End of a domiciliation agreement: what the law says
In short
When a domiciliation agreement ends — by early termination or by expiry without renewal — its effects do not stop on the day of the break: the agent remains bound by its obligations until the date the termination is filed with the trade and companies register. The registrar receiving that filing informs the State Prosecutor without delay. And from the day of that filing, if the seat concerned was the company’s domicile, the company no longer has a legal domicile. That is the heaviest and least known consequence: it is not merely a contract ending, it is the company’s legal attachment to an address disappearing.
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How long the agent remains bound
The date that matters is not that of the termination letter, but that of the filing of the termination with the trade and companies register. Luxembourg law is authoritative in French, so the provision is quoted in the original.
« Lorsqu’il est mis fin avant terme à la convention de domiciliation d’une société ou lorsque la convention arrive à échéance sans être renouvelée, les effets de la convention sont maintenus et le domiciliataire reste tenu des obligations qui en découlent pour lui ainsi que des obligations prescrites par l’article 2, jusqu’à la date du dépôt de la dénonciation au registre de commerce et des sociétés du ressort du domicile de la société. Le gestionnaire du registre de commerce et des sociétés qui reçoit le dépôt en informe sans délai le Procureur d’Etat du ressort du domicile de la société. »What becomes of the company’s domicile
This is the point usually discovered too late.
« A partir du jour du dépôt visé au paragraphe (1), la société en cause n’a plus de domicile légal si le siège en cause était le domicile de la société. »In other words: until another address is established, the company is left without a legal domicile. It is worth recalling where that domicile sits in law.
« Le domicile de toute société commerciale est situé au principal établissement de la société. Le principal établissement d’une société est présumé, jusqu’à preuve contraire, être le lieu du siège statutaire de la société. »When termination can be immediate
The agent need not wait for expiry if it observes certain breaches.
« Au cas où le domiciliataire constaterait que les organes statutaires et les mandataires de la société contreviendraient aux dispositions légales régissant les sociétés commerciales et le droit d’établissement, il pourra dénoncer avec effet immédiat le contrat de domiciliation par lettre recommandée en indiquant les dispositions légales qui n’auraient pas été respectées. »What remains to be done
01
Identify the filing date at the register
It sets the end of the agent’s obligations and, where applicable, the loss of the legal domicile. Neither the letter date nor the contract expiry date.
02
Establish a new address that matches reality
Since a company’s domicile sits at its principal establishment, the new address holds up all the better when it matches the place from which the activity is genuinely carried out.
03
Know which regime the new solution falls under
If the new third party supplies services connected with your activity, you are back within the law of 31 May 1999 and it must hold one of the six authorised professions. If it merely makes space available, you are not.
And your documents?
The end of the agreement does not erase the retention obligations that bound the agent.
« La documentation servant à l’identification des personnes précitées doit être conservée pendant une période d’au moins 5 ans après la fin des relations de la société avec ces personnes, sans préjudice des délais de conservation plus longs prescrits par d’autres lois. »Frequently asked questions
- My agent has terminated: when does that take effect?
- The effects of the agreement are maintained and the agent remains bound by its obligations until the date the termination is filed with the trade and companies register for the district of the company’s domicile. That filing date is the reference, not the date of the termination letter.
- Does my company lose its legal address?
- From the day the termination is filed, the company no longer has a legal domicile if the seat concerned was the company’s domicile. A new address must therefore be established before, or at the latest on, that date.
- Can the agent terminate overnight?
- Yes in one specific case: if it observes that the company’s statutory bodies and representatives are breaching the legal provisions governing commercial companies and the right of establishment, it may terminate with immediate effect by registered letter, stating the provisions that have not been complied with.
- Who is informed that the domiciliation has ended?
- The registrar of the trade and companies register who receives the filing informs the State Prosecutor for the district of the company’s domicile without delay. The cessation is also published, at the agent’s initiative, in the electronic register of companies and associations.
What we do not publish
That since November 2023 every shared-workspace operator must hold an approval issued by the Luxembourg registration and VAT authority.
We found this claim on commercial pages but could not trace it to a text published in the Official Journal or to a page of the authority concerned. We therefore publish no rule on the matter.
That a minimum floor area per occupant is required for an address to be accepted as a seat.
No such numeric threshold appears in the texts we opened. We do not publish a figure we cannot source.
Sources cited
- Loi du 31 mai 1999 régissant la domiciliation des sociétés — CSSF — texte coordonné de la loi modifiée du 31 mai 1999 · verified on
These pages set out the statutory text as we read it on the date shown. They are not legal advice and do not replace the opinion of a qualified professional.