Founding a cooperative - entry in the register of cooperatives

Contact the competent local court where the register of cooperatives is kept.

• At least 3 members
• Cooperative audit by a cooperative association
• Membership in a cooperative auditing association

Registration - electronically in publicly certified form - by all members of the Board of Directors with the following content:

• Board members with date of birth and place of residence
• the power of representation of the Management Board members - here both the abstract regulation for the Management Board and the specific regulation for individual Management Board members if it deviates from the abstract regulation
• Location of the business premises

Documents to be attached to the application in electronic form:

The articles of association, signed by the members involved in the formation and who have joined by the time of filing; at least three members are required

• a) The signature of the minutes of incorporation, to which the articles of association are attached, is sufficient.
• b) Documents on the appointment of the Management Board and, if appointed, the Supervisory BoardSimple copies of the election minutes are sufficient.
• c) Certificate from the auditing association that the cooperative has been approved for membership
• d) eAn expert opinion from the auditing association as to whether the personal or financial circumstances, in particular the financial situation of the cooperative, are likely to jeopardize the interests of the members or the creditors of the cooperative
• e) Any approvals for the business operations of the cooperative, if this is expressly stipulated in the applicable regulation

The formation costs depend on the size of the cooperative and whether the documents are complete at the time of formation or need to be corrected.

The amount of the fee for registration is determined by the Court and Notary Fees Act in conjunction with the Ordinance on Fees in Commercial, Partnership and Cooperative Register Matters.

• §§ Sections 1, 10, 11, 157 of the German Cooperative Societies Act (GenG)
• § Section 6 Ordinance on the Register of Cooperatives (GenRegV)
• § Section 12 of the German Commercial Code (HGB)
• Act on Costs of Voluntary Jurisdiction for Courts and Notaries (Court and Notary Costs Act (GNotKG))
• Ordinance on Fees in Commercial, Partnership and Cooperative Register Matters (HRegGebV), Annex (to Section 1) Schedule of Fees

Simple appeal pursuant to §§ 58 ff. in conjunction with § 382 FamFG if the registration court rejects the entry.

17.05.2018