From internal annual accounts to publication documents

What are publication documents and how do you make them?

Publication documents are the version of the Dutch annual accounts that you file with the KVK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce). You derive them from the adopted annual accounts: a micro entity publishes only a limited balance sheet, a small entity an abridged balance sheet with limited notes, and a medium-sized entity additionally a simplified profit and loss account, a management report and an auditor's report. The adoption date and the names of the signatories are always included; the signatures themselves do not have to appear on the filed copy (RJk A6.108).

• The publication documents contain no figures other than those in the adopted annual accounts; they only leave more out.
• The KVK does not check the content. What you submit becomes public in the Business Register immediately after processing.

What do you need?

• The adopted annual accounts; if adoption is not possible in time, the prepared version.
• The size class, tested over two consecutive balance sheet dates.
• The adoption date and the names of the signatories.
• For medium-sized and large entities: the auditor's report.
• The documents you filed last year, for comparative figures in the same form.

Publication documents in eight steps

1. Fix the size class definitively
2. Micro: limit to the limited balance sheet
3. Small: abridged balance sheet and limited notes
4. Medium-sized and large: what is added
5. Add the mandatory statements
6. Keep the comparative figures in the same form
7. Check the publication version against the adopted annual accounts
8. Create the file and submit

Step 1. Fix the size class definitively

What you may leave out depends on the class for this financial year. Test on two consecutive balance sheet dates, and for a new entity on the first balance sheet date. For a group, include the group companies.

Why: With the wrong class you publish too little, which counts as not filing, or too much, which cannot be undone.

art. 2:395a(1) and (2) DCCart. 2:396(1) and (2) DCCart. 2:398(1) DCC

Note: Do not carry over last year's class without testing. Growth over two years changes what you must publish.

Support: Jaarrekening.io blocks the publication version and the export as long as no size class has been recorded for the financial year, and does not silently apply the exemptions of another class.

Step 2. Micro: limit to the limited balance sheet

A micro entity makes only the limited balance sheet public: fixed assets, current assets, equity as a single item, provisions and liabilities as a single item, split into the part with a remaining term of at most one year and the part beyond that. Capitalised formation costs or called-up share payments are shown separately.

Why: The law limits the disclosure of micro entities to this balance sheet. A profit and loss account and extensive notes are not part of it.

art. 2:395a(4) and (8) DCC

Note: If you have not recognised accruals for other operating costs, state that at the bottom of the balance sheet (art. 2:395a(3) DCC). An NV also states there the information from the second sentence of art. 2:378(3) DCC.

Step 3. Small: abridged balance sheet and limited notes

A small entity publishes an abridged balance sheet with the main items of assets and liabilities and the components of equity, plus the notes to the extent the law prescribes them for small entities: among other things the accounting policies, liabilities and receivables with a term longer than one year without a breakdown by type and without interest rate, the security provided and the average number of employees. The profit and loss account and the note on events after the balance sheet date are left out.

Why: The law lets the small entity keep its results private, but not its financial position.

art. 2:396(3), (5) and (8) DCC

Note: Even without a profit and loss account, the result can usually be read from the equity, in which the result for the year or the movement in reserves is visible.

Step 4. Medium-sized and large: what is added

A medium-sized entity publishes a somewhat simplified balance sheet, a simplified profit and loss account showing the gross operating result, extensive notes, the management report, the other information and the auditor's report. A large entity publishes everything in full. You may also keep the management report and the other information available for inspection at your office and supply them on request at cost price, notifying the Business Register; you do file the auditor's report and the statement of non-voting shares.

Why: For larger entities the interest of creditors and employees in disclosure weighs more heavily.

art. 2:397 DCCart. 2:392(1) DCCart. 2:394(4) DCC

Note: The auditor's report belongs to a specific version of the annual accounts. If anything changes after the report, consult the accountant before filing.

