Articles on: Becoming Self-Employed

RCS Registration for Self-Employed in Luxembourg

If you're starting out as self-employed in Luxembourg, the first question is whether you need to register in the RCS (Registre de commerce et des sociétés / Handelsregister). The short answer: it depends on whether your activity is commercial or liberal. This article walks you through who has to register, who doesn't, and how the procedure works for a sole trader.

Question	Quick answer
Who must register in RCS as a natural person?	Only commerçants (merchants/traders)
What about liberal professions?	Not required (avocats, médecins, architectes, experts-comptables, dentistes, etc.)
What about artisans?	Depends on whether their activity is also commercial — most are
What about sociétés (SARL, SARL-S, SA)?	Always required, but procedure goes through a notary
Where do I file?	Electronically on lbr.lu, with a LuxTrust certificate
How much does it cost?	Around 19 EUR online; 39 EUR with counter assistance
How long does it take?	Typically processed within 1 working day

The legal source is Article 1 of the Loi du 19 décembre 2002 on the RCS, which lists exactly which entities and natural persons must register. We'll come back to the list.

Who Must Register in the RCS

The RCS law lists 16 categories of entities that must register. The ones that matter for self-employed people are:

Your situation	RCS registration
Sole-trader merchant or trader (commerçant personne physique)	Required
Sole-trader IT consultant, designer, copywriter, translator, marketing/management consultant, etc.	Required — in practice these are usually classified as commercial in Luxembourg. Confirm with the House of Entrepreneurship if your situation is unusual.
Sole-trader artisan (artisan personne physique)	Required if the activity is also commercial — usually yes
Sole-trader true liberal profession (lawyer, doctor, architect, expert-comptable, dentist, etc. in own name)	Not required
SARL, SARL-S, SA, SCS, SCSp	Required (handled when the company is created)
Société civile	Required
ASBL or foundation	Required

Note: this is about the obligation to register. Some people choose to voluntarily register even when not required (for example, to use a registered trade name). That's possible but not the norm for liberal-profession sole traders.

The artisan question is the trickiest. Pure service artisans who never sell goods (rare) might not technically be "commerçants." But most artisans — bakers, hairdressers, plumbers selling parts, electricians selling materials — qualify as commerçants under the Code de commerce because they sell goods alongside their service. In practice, almost all sole-trader artisans end up registered in the RCS. If you're unsure, ask the House of Entrepreneurship before filing.

Liberal Professions: Why You Don't Register — and What Actually Counts as One

In Luxembourg, "liberal profession" has a specific legal meaning — it does not mean "anyone doing intellectual or service work as a freelancer." The list of true liberal professions is short and largely matches the list of professions governed by a professional ordre:

Avocat (lawyer) — Barreau
Médecin, dentiste, vétérinaire (doctor, dentist, vet) — Collège médical / Ordre vétérinaire
Pharmacien (pharmacist)
Notaire (notary)
Huissier (bailiff)
Architecte, ingénieur-conseil, urbaniste, géomètre (architect, consulting engineer, urban planner, surveyor) — OAI
Expert-comptable (chartered accountant) — OEC
Réviseur d'entreprises (auditor) — IRE
Some other regulated activities (e.g., professional advisors specifically named in the establishment law)

If your activity is not on this short list, you're almost certainly classified as commercial — even if your work is purely intellectual. That includes:

IT consulting, software development, web design
Copywriting, translation, interpreting
Graphic design, video, photography (for hire)
Management, marketing, strategy, communication consulting
Coaching, training (non-academic)
Data analysis, e-commerce, event management

These are all commercial activities in Luxembourg — meaning RCS registration is required. See our article on IT consultant — commercial or liberal? for the full picture and why this catches many people off guard.

For true liberal-profession sole traders (the short list above), Article 1 of the 2002 law does not include them, so RCS registration is not required. They are governed instead by their professional ordre or sectoral law.

