Open a company in Italy as a foreigner: steps and costs 2026

Say you’re a French developer and your first big client is a factory near Brescia. They’d like to pay an Italian company, not a freelancer in Lyon. Which is a polite way of saying: open an SRL, please. You’ve never done it. You don’t speak the language of the paperwork. And nobody has told you in what order things happen.

Here’s how to open a company in Italy as a foreigner in 2026. It covers what you need before you start, which company type fits, the steps in order (where, how long, how much) and the costs that show up after the notary has gone home. If you come from outside the EU and want to live here too, that route is covered in our guide to the Italia Startup Visa. New to all this? Our beginner’s map from zero to a first round shows where this step sits.

Can a foreigner open a company in Italy?

Yes, and less stands in the way than most people fear. A non-EU partner who stays abroad can take part in an SRL without a residence permit, as long as they don’t have to enter Italy or work here. A permit becomes necessary only for work, administration or residence. And there’s no general rule that the administrator has to live in Italy.

The chambers of commerce, which run the Registro delle Imprese, add two conditions for non-EU citizens. If you stay abroad you may be asked for a declaration of reciprocity, a statement that Italians get the same treatment in your home country. If you live in Italy, you need a valid permit that allows self-employment before you can run a business or sit on a company’s board. EU citizens don’t need a permit.

The catch is work. Want to live here and run the company day to day on a non-EU passport? Then you need the right visa first, and that’s a separate procedure. For innovative startups the route is the Italia Startup Visa, which we explain step by step in the guide above.

One more thing you’ll notice fast: everybody asks who you are. Notaries, banks and accountants have to identify you and the people behind the company under anti-money-laundering rules (Decreto legislativo 231/2007), so expect to hand over the same documents more than once.

Which company type fits: SRL, SRLS, branch or sole trader?

Type	Who it suits	Capital	Notary and registration
SRL	Most startups and small companies, especially with partners or investors in view	Normally €10,000; from €1 if paid in cash in full	Notary deed: €1,500 to €3,000 plus 22% VAT
SRLS	Individuals who want the cheapest start	€1 to €9,999.99, paid in cash at formation	Deed on a mandatory standard model; no notary fee
Branch (sede secondaria)	A foreign company that already exists and wants to operate in Italy	None in Italy: the foreign company is the one operating	Registered at the Registro delle Imprese with the names and powers of its representatives in Italy
Sole trader (ditta individuale)	One person with a small activity	None	You answer with your own assets; non-EU residents need a permit that allows self-employment

An SRL, short for società a responsabilità limitata, limits the owners’ risk to what they put in. While its capital stays below €10,000, at least a fifth of each year’s net profit goes into a legal reserve until reserve and capital together reach €10,000.

The SRLS looks tempting, and for a one-person company with simple needs it can be fine. But the deed has to follow a ministerial standard model, so there’s no room for custom clauses such as vesting or special rights for an investor. If you expect to raise money, an ordinary SRL lets you write those clauses in.

What are the steps to open a company in Italy as a foreigner?

This is the order that works for most people. Where a time or a price depends on the person or the provider, the table says so instead of guessing.

Step	Where	Time	Cost
Codice fiscale (Italian tax code) for every partner and administrator	Agenzia delle Entrate office or an Italian consulate abroad (form AA4/8 and passport)	No single timeline: do it first	Ask the issuing office
Permit to work or administer (non-EU only)	Italian consulate, then the Questura	Depends on the visa	Visa and permit fees
PEC (certified email) and digital signature	Online providers; the Chamber of Commerce for the signature	Varies	Provider’s price list
Statute and deed	A notary in Italy, or your attorney-in-fact holding a power of attorney	One appointment	SRL: €1,500 to €3,000 plus 22% VAT. SRLS: no notary fee
Registration	Registro delle Imprese, filed by the notary	Notary files within 10 days of signing; the office registers within 5 days of an electronic filing (10 otherwise); about 15 days at most if nothing is rejected	SRL: €903.37 fixed costs. SRLS: €629.87
Partita IVA (VAT number) and tax and social security registrations	Agenzia delle Entrate and INPS, filed by your commercialista	Ask your commercialista to line it up with the deed	Part of the accountant’s fee
Bank account	A bank that accepts your documents	Varies: get its document list first	Account fees vary
Ongoing accounting	Your commercialista	Every month	€200 to €400 a month online

Start two things early: the codice fiscale and any power of attorney. A power of attorney lets someone sign for you if you can’t be in Italy on signing day. If it’s a foreign power of attorney, it may need a translation, an apostille or legalisation, an interpreter and a check that you have the capacity to sign. Ask the notary what they will accept before you sign anything abroad.

