# German business address for international companies – Olea > International companies can use an Olea address for the registered and correspondence-address role of a German subsidiary or eligible registered branch. Olea provides a serviceable German business address, supporting use-of-address documentation after the applicable approval and a digital mailbox for managing eligible business letters from abroad. The address does not by itself create a German permanent establishment, place of management or tax residence; advisers and the relevant authorities determine the appropriate structure and treatment. ## A German business address for your international company Choose a serviceable German business address for a subsidiary or eligible registered branch. Manage mail online and book workspace when needed. - Serviceable German street address - Supporting address document - Set up online from abroad Prices start from €69/month (cheapest bookable location). Live per-location prices: [pricing.md](https://oleaoffice.com/pricing.md). ## Can an international company use an Olea address in Germany? Yes – for the registered and correspondence-address role: an Olea location can be the inländische Geschäftsanschrift of a German subsidiary under § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG, or the German address of an independent branch registered under §§ 13d–13g HGB. Olea provides a real German street address, reliable receipt of official correspondence and the Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable onboarding approval, subject to the requirements of your route and the relevant filing. The address does not choose your legal structure, and it does not by itself establish a German Betriebsstätte, Ort der Geschäftsleitung or tax residence – those follow from how and where the business actually operates. - **A real German street address** – A staffed address at an available partner office – not a post-office box. - **Evidence of your right to use it** – A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung, issued after the applicable approval and activation milestone. - **Reliable receipt of official correspondence** – Approved names are added to the location’s mail workflow, and correspondence is handled through your selected mail service once Olea confirms activation. Olea provides the address and its supporting evidence. Your advisers and notary determine the appropriate route; the relevant register, authority and tax office decide the filing and the tax treatment. Legal basis: §§ 13d–13g HGB · § 4a and § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG · § 10 HGB · §§ 170–171 ZPO · §§ 10 and 12 AO ## What you can use this address for ### Can we use an Olea address for our Handelsregister entry? Yes. An independent German branch is entered in the Handelsregister under §§ 13d–13g HGB and needs a German address where the business can be reached, and a GmbH or UG subsidiary must state an inländische Geschäftsanschrift under § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG. An Olea location can be that address for either route. It is a real staffed street address where official documents can be received, and after the applicable approval you receive a Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung confirming your right to use it. **Who this is for** - Foreign companies registering an independent German branch - International parents forming a German GmbH or UG subsidiary - Groups moving an existing German entity to a new registered address **What Olea provides** - A real German street address at the office you choose - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable approval - Your registered branch or company name recorded for receipt of official post once activated *Olea supplies the address and our supporting document. Your notary remains responsible for certifying and submitting the Handelsregister filing.* ### Can we use the address for the German Gewerbeanmeldung? Yes. A registered branch or a German subsidiary normally registers its trade with the Gewerbeamt for the municipality of its business address under § 14 GewO, and you can give your Olea address on that filing. Where your German activity actually happens elsewhere – at a warehouse, a customer site, a leased unit or an employee’s home – that location may need to be registered separately, and your advisers should confirm which municipality is competent. **Who this is for** - Foreign companies completing the trade registration for a German branch - Newly registered German subsidiaries completing their Gewerbeanmeldung - Groups changing the trade address on an existing German registration **What Olea provides** - A real address at a staffed office or coworking location - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung to support the application - Reliable receipt and handling of Gewerbeamt correspondence *Municipal requirements vary. Olea provides the address and supporting document, but the local Gewerbeamt makes the decision based on the business and its actual operating setup.* ### Can we use the address with the Finanzamt and for VAT? Yes, as a registered correspondence address. A German branch or subsidiary completes the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung to obtain its Steuernummer, and a non-resident business may also need a German VAT registration depending on its activity – you can give your Olea address as the Geschäftsanschrift on those filings and for ongoing Finanzamt correspondence. The address does not by itself create a German Betriebsstätte, Ort der Geschäftsleitung or tax residence under §§ 10 and 12 AO. Those depend on where premises, people, activity and management genuinely sit, and the competent Finanzamt follows from the same facts. **Who this is for** - Foreign companies completing German tax registration for a branch - German subsidiaries of an international parent applying for a Steuernummer - Groups whose management and operations sit outside Germany **What Olea provides** - A registered correspondence address for tax filings and notices - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable approval - Receipt of tax letters through your selected mail-handling option *Your Finanzamt determines your Betriebsstätte and place of management from the facts of your business. Ask a tax adviser if your operating or management location is unclear.