For a true liberal-profession sole trader, this means:

No RCS number to put on invoices, websites, or letterheads
No annual filings with the RCS (true liberal-profession sole traders are not in the RCS at all). Note that commercial sole traders above 100,000 EUR turnover do file annual accounts in the RCS — see the section below.
You still need a business permit (autorisation d'établissement) if your liberal profession is regulated — see our guide on liberal professions that need a business permit
You still affiliate with CCSS as self-employed and register for VAT with the AED if applicable

What if I create a SARL for my liberal activity? Then the SARL itself is registered in the RCS — that's a société, and sociétés always register. The RCS number on your invoices belongs to the SARL, not to you personally.

Documents and Information You Need

For a sole-trader commerçant filing in the RCS, the law (article 3 of the 2002 law) requires:

Item	Notes
Full legal name (last name + first names)	As on your ID
Trade name (enseigne commerciale)	Optional but common — e.g., "Café Le Beau"
Business address	Your fixed place of operation in Luxembourg
Business object	What you actually do — short and clear
Date of business creation	When you started or plan to start
Civil status	Date and place of birth, nationality, marital status
Spouse details	If married — name, date/place of birth, marriage date and matrimonial regime
Private home address	Required (not the same as business address)
Business permit number (autorisation d'établissement)	If your activity needs one — most do
Luxembourg National Identification Number (LNI / matricule)	Required for everyone since 13 November 2024
Supporting documents	ID card or passport, marriage certificate if applicable, business permit

The LNI / matricule rule is new. Since 13 November 2024, every natural person registered in the RCS — including independents personnes physiques, managers, partners, etc. — must provide their Luxembourg National Identification Number (LNI), also called the matricule. If you have a Luxembourg social security number, that's your LNI. If you don't have one yet, you request it during the RCS filing.

How the Filing Works (Step by Step)

The standard route is electronic filing via lbr.lu using a LuxTrust certificate.

Don't click the top "Registration" menu — that's for companies only. On lbr.lu, self-employed sole traders are called "Merchants" (English) / "Kaufleute" (German) / "Commerçants" (French). To find your form, scroll down on the lbr.lu homepage to the "Assistance guides and document templates" section and click the Merchants card. Or go directly to the Merchants assistance guide and click "Registration of a merchant with the RCS".

1. Get your business permit first (if your activity needs one). The RCS will record the permit number, so it makes sense to have it in hand. See our guide on how to apply for a business permit.

2. Check your trade name availability. If you plan to use a trade name (enseigne), request a free certificate of name availability on lbr.lu. The certificate has a short validity window and confirms the name isn't already taken. It does not reserve the name — first to file wins.

3. Affiliate with CCSS (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale). You can do this in parallel with RCS — see our guide on CCSS for self-employed.

4. Prepare your file. Gather all the documents above as PDF/A.

5. File electronically. Go to the Merchants assistance guide on lbr.lu and click "Registration of a merchant with the RCS". You'll authenticate with a LuxTrust certificate (Smartcard, Token, or LuxTrust Mobile). The portal is in French by default; switch to English in the top-right corner.

6. Pay the fees. Online by card.

7. Publication in RESA. Once your filing is validated, an entry is published in the Recueil électronique des sociétés et associations (RESA), the official gazette. Publication happens on the day of filing or within 15 days at most.

8. After filing — register for VAT with the AED if your activity is subject to VAT. This is the next step in the typical timeline (see how long does setup take).

Practical tip: If filing electronically feels like too much, you can book an appointment at the LBR assistance desk in Luxembourg city. They will go through the form with you. The trade-off: a 20 EUR surcharge on top of the standard fee. Worth it if you're filing for the first time and want a sanity check.

How Much Does It Cost

The fee structure is simple:

Type of filing	Fee
Electronic filing (you do it yourself on lbr.lu)	About 19 EUR
Counter assistance at LBR desk (commerçant personne physique)	19 EUR + 20 EUR surcharge = about 39 EUR
Subsequent modification (change of address, trade name, business object, etc.)	About 10 EUR
Deletion / radiation when you stop the activity	About 10 EUR

Tariffs are revised periodically. Check the official tariffs page on lbr.lu for the most current amounts before filing.

