Tax Observatory › Companies, accounts and reorganisations › Setting up an srl in Ferrara: Chamber of Commerce, incorporation and first-year costs

Setting up an srl in Ferrara: Chamber of Commerce, incorporation and first-year costs

In Ferrara a società a responsabilità limitata (Italian private limited company, srl) is incorporated by notarial deed and entered in the registro delle imprese (Business Register) of the Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna (Ferrara and Ravenna Chamber of Commerce) through the Comunicazione Unica (single online filing). The documented fixed costs of an ordinary srl, excluding the notary, come to 875.87 euros; the simplified srl saves part of them, but not the diritto annuale (annual chamber fee) or the tax on the company books. The position as at 9 November 2026, with sources.

Anyone wishing to set up a società a responsabilità limitata (Italian private limited company, srl) in Ferrara goes through a notary for the deed of incorporation (Article 2463 of the Italian Civil Code) and through the registro delle imprese (Business Register) of the Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna (Ferrara and Ravenna Chamber of Commerce), whose local office is at via Borgoleoni 11. The capital can start from one euro, but the fixed start-up charges of an ordinary srl, excluding the notary, amount to 875.87 euros, made up of imposta di registro (registration tax), imposta di bollo (stamp duty), diritti di segreteria (filing fees), diritto annuale (annual chamber fee) and tassa di concessione governativa (government licence tax); for the simplified srl (società a responsabilità limitata semplificata, srls) they amount to 629.87 euros. To these are added, at the close of the first financial year, the approval and filing of the financial statements, IRES (imposta sul reddito delle società, corporate income tax) and IRAP (imposta regionale sulle attività produttive, regional tax on productive activities).

Ordinary srl and simplified srl

The ordinary srl is incorporated by public deed, by contract or by unilateral act (Article 2463 of the Italian Civil Code). The capital may be less than 10,000 euros, provided it is at least one euro. In that case the contributions must be made in cash and paid in full to the directors, and at least one fifth of the net profits must be allocated to the legal reserve until the reserve and the capital together reach 10,000 euros (Article 2463, paragraphs 4 and 5). From 10,000 euros upwards, contributions may also consist of assets in kind and receivables, the quotas for which must be fully paid up on subscription, and of work or services secured by an insurance policy or a bank guarantee. On subscription, at least 25 per cent of the cash contributions and the entire issue premium (sovrapprezzo) must be paid to the management body, or the full amount if the company is incorporated by unilateral act (Article 2464 of the Italian Civil Code). The deed must state how the cash was paid: the bank transfer to the management body must therefore be made before the deed is signed before the notary. A sole founder must also have the directors’ declaration giving the particulars of the sole quotaholder (socio unico) entered in the Business Register within thirty days, and must state in the company’s documents and correspondence that the company has a sole quotaholder (Articles 2470, paragraphs 4 and 7, and 2250, paragraph 4, of the Italian Civil Code). If the contributions are not made as prescribed or this disclosure is missing, in the event of insolvency the sole quotaholder is liable without limit for the obligations arising during the period in which the company had a single quotaholder (Article 2462, paragraph 2, of the Italian Civil Code).

The simplified srl (Article 2463-bis of the Italian Civil Code) is reserved for quotaholders who are natural persons, has a capital of between one euro and 9,999.99 euros fully paid in cash, and adopts the standard model of Ministry of Justice Decree No. 138 of 23 June 2012, whose clauses are mandatory. The deed of incorporation and the registration are exempt from stamp duty and filing fees, and no notarial fees are due (Article 3, paragraph 3, of Decree-Law No. 1/2012, converted into law by Law No. 27/2012). The name “società a responsabilità limitata semplificata”, the subscribed and paid-up capital, the registered office and the Business Register office must be stated in documents, correspondence and on the website (Article 2463-bis, paragraph 4, of the Italian Civil Code). Where pre-emption rights, quotas carrying special rights or directors acting severally (amministrazione disgiunta) are wanted, an ordinary srl is necessary.

