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Ready to get started? Who should you contact to carry out the formalities for setting up your business?

The UCM Business Counter is the ideal partner to complete your formalities:

• it checks your access to the profession,
• it registers you with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises,
• it registers you with the social insurance fund,
• it will register you for VAT if necessary.

It can also carry out procedures more specific to your project, such as requesting your professional card if you are a foreign national.

Indeed, a person who wishes to undertake self-employment in Belgium and who does not hold Belgian nationality must, in some cases, first apply for a professional card. This applies to foreign nationals who are not nationals of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. In some cases, they may also be exempt from the obligation to hold a professional card.

Finally, at our Business Desk, you also benefit from the expertise of UCM's various services to provide answers to any questions a (future) self-employed person may have. Contact us!

Do you want to provide services in Belgium without establishing yourself there?

What formalities do you need to complete? Are you affected?

You are affected if you intend to carry out a self-employed activity in Belgium without establishing a subsidiary, branch or establishment unit there. For example, you are a French travelling trader who takes part in markets in Belgium, a Luxembourg home-based hairdresser who visits clients in Belgium, or a bricklayer resident in France who comes to carry out work in Belgium.

What are your obligations?

Access to the profession ?

You must contact an accredited Business Desk to obtain the necessary authorisations to carry out the following activities:

• Door-to-door sales at the consumer's home in the Brussels Region
• Activity in one of the regulated sectors in the Walloon or Brussels Region:
• Construction sector (structural work, plastering, painting, electrotechnical work…)
• Vehicle sector (bicycles, motor vehicle repair, bodywork and sale of used vehicles)
• Personal care sector (hairdressing, beauty, optician and funeral services)
• Restaurateur or caterer
• Baker-pastry chef
• Refrigeration installer

VAT

You do not need to contact an accredited Business Desk if you do not carry out any of these regulated activities, unless you are liable for VAT in Belgium and wish to be assisted with your VAT identification application.

Temporary and occasional services

If you wish to provide services in Belgium on a temporary and occasional basis, you may be exempt from proving professional qualifications relating to the regulated activities mentioned above under Directive 2005/36/EC. If applicable, you must contact a Business Desk to check whether the conditions are met.

Professional card

If you are a national of a third country (outside the European Economic Area), practising as a self-employed person is conditional on being granted a professional card. The application is submitted via a Business Desk if you hold a certificate of registration in the foreigners' register (limited duration). If you do not have a residence permit, you must submit your application via the diplomatic post of a country where you are authorised to reside.

Medical professions

If you practise a medical or paramedical activity that requires an INAMI number, you must contact only INAMI (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance).