wish to receive further information on the digital formation of an LLC (GmbH) or our startup programme equIP, please feel free to contact Klaus Pateter or Marco Selenic or go to www.start-up.law