Step 5. Add the mandatory statements

State the date of adoption, or that the annual accounts have not yet been adopted. Include the names of all directors and supervisory directors who signed, and the reason if a signature is missing. State at the top of the balance sheet whether the appropriation of result has been processed. File the Dutch version; only if that has not been prepared, the version in French, German or English (art. 2:394(1) DCC).

Why: These statements are required by law and make clear to the reader what status the figures have.

art. 2:394(1) and (2) DCCart. 2:210(2) DCCart. 2:362(2) DCC

Note: Do not put a scanned signature or photos in the publication documents; the KVK asks for restraint with personal data, because anyone can inspect the documents.

Support: In Jaarrekening.io you record the adoption status and date explicitly; without these details the filing page shows a blocking message.

Step 6. Keep the comparative figures in the same form

Show the prior-year amount next to every published item, in the same abridged form. If the size class has changed, adjust the comparative figures to the new form too. Explain restated amounts.

Why: Comparative figures are mandatory where possible, also in the publication documents.

art. 2:363(4) and (5) DCC

Note: Use the figures filed last year, not a later internal version. If they differ, an explanation is needed.

Step 7. Check the publication version against the adopted annual accounts

The balance sheet total, equity and liabilities must equal those in the adopted annual accounts. For small entities check that no profit and loss account has slipped in, and for all classes check the KVK number, the reporting period and the class indication.

Why: Filed annual accounts stay public. The KVK cannot remove a version filed earlier; a correction appears alongside it.

art. 2:362(6) DCC

Note: If it turns out after filing that the annual accounts are seriously deficient, the board must inform the shareholders and file a notice with the Business Register.

Step 8. Create the file and submit

Enter the publication documents in the KVK's self-filing portal, or create an XBRL file according to the taxonomy of the financial year and submit it via SBR software or an intermediary. For financial year 2025 that is NT20. Keep the confirmation of receipt. The steps are in the filing guide.

Why: Filing is done digitally in XBRL. From financial year 2025 this also applies to large entities, with exceptions such as listed companies.

art. 2:394(1) DCC

Note: An XBRL file that has not been validated against the taxonomy may be rejected. Have it checked before submitting.

Support: Jaarrekening.io exports the annual accounts as a PDF via the print dialog, as Word or as Excel, with a publication version and an XBRL file as a validation candidate alongside; the app sends nothing to the KVK.

Example: one balance sheet, three versions

A small BV has the following balance sheet at 31 December 2025. For illustration, next to it is what the publication would have looked like had the BV been micro. Amounts in euros, fictitious.

The balance sheet total is € 610.000 in all versions. The small BV leaves out the profit and loss account, but the result after tax of € 68.850 remains visible in equity. A micro entity would show only the total of equity.

From adoption to public (financial year 2025)

When do you involve an accountant or adviser?

For a medium-sized or large entity, agree the publication documents with the accountant, because the auditor's report belongs to a specific version. If you are unsure which exemptions you may apply, for example because of a group structure or a change of size class, have someone review it before submitting: filed annual accounts remain visible, even after a correction.

Sources

• Art. 2:394 DCC (wetten.overheid.nl): disclosure, statements, keeping available for inspection, KVK retention period
• Art. 2:395a DCC (wetten.overheid.nl): limited balance sheet of the micro entity
• Art. 2:396 DCC (wetten.overheid.nl): abridged balance sheet and notes of the small entity
• Art. 2:397 DCC (wetten.overheid.nl): simplifications for the medium-sized entity
• Art. 2:392 DCC (wetten.overheid.nl): other information
• Art. 2:362 DCC (wetten.overheid.nl): appropriation of result at the top of the balance sheet, notice of serious deficiency
• KVK: What do the annual accounts consist of?: components to be made public per business class, signature and date of adoption
• KVK: Filing your annual accounts yourself: login options (eHerkenning EH2, KVK account with authorisation, access code), authorisation, correction, personal data

All sources consulted on 5 October 2026. Statutory texts per Book 2 DCC as in force from 1 July 2026.

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