Annual Obligations: What Comes After

A sole-trader commerçant does have lighter ongoing obligations than a société — but not zero. The key dividing line for sole traders is turnover of 100,000 EUR (excluding VAT).

Obligation	Sole trader, turnover ≤ 100,000 EUR	Sole trader, turnover > 100,000 EUR	Société (SARL, SA, etc.)
Bookkeeping format	Simple cash ledger (recettes-dépenses)	Double-entry bookkeeping	Full corporate accounting
Prepare annual accounts (balance sheet + P&L)	No	Yes	Yes
File annual accounts in RCS	No	Yes — within 7 months of year-end	Yes — within 7 months of year-end
Are filed accounts public?	n/a	No — not publicly consultable via lbr.lu	Yes — published in RESA
File modifications when something changes	Yes — within 1 month	Yes — within 1 month	Yes — within 1 month

Privacy detail for sole-trader filings: when a sole trader above the 100,000 EUR threshold files annual accounts, the law preserves their privacy — the filing is not publicly consultable via lbr.lu like société accounts are.

So the rule of thumb: under 100,000 EUR turnover, your only RCS-related "obligation" is to file modifications when relevant info changes (address, trade name, spouse, civil status, business permit). Above that, you also file annual accounts each year.

What You Get After Registration

Once your file is validated, you receive:

An RCS number — typically with a letter prefix that depends on the type of registrant (e.g. B for sociétés). This number goes on your invoices, letterheads, websites, and email signatures.
A public RCS extract confirming your registration — anyone can pull this from lbr.lu by searching your name or RCS number.
Listed in the commercial register — meaning your trade name, business address, business object, and business permit number become public information.

Your private home address is also collected by the RCS but is not directly published in the same way. Since 2024–2025 reforms, more identity data is restricted to authorities and not visible to the general public. But assume that anything you tell the RCS may eventually become accessible to professionals (accountants, banks, lawyers) doing due diligence on your business.

When You Make a Mistake or Things Change

Things you must report to the RCS within one month of the change:

New business address
Change of trade name
Change of business object
Change of business permit number
Change of marital status (marriage, divorce, partnership)
Cessation of the activity (radiation)

Each modification is a small filing on lbr.lu — same procedure, much faster than the original registration.

Failing to update the RCS is one of the most common compliance issues. Under the Loi du 23 janvier 2025 (in force 1 February 2025), the LBR follows a graduated procedure: registered-letter warning first, then a 3,500 EUR administrative fine kicks in from the start of the seventh month after the LBR's update request, plus daily penalties up to 500 EUR/day for ongoing non-compliance. Don't sit on changes — file them quickly.

Quick Reference

Question	Answer
Am I obliged to register?	Only if you're a commerçant (or fall in another article-1 category)
What if I'm a liberal profession?	No RCS registration needed
Where do I file?	Online at lbr.lu with a LuxTrust certificate
What does it cost?	~19 EUR online, ~39 EUR with counter assistance
How long does it take?	24 hours for standard filings
Do I need an accountant or notary?	No — sole traders file directly. Sociétés need a notary.
Do I need a business permit first?	Recommended yes, so you have the permit number to declare
Do I file annual accounts?	Sole traders: only above 100,000 EUR turnover. Sociétés: always.
What if I never register and I should have?	The activity exists legally, but you can be fined and your acts may be unenforceable against third parties

One-person business means every hat on your head. Bravo for wearing them all.
🙌💜 Your BravoLisa Team

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.

Last updated: May 2026. Rates and procedures may change — always verify with the relevant authorities for the most current information.

Sources verified on 2026-05-02: Guichet LU — Immatriculation au RCS commerçant personne physique, Loi du 19 décembre 2002 sur le RCS, Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR).

Updated on: 04/05/2026

Was this article helpful?

Thank you!