* ### Can we publish the address in our German Impressum? Yes. A commercial website aimed at the German market must show a serviceable address alongside the details required for the legal form behind it under § 5 DDG, and you can publish your Olea address as that address. For a registered branch the notice names the foreign parent and its German branch details; for a subsidiary it names the German company. Your advisers confirm which entity and which details belong in the notice. **Who this is for** - International companies running a German-language website or shop - German subsidiaries and branches publishing a German legal notice - Groups updating an Impressum after registering in Germany **What Olea provides** - A real serviceable street address - Reliable receipt of official and legal correspondence - Digital, forwarding or pickup mail handling according to the location *The address is one part of a compliant Impressum. You remain responsible for including the other information required for your business and legal form.* ### How do we manage German business post from abroad? Through the Olea office you choose. Once Olea confirms activation for the approved entity or branch name, letters addressed to it are received there and handled through your selected mail option – a digital mailbox at every location, with pickup or recurring forwarding where the location offers it. International forwarding is available where the location, the item and the carrier support it, and postage, delivery time, customs treatment and destination restrictions depend on the country and the item. **Who this is for** - Overseas teams managing German correspondence from another country - International parents consolidating their German entity’s post - Branches and subsidiaries replacing an adviser’s or employee’s address **What Olea provides** - Unlimited receipt of eligible business letters in the approved name - A digital mailbox with 5 scans per month - Pickup or forwarding options shown for each location before purchase *Scanning is typically completed within 5–7 days of receipt. Use pickup or forwarding for originals or time-sensitive correspondence.* ### Will a German bank or payment provider accept the address? It can support the application. Banks, payment providers and marketplaces check a company’s registered business address during onboarding, and you can give your Olea address for that purpose and receive posted verification letters there after activation. Each provider applies its own country, ownership, risk and address rules, and foreign ownership or a foreign parent can bring further checks, so approval remains the provider’s decision. **Who this is for** - German subsidiaries opening their first business account - Foreign companies onboarding a branch with a German payment provider - International sellers registering with German marketplaces and platforms **What Olea provides** - A real, verifiable German street address - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable approval - Receipt and handling of posted verification letters after activation *Banks, payment providers and marketplaces set their own policies. Olea can support address verification, but cannot guarantee that a particular provider will approve an account.* ## Entering Germany with a branch or subsidiary Understand the main routes into Germany, what the address supports and where operating facts – not the address – determine tax and registration outcomes. ### Start with the operating model The address supports the route you choose; it does not create it. The main possibilities are an independent branch registered in the Handelsregister, a separate German subsidiary such as a GmbH or UG, or German activity that creates a tax permanent establishment without any registered branch at all. A dependent office or a trade-office-only route may also be relevant depending on what the business actually does in Germany. Which one fits depends on liability, tax, governance, the activity itself and how long the German presence is meant to last. Those are questions for German legal and tax advisers. Olea provides the address for the routes that need a German registered or correspondence address, and does not recommend a structure. ### Independent branch An independent branch remains part of the foreign parent rather than becoming a separate company. A registrable branch is entered in the Handelsregister under the rules applicable to its parent and needs a German address at which it can be reached. Olea can provide that registered and serviceable-address role and the supporting evidence. The parent remains responsible for the branch, and the notary and the register court control the filing and its outcome. The registered branch address is not automatically the tax location of the activity. Employees, agents or premises elsewhere in Germany may determine where a permanent establishment sits and which Finanzamt is competent, whatever address appears on the register entry. ### German subsidiary A GmbH or UG subsidiary is a separate German entity. Its articles, notarial formation, capital, filing and tax registrations are separate from Olea and are handled by the founders, the parent and their advisers. Olea can provide the inländische Geschäftsanschrift required under § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG and the supporting evidence. Because the company may not exist at the point address evidence is needed, the setup identifies the contracting founder or parent and the intended company name first, and the record is updated once the company is registered. That two-stage shape is the reason the journey above separates the address document from full activation. ### Permanent establishment and dependent activity A tax permanent establishment is created by facts – premises, activity, or certain dependent-agent arrangements – under §§ 10 and 12 AO. It is not created, moved or removed by choosing a correspondence address. If the German activity happens at an employee’s home office, a warehouse, a customer site or other premises, advisers may conclude that tax or trade registration has to follow that location, and an Olea address is not a substitute for it. The same applies in the other direction. A company can hold a German registered address while its management sits abroad; the Ort der Geschäftsleitung follows where the business is actually directed, not the address on the register entry. ### Responsibilities and documentation - Olea provides the available address, the Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable