Which Mail Really Matters After Formation, and Which You Can Ignore
After a GmbH or UG is registered, the letterbox often fills up quickly. Alongside important letters from authorities and other official bodies, private offers arrive that can look official.
What matters is which letters require a response, which contain deadlines and which payment requests call for caution.
Table of contents
At a glance
After formation, mail arrives from authorities, chambers, insurers and private providers. What matters is to check the sender, the content and any deadlines carefully.
- Check the notice of registration and other letters from the register court for correct details.
- You must generally submit the tax registration questionnaire electronically via ELSTER within one month of opening the business.
- Do not ignore letters from the IHK, the Chamber of Crafts or the accident insurance institution, even if not every letter demands immediate payment.
- Be careful with letters referring to a register: official-looking payment requests can be private offers.
- Do not pay or sign anything hastily if the sender or the reason for payment is unclear.
Important mail that requires a response
You should open, check and deal with these letters. They come from genuine authorities and contain clear requests.
Confirmation of registration from the commercial register
It comes from the register court, often via your notary. With this entry, your GmbH or UG has officially come into existence. Check the details carefully: company name, registered office, shareholders and managing directors. Report any errors immediately. Read more in the article on the notice of registration.
Tax registration questionnaire (tax office)
This arrives from the competent tax office a few weeks after registration and must be completed and returned. The deadline is usually four weeks. How to complete it is explained in the article The tax registration questionnaire. Submission now runs via the tax administration’s ELSTER portal.
IHK membership
The letter comes from the IHK Berlin and is neither an error nor a scam. Membership is mandatory for corporations. A contribution notice is often enclosed. Check the contributions calmly; small companies may be able to apply for an exemption from contributions. There is usually no need for immediate action, but you should still read it.
Letter from the employers’ liability insurance association
Depending on the industry, the competent employers’ liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft) will get in touch. This is also a mandatory membership. As a rule, you only need to report your company details.
Trade licence from the trade office
If you have registered a trade, the confirmation arrives by post or digitally. File it away; the tax office occasionally asks for it. The article on trade registration helps with the registration itself.
When the bank gets in touch
Your bank may also contact you after formation, especially if you opened the business account during the formation phase. It often requests further documents, such as a current commercial register extract, details of the beneficial owners or proof that the share capital has been paid in. This is routine and no cause for concern. Submit the documents promptly so that your account remains fully usable and transfers are not delayed. Why banks often request further documents after formation is explained in the article Why banks often scrutinise new GmbHs more closely.
Be sure to return the tax registration questionnaire on time. A delay can lead the tax office to estimate your tax bases, which means considerably more work later. If you have a tax adviser, it is best to pass the questionnaire on directly.
Beware of scam letters after formation
New entries in the commercial register are public. Dubious providers exploit exactly this and send letters that look official but are not.
Fake commercial register invoices
These letters look like official invoices for the commercial register entry but are private commercial offers. Tell-tale signs are the small print, an unknown sender and a payee account that does not match the court cashier’s office. Do not pay; if in doubt, ask the notary.
Transparency register scams
Other letters claim that you must register in the transparency register immediately and for a fee. You file the report of the beneficial owners yourself via the official transparency register; entry in the commercial register does not replace it. Do not pay any fee to third-party providers. Read more in the article on the transparency register after formation.
Directory offers and business portals
These come as pre-filled forms that look like official entries. The small print usually states an annual fee of several hundred euros. Do not sign, do not reply.
Practical tip from our office: In our office we regularly see founders who have paid a fake commercial register invoice. It happens quickly because the letters look deceptively genuine. Make yourself a simple rule: official fees for the commercial register application are billed in advance via the notary, not afterwards by letter to you.
Don’t worry: a lot of mail is normal
A lot of mail after formation is normal and not a sign that something has gone wrong. The important letters are usually easy to recognise: they come from known authorities such as the tax office or the register court and contain clear requests for action. Scam letters often look official but are private offers. If in doubt, the rule is always: better to ask briefly than to pay hastily.
More from the series: the notary appointment
Arrange a notary appointment
Unsure whether a letter is genuine or which deadline applies? Clarify it in a conversation instead of worrying. Book an appointment, often available within a few working days.
Frequently asked questions about mail after formation
Entries in the commercial register are public. As soon as your company is registered, various authorities, chambers and institutions are informed automatically or can access the data. That is why the tax office, IHK and employers’ liability insurance association often get in touch almost at the same time. Unfortunately, dubious providers also exploit exactly this publicity for deceptively genuine-looking letters.
No. You should respond to genuine official mail with a deadline, above all the tax office questionnaire. Many other letters are pure advertising or even scams and may be ignored.
Genuine official mail names a specific authority, a file number and a clear request. Scam letters rely on an official appearance, small print and unusual payees. If in doubt, ask the notary briefly.
The tax office may then estimate your tax bases and issue a tax number only with delay. Both mean more work later. Therefore keep to the deadline, which is usually four weeks.
IHK membership is mandatory for corporations. However, small or newly founded companies can often apply for an exemption or reduction. Check the contribution notice calmly.
The competent tax office, usually a few weeks after entry in the commercial register. Today you generally complete it digitally via ELSTER.
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Keep track after formation
Especially in the first weeks after formation, many questions arise, from the mail to the next deadline. Notary Franke also supports you after notarisation and helps you sort out what matters and what does not.