Consulates apply their own rules on the tax code. The Italian embassy in Warsaw, for example, doesn’t handle requests from people who need it for commercial activity or who intend to stay in Italy. So ask yours before you book a flight.

How much does it cost to open an SRL in Italy in 2026?

NotaiOnline (updated 24 September 2026) puts the fixed costs of an SRL at €903.37: €200 registration tax, €156 stamp duty, €90 secretarial fees, €120 first-year chamber fee, €309.87 tax on corporate books and €27.50 notarial archive tax. Add the notary’s fee of €1,500 to €3,000 plus 22% VAT, and the bill lands between €2,733.37 and €4,563.37. That’s before you put a cent into share capital.

The SRLS drops the notary fee, the stamp duty and the secretarial fees. Its first-year fixed costs are €629.87: €200 registration tax, €120 chamber fee and €309.87 tax on books.

Then come the items that aren’t on the notary’s list, like the PEC and the digital signature, which you pay to providers, and the accountant. For a simple SRL, Fiscozen puts an online accountant at €200 to €400 a month, against €3,000 to €6,000 a year or more for a traditional firm (June 2026).

If your company qualifies as an innovative startup, you get exemptions on chamber fees and stamp duty. Our guide to the requirements for an innovative startup in Italy shows whether yours does.

Do you need a commercialista?

A commercialista: that’s the Italian chartered accountant and tax adviser. In practice they keep your books, file your VAT and tax returns, prepare the annual accounts and take the call when the tax office sends a letter. For a foreign founder this is the most useful hire of the first month.

Four questions before you sign with one. What does the monthly fee cover? What costs extra? Do they work online? Have they handled a foreign partner before? Choose someone who’ll write to you in a language you read without effort, because a missed deadline can cost you a penalty.

What surprises foreign founders after the company exists?

• The chamber fee returns. The €120 first-year diritto annuale for a new SRL in 2026 turns into a yearly charge that follows your turnover bracket.
• So does the tax on corporate books. It’s €309.87 a year, due by 16 March, whether or not the company did anything.
• INPS. If you work in the company as a partner, expect INPS to want you in one of its funds, often the commercianti fund. That one has a minimum yearly contribution (€4,611.64 in 2026, calculated on a minimum income of €18,808) whatever the company earns. Which fund applies depends on your role and the activity, so ask your commercialista before you start working.
• A quiet company still costs money. The accountant, the tax on books and the chamber fee all carry on in a year with no revenue.

If you plan to raise money from US investors, you may eventually be asked about a Delaware parent company. Our guide to the Delaware flip explains the trade-offs, and our market entry strategy guide helps you decide where the company should sit in the first place.

Your checklist before you book the notary

• Get a codice fiscale for every partner and administrator before anything else.
• If you’re non-EU and will work in Italy, settle your permit route first: visa, startup visa or an existing permit.
• Choose SRL or SRLS, and write the statute with a notary and a commercialista in the same room.
• Book the power of attorney early if you can’t be in Italy on signing day.
• Budget €2,733 to €4,563 for an SRL (more for the first year of accounting), plus share capital.
• Put 16 March and the chamber fee in your calendar.
• Ask your commercialista which INPS fund applies to you.

Not sure how much money the whole thing needs? Read how much money you need to start a startup, or how to start a startup with no money if the answer scares you. Once the company exists and you’re ready to raise, start from our hub on how to raise capital for a startup in Italy.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and procedures change: check with a notary and a commercialista before you sign.