Prepare for EU Inc now: a founder readiness checklist

Q: "Can I pre-register an EU Inc or join a waiting list?"

"No. There is no registration, pre-registration or official waiting list. EU Inc is a proposal (COM(2026) 321) in negotiation; the filing system, built on BRIS, does not exist yet. The closest thing to a waiting list is following the legislative tracker and subscribing to updates."

Q: "Should I delay incorporating my company until EU Inc arrives?"

"Almost certainly not. First registrations are unlikely before 2028, and the timeline can slip further. Two years without a legal entity means no contracts, no fundraising, no hiring. Incorporate in the national form that fits today and revisit once the regulation is adopted."

Q: "What if I need a company right now?"

"Create one under national law — an SAS, GmbH, BV or equivalent. EU Inc is designed as an optional 28th form beside national ones, not a replacement, so choosing a national form today does not lock you out later."

Q: "Will existing companies be able to convert into an EU Inc?"

"That is the design, via domestic or cross-border conversion, merger or division — but the mechanics lean on national law and several conditions remain unexplained in the public sources. See our dedicated guide to converting an existing company into an EU Inc."

Q: "When will we know the rules are final?"

"Watch two moments: a trilogue agreement (targeted end 2026, not yet reached) fixes the political substance, and formal adoption plus publication fixes the legal text. Even then, application follows roughly twelve months after entry into force, plus infrastructure build-out — hence 2028."

Updated 2 Aug 2026 · transactional

EU Inc is a proposed regulation (COM(2026) 321), not yet law. Adoption is targeted for end 2026 and application expected around 2028 — a timeline that can slip. Everything below is preparation, not action on a live regime.

On this page

Nothing to file yet. EU Inc is a proposed regulation (COM(2026) 321, published 18 March 2026), not law. There is no registration portal, no pre-registration and no official waiting list. This page is about being ready — not about acting on rules that do not yet exist.

The honest answer to “when can I register an EU Inc?” is: not before ~2028, and only if the file stays on schedule — adoption is targeted for end 2026, application roughly twelve months after entry into force, plus time to build the BRIS-based filing infrastructure (see the timeline). That leaves founders in a waiting position that is easy to waste. Here is how to use it instead.

Step 1 — Decide whether EU Inc is your target at all

Preparation only pays if EU Inc is actually the right form for you. Run the decision now, on the proposal’s known parameters:

You operate (or will operate) across borders. The regime’s whole case is removing 27-country friction; a single-market, single-country business gains little over its national form.
Check the one hard condition. At least one board member must be EU-resident — see eligibility.
Benchmark against what you would use otherwise. Compare the proposal against the SAS, the GmbH or a Delaware C-Corp, and run your own numbers in the incorporation comparator.
Do not decide on tax. EU Inc is not a tax tool: rates and bases stay national; only EU-ESO option timing is harmonised.

If the answer is “a national form serves me fine”, stop here — EU Inc is optional by design.

Step 2 — The readiness checklist

Things you can genuinely do now, all useful even if the regulation changes:

Watch the file, don’t guess. Bookmark the legislative tracker and subscribe to updates (the signup is at the bottom of this page). The next inflection point: the JURI committee considers amendments from 7 September 2026, with a mandate vote expected during the month.
Keep your documents in registration-ready shape. The proposed flow is digital, template-based and fast — which rewards clean inputs. A tidy cap table, up-to-date beneficial-ownership records, and articles free of exotic bespoke clauses will map far more easily onto standardised EU template statutes than a decade of accumulated side letters.
Sort your founders’ digital identity. The procedure is “digital by default”, authenticated through EU digital-identity means. EU-based founders can get national eID/wallet onboarding out of the way now.
Shortlist a member state of registration. The registered office would fix which national law governs employment and residual company-law questions. Compare candidate countries on the country pages — but hold the decision loosely: free choice of seat is one of the file’s open negotiating points.
Plan equity with EU-ESO in mind. The proposal defers option taxation to the sale of shares. If you are designing an option pool today, structure it so it could migrate to a sale-taxed regime — and understand how EU-ESO works and what stays national before promising employees anything.
Line up your EU-resident director. If your board is entirely non-EU today, know who would fill that seat.

Step 3 — What NOT to do

Don’t wait passively. “We’ll incorporate when EU Inc opens” means at least two years without an entity — no contracts, no bank account, no fundraising. If you need a company, create one under national law now; the proposed registration flow will still be there to compare against later.
Don’t bet operations on unadopted rules. The 48-hour / €100 / no-minimum-capital figures, the seat rules, even EU-ESO’s scope are all negotiable until trilogue closes. Anti-fraud safeguards and worker participation are live fault lines (COMPET, 28 May 2026) and could tighten the final text.
Don’t pay for “EU Inc pre-registration”. No such service can exist yet. Treat any offer as a red flag.
Don’t restructure prematurely. Conversion routes exist in the proposal but their mechanics are not settled; unwinding a structure built for a hypothetical regime costs real money.

The two dates that matter

Watch for a trilogue agreement (targeted end 2026 — that is when the substance freezes) and then application around 2028 (when registration could actually open). Everything between now and those points is best spent on the checklist above — and on building the company itself.

→ Keep watching: legislative tracker · realistic timeline · who can register.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pre-register an EU Inc or join a waiting list?

No. There is no registration, pre-registration or official waiting list. EU Inc is a proposal (COM(2026) 321) in negotiation; the filing system, built on BRIS, does not exist yet. The closest thing to a waiting list is following the legislative tracker and subscribing to updates.

Should I delay incorporating my company until EU Inc arrives?

Almost certainly not. First registrations are unlikely before 2028, and the timeline can slip further. Two years without a legal entity means no contracts, no fundraising, no hiring. Incorporate in the national form that fits today and revisit once the regulation is adopted.

What if I need a company right now?

Create one under national law — an SAS, GmbH, BV or equivalent. EU Inc is designed as an optional 28th form beside national ones, not a replacement, so choosing a national form today does not lock you out later.

Will existing companies be able to convert into an EU Inc?

That is the design, via domestic or cross-border conversion, merger or division — but the mechanics lean on national law and several conditions remain unexplained in the public sources. See our dedicated guide to converting an existing company into an EU Inc.

When will we know the rules are final?

Watch two moments: a trilogue agreement (targeted end 2026, not yet reached) fixes the political substance, and formal adoption plus publication fixes the legal text. Even then, application follows roughly twelve months after entry into force, plus infrastructure build-out — hence 2028.