gate, approved-name mail setup, Digital Mailbox and access for active customers to request separately booked and paid workspace - You provide accurate parent-company, director, ownership, activity and intended-use information, and any further evidence requested during review - Your advisers choose the structure and prepare the documents; the notary notarises and submits the filing - The register, the Gewerbeamt, the Finanzamt, banks and platforms each make their own decision The canonical proof of address is the Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung. For a branch, the foreign parent already exists before the filing, but the final branch name has to match the registered record. For a new subsidiary, evidence may be needed before incorporation while full verification of the company needs its registered documents. The release and activation milestones come from the approved workflow rather than being inferred from the sequence described here. ### After registration Once Olea confirms activation, the approved entity or branch name can receive eligible business letters through the selected mail workflow. Gewerbeanmeldung, Finanzamt registration, VAT, licences, banking and platform onboarding remain separate processes controlled by the relevant authority or provider, and each keeps its own timetable. When describing the address to an authority, a bank or a counterparty, describe it as the registered or correspondence address of the German branch or company. It is not the permanent establishment, the place of management or the tax residence, and describing it as one of those misstates what the service does. ## FAQ ### Can a foreign company use an Olea address in Germany? Yes, for the registered and correspondence-address role. An Olea location can support a registered German branch or a German subsidiary with a real German street address and approved supporting evidence. The exact filing depends on the structure you choose, and the relevant notary, register or authority makes the external decision. ### Should we register a branch or form a German subsidiary? That depends on liability, tax, governance, activity and long-term plans. A branch remains part of the foreign parent; a GmbH or UG is a separate German company. Olea provides the address for either route but does not recommend the structure. Confirm it with German legal and tax advisers. ### Can Olea be the address of a German branch? Olea can provide the German registered and serviceable-address role for an independent branch registered under §§ 13d–13g HGB, subject to the filing and to your operating facts. Olea supplies the address and the supporting evidence; the notary and the Handelsregister control the filing. Activity elsewhere in Germany may create separate tax or trade consequences. ### Can we form a GmbH or UG subsidiary at the address? Yes. A GmbH or UG must provide an inländische Geschäftsanschrift under § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG, and Olea can provide that address and the supporting document. The founders or the parent complete the formation with their advisers and notary, and the Handelsregister examines the filing. ### Does the address create a German permanent establishment or tax residence? No, not by itself. Permanent establishment, place of management and tax residence depend on where premises, activity, people and management genuinely operate, and are assessed by the tax authorities on those facts. A correspondence address cannot move them. ### Can we complete everything remotely? You can purchase the address and complete Olea onboarding online. The external steps may involve a German notary, certified or translated documents, apostilles, authorities, banks or other providers. Which of those can be completed remotely depends on your route and on the responsible professional, so confirm it with your notary or adviser. ### What address document does Olea provide? The primary proof is the Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung, issued after the applicable approval and activation milestone. A Stripe invoice or receipt can accompany it where proof of payment is requested. It supports your right to use the address; it does not guarantee the outcome of any filing. ### When can our German mail service begin? Normal mail handling begins once Olea confirms activation for the approved entity or branch name and the location setup is complete. Digital Mailbox is available at every location; Mail Pickup and recurring Mail Forwarding depend on the location and are shown before you buy. ### Can mail be forwarded outside Germany? International forwarding is available where the location, the item and the carrier support it. Fees and postage apply, and delivery time, customs treatment and destination restrictions depend on the country and the item. Registered mail can be forwarded alongside any primary mail option. ### Can we use the address with the Finanzamt and for VAT? Yes, as a registered correspondence address for tax registration and ongoing Finanzamt mail. Whether a German VAT registration is required, which Finanzamt is competent and whether the German presence amounts to a permanent establishment or place of management depend on the company’s actual activity and structure. Ask a German tax adviser if that is unclear. ### Will a bank or payment provider accept it? The address can support onboarding and can receive posted verification letters after activation. Each provider applies its own country, ownership, risk and address rules, and a foreign parent or foreign ownership can bring further checks, so approval is not guaranteed. ### How much does the Virtual Office cost? The current available-network price is shown dynamically on this page and varies by address. Every location includes the same core Virtual Office service, with Digital Mailbox included. Annual billing saves 15%; the annual total is billed upfront. Paid mail options, workspace and usage-based extras are separate. ## Notes - Human pages: [German (primary)](https://oleaoffice.com/de/internationale-unternehmen) · [English](https://oleaoffice.com/en/international-companies) - Pricing in markdown: [pricing.md](https://oleaoffice.com/pricing.md) · Full catalogue: [locations.md](https://oleaoffice.com/locations.md) · Site index for LLMs: [llms.txt](https://oleaoffice.com/llms.txt) - Generated 2026-09-16T12:27:10Z from the same sources as the human pages; regenerated at least hourly.