The filing with the Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna

The notary files the deed within ten days with the Business Register office for the district of the registered office and at the same time applies for registration (Article 2330 of the Italian Civil Code). The application is submitted through the Comunicazione Unica (Article 9 of Decree-Law No. 7/2007, converted into law by Law No. 40/2007), which also covers the filings with the Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency), INPS (the Italian social security institute) and INAIL (the Italian institute for insurance against accidents at work): the receipt is issued immediately and the tax code (codice fiscale) and the VAT number are assigned at once. The office registers the company within ten days of the logging of the application (protocollazione), reduced to five days for online filings (Article 11, paragraph 8, of Presidential Decree No. 581/1995); on registration the company acquires legal personality (Article 2331 of the Italian Civil Code).

Two items cannot be omitted. The first is the company’s digital domicile (domicilio digitale), a certified e-mail address (PEC): without it the office suspends the application for registration until the address is supplied (Article 16, paragraphs 6 and 6-bis, of Decree-Law No. 185/2008). The registration of the PEC address and any changes to it are exempt from stamp duty and filing fees. The second is the personal digital domicile of the sole director, of the managing director or, failing these, of the chairman of the board of directors. It cannot coincide with that of the company and must be notified when the office is conferred, and therefore in the incorporation filing itself (Article 5, paragraph 1, of Decree-Law No. 179/2012, in the version in force from 31 December 2025). For this second address the law provides no specific fine, but the Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna requires it as part of the filing. Failure to make the required notifications, communications and filings exposes the persons responsible by virtue of their office, that is the directors personally rather than the company, to an administrative fine of between 103 and 1,032 euros, reduced to one third if the obligation is performed within thirty days after the deadline and increased by one third for failure to file the financial statements (Article 2630 of the Italian Civil Code). The same fine applies to the omission, in documents and correspondence, of the registered office, the Business Register office and registration number, the paid-up capital and, where applicable, the sole quotaholder (Article 2250 of the Italian Civil Code).

Incorporation costs

Registration tax is due at the fixed amount of 200 euros on a deed with a cash contribution (Article 4, point (a), number 5, of the Tariff, Part One, of Presidential Decree No. 131/1986; Article 26 of Decree-Law No. 104/2013). Stamp duty of 156 euros is charged on the notarial deed registered online and covers the copy of the deed and the application for entry in the Business Register (Article 1, paragraph 1-bis.1, number 1, of the Tariff, Annex A, of Presidential Decree No. 642/1972). The stamp duty of 65 euros for each online application by a company limited by shares or quotas (società di capitali; Article 1, paragraph 1-ter, point (c), of the same Tariff) is instead paid on subsequent filings, such as the filing of the financial statements. Filing fees for registration are 90 euros (Table A, Ministerial Decree of 17 July 2012, as most recently amended by the MIMIT Decree of 20 April 2023; MIMIT is the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy). Where several formalities are combined in the same deed, only the highest fee is paid (MIMIT note of 19 September 2025, ref. U0195114). The annual chamber fee is payable on first registration, within thirty days of the application. For 2026 the Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna applies the 20 per cent increase authorised by the MIMIT Decree of 17 March 2026 (Executive Board resolution No. 2025000064 of 23 September 2025): 120 euros for the registered office (200 euros for the first band, reduced by 50 per cent under Article 28 of Decree-Law No. 90/2014 and increased by 20 per cent) and 24 euros for each local unit. The government licence tax for the stamping of the company books is a flat-rate annual tax of 309.87 euros for a capital of up to 516,456.90 euros and of 516.46 euros above that (Article 23, note 3, of the Tariff of Presidential Decree No. 641/1972). In the first year it is paid by postal payment slip (bollettino di c/c postale) No. 6007, before the declaration of commencement of activity for VAT purposes contained in the Comunicazione Unica; from the second year onwards by F24 form. Stamp duty of 16 euros per hundred pages also applies to the books (Article 16 of the Tariff of Presidential Decree No. 642/1972).

Total for the ordinary srl: 200 + 156 + 90 + 120 + 309.87 = 875.87 euros, in addition to the notary and the stamp duty on the books. For the simplified srl: 200 + 120 + 309.87 = 629.87 euros, because the exemption covers stamp duty and filing fees but not registration tax, the annual chamber fee or the tax on the books.

