Filing
Filing (deponeren) is making the prescribed annual accounts documents public with the KVK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce). The deadline and scope depend on the legal entity and the size class.
What does filing mean?
Filing (deponeren) is making the prescribed annual accounts documents public with the KVK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce). The deadline and scope depend on the legal entity and the size class.
Filing is making the prescribed documents public with the Business Register. The deadline and documents follow from Book 2 DCC; after adoption a short filing period applies in principle, and there is a final limit after the end of the financial year.
How does it work?
Filing is the act that makes the annual accounts public: delivery to the Business Register of the KVK, in Dutch or otherwise in French, German or English, with the date of adoption (art. 2:394(1) DCC). Micro, small and medium-sized entities deliver digitally in XBRL, via the KVK's Zelf Deponeren portal or via software that delivers with SBR. For large legal entities electronic filing is mandatory from financial year 2025.
The deadline is eight days after adoption. If the annual accounts have not been adopted two months after the end of the preparation period, the board files the prepared version, stating that it has not yet been adopted (paragraph 2). The final date is twelve months after the end of the financial year (paragraph 3). Once processed, the document can immediately be requested from the Business Register.
Example
A small BV with financial year 2025. The board prepares the annual accounts on 20 April 2026 and the general meeting adopts them on 15 May: file by 23 May 2026 at the latest. It delivers the balance sheet with notes, not the profit and loss account. Suppose the meeting does not take place. The five-month preparation period ends on 31 May and two months later is 31 July: the board then files the unadopted annual accounts without delay. If the meeting extends the preparation period by five months, that moves to 31 December 2026, the final date.
In the annual accounts
Process outside the annual accounts; scope of publication documents differs per size class.
Difference from adopting
Adopting is a resolution of the general meeting: it makes the annual accounts final. Filing is the act afterwards, by or on behalf of the board. The eight days start on the day of adoption. If all shareholders of a BV are also directors, signing by all directors counts as adoption, unless the articles of association exclude this (art. 2:210(5) DCC).
Common mistakes
- Confusing preparing with adopting
- Uploading only the full internal annual accounts
What should you watch for?
- Determine the size class before sending and deliver only the documents that belong to it; see Preparing publication documents.
- Keep the KVK's confirmation and check in the Business Register that the right version is visible. The filing step-by-step guide describes the route.
- Micro files an abridged balance sheet, small a balance sheet with notes. Medium-sized and large also deliver the profit and loss account, the management report and the accountant's report.
Legal basis and source
art. 2:394 DCC
Frequently asked questions
Can you get an extension for filing?
No. The general meeting can extend the period for preparing by at most five months, but the final date of twelve months after the financial year is fixed. The KVK grants no extension.
What do you do if the filed annual accounts are seriously deficient?
Then the board informs the shareholders or members and files a notice about it with the Business Register, with an accountant's report if the annual accounts were audited (art. 2:362(6) DCC).
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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