Recurring costs in the first year

From the second year onwards the annual chamber fee is based on the turnover of the previous financial year, in bands (Interministerial Decree of 21 April 2011; MIMIT note No. 9347 of 16 January 2026); for Ferrara and Ravenna the minimum is 120 euros for turnover of up to 100,000 euros, payable by the deadline for the first advance payment of income taxes. The financial statements must be submitted to the quotaholders within one hundred and twenty days of the close of the financial year and filed with the Register within thirty days of approval (Articles 2478-bis and 2435 of the Italian Civil Code). The online filing costs 60 euros in filing fees, plus the annual supplement for the OIC (Organismo Italiano di Contabilità, the Italian accounting standard setter; 2.50 euros for 2025, Ministerial Decree of 22 September 2025; the 2026 amount has not yet been set by decree), and 65 euros in stamp duty. The compulsory company books are the book of quotaholders’ decisions, the book of directors’ decisions and, where a supervisory body (organo di controllo) is appointed, the book of its decisions; the quotaholders’ register has not been compulsory since 2009 (Article 2478 of the Italian Civil Code). To these are added the accounting records under Article 2214 of the Italian Civil Code, the journal and the inventory book. The government licence tax is paid again each year by 16 March, the deadline for payment of the previous year’s VAT, using the F24 form with payment code (codice tributo) 7085.

The srl is subject to IRES at 24 per cent (Article 77 of the TUIR, the Italian consolidated Income Tax Act) and to IRAP at 3.90 per cent. In Emilia-Romagna, as of 2026, IRAP rises to 4.20 per cent for the activities under the ATECO codes (Italian classification of economic activities) listed in Annex A to Regional Law No. 1/2025, which must be matched against the ATECO 2025 classification (Emilia-Romagna Region, 2026 rates). A quotaholder who habitually works in the business as his or her main occupation must register with the INPS scheme for traders (Article 1, paragraph 203, of Law No. 662/1996) or for artisans; contributions are due even where no profits are distributed. Invoices to persons resident or established in Italy must be issued through the Exchange System (Sistema di interscambio, SdI; Article 1, paragraph 3, of Legislative Decree No. 127/2015).

Srl, sole proprietorship or flat-rate scheme

The srl is worthwhile when business risk must be kept separate from personal assets, when there is more than one quotaholder, when profits are retained in the business and taxed at IRES rather than at progressive IRPEF (personal income tax) rates, and when revenues consistently exceed the thresholds of the regime forfettario (flat-rate scheme). With modest revenues, a sole proprietorship under the flat-rate scheme remains cheaper: no registration tax, no financial statements, no company books and no annual chamber fee linked to turnover. The figures are compared in the guide to the srl and the srls and on the page on the flat-rate scheme and ordinary regime.

In practice

• Before the deed, quotaholders and directors: choice between ordinary and simplified srl; name, registered office, corporate purpose and duration; rules on operation, management and representation (sole director, board of directors, directors acting severally or jointly: Article 2475 of the Italian Civil Code); appointment of the first directors and, where required, of the auditor (revisore legale) or of the supervisory body (organo di controllo), compulsory only above the thresholds of Article 2477 of the Italian Civil Code (total assets of 4 million euros, revenues of 4 million euros or an average of 20 employees, for two consecutive financial years); incorporation costs borne by the company (Article 2463, paragraph 2, numbers 7, 8 and 9, of the Italian Civil Code); PEC addresses of the company and of the director already in place.
• At signing: cash contributions paid to the directors (in full below 10,000 euros and for a sole quotaholder, at least 25 per cent in all other cases).
• Within ten days of the deed, notary: filing and Comunicazione Unica; within thirty days of the application, annual chamber fee of 120 euros.
• If there is a sole quotaholder, within thirty days of registration: filing of the declaration of sole-quotaholder status (Article 2470 of the Italian Civil Code) and the wording “con unico socio” (with a sole quotaholder) on letterhead, website and invoices (Article 2250 of the Italian Civil Code).
• Before the Comunicazione Unica, directors or the accounting firm in Ferrara: government licence tax of 309.87 euros by postal payment slip No. 6007, then every year by 16 March by F24 form, payment code 7085; on the stamping of the books, stamp duty of 16 euros per hundred pages.
• In the first financial year: ordinary accounting regime (contabilità ordinaria), electronic invoicing, INPS registration of the working quotaholder, financial statements within one hundred and twenty days and filing within thirty days of approval (60 euros in filing fees plus the OIC supplement for the year and 65 euros in stamp duty).
• To be kept: deed and articles of association, Comunicazione Unica receipts, receipts for registration tax, stamp duty and annual chamber fee, and the bank record of the payment of the capital.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to set up an srl in Ferrara in 2026, excluding the notary?

For the ordinary srl, 875.87 euros in fixed charges: 200 euros in registration tax, 156 euros in stamp duty, 90 euros in filing fees, 120 euros in annual chamber fee including the 20 per cent increase applied by the Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna, and 309.87 euros in government licence tax on the books. For the simplified srl, 629.87 euros, because the deed and the registration are exempt from stamp duty and filing fees. The notarial fee for the ordinary srl, the stamp duty on the books and the adviser’s fee are not included.

How long does it take for the srl to be registered and able to operate?

The Comunicazione Unica receipt is immediate and comes with the tax code and the VAT number; the Business Register office has ten days from the logging of the application, reduced to five for online filings (Article 11, paragraph 8, of Presidential Decree No. 581/1995). On registration the company acquires legal personality; for transactions carried out in the company’s name before then, those who acted, the sole founding quotaholder and the quotaholders who decided, authorised or consented to them are jointly and severally liable without limit. If registration does not take place within ninety days of the execution of the deed, the deed of incorporation ceases to have effect (Article 2331 of the Italian Civil Code, referred to by Article 2463, paragraph 3).

Does the simplified srl pay the annual chamber fee and the tax on the company books?

Yes. The exemption under Article 3, paragraph 3, of Decree-Law No. 1/2012 covers only stamp duty and filing fees on the deed of incorporation and the registration, together with notarial fees. Registration tax of 200 euros, the annual chamber fee of 120 euros for 2026 and the government licence tax of 309.87 euros are due as for the ordinary srl, and from the second year onwards the annual chamber fee follows turnover.

Sources

Italian Civil Code, Articles 2214, 2250, 2330, 2331, 2364, 2435, 2462, 2463, 2463-bis, 2464, 2470, 2475, 2477, 2478, 2478-bis, 2630 (Normattiva, text in force on 9 November 2026)

Decree-Law No. 1 of 24 January 2012, converted into law by Law No. 27 of 24 March 2012, Article 3, paragraphs 2 and 3; Ministry of Justice Decree No. 138 of 23 June 2012 (Normattiva)

Decree-Law No. 7 of 31 January 2007, converted into law by Law No. 40 of 2 April 2007, Article 9; Presidential Decree No. 581 of 7 December 1995, Article 11, paragraph 8 (Normattiva)

Decree-Law No. 185 of 29 November 2008, converted into law by Law No. 2 of 28 January 2009, Article 16, paragraphs 6, 6-bis and 6-ter; Decree-Law No. 179 of 18 October 2012, converted into law by Law No. 221 of 17 December 2012, Article 5, paragraph 1 (Normattiva, text in force on 9 November 2026)

Presidential Decree No. 131 of 26 April 1986, Tariff, Part One, Article 4, point (a), number 5; Decree-Law No. 104 of 12 September 2013, converted into law by Law No. 128 of 8 November 2013, Article 26, paragraphs 2 and 3 (Normattiva); Agenzia delle Entrate, Circular No. 2/E of 21 February 2014

Presidential Decree No. 642 of 26 October 1972, Tariff, Annex A, Part One, Article 1, paragraphs 1-bis.1 and 1-ter, and Article 16; Decree-Law No. 43 of 26 April 2013, converted into law by Law No. 71 of 24 June 2013, Article 7-bis, paragraph 3 (Normattiva)

Presidential Decree No. 641 of 26 October 1972, Tariff, Article 23, note 3 (Normattiva); Agenzia delle Entrate, information sheets “Versamento della tassa annuale vidimazione libri sociali” and “Come e quando” (slip No. 6007 for the first year) and tax calendar for 16 March 2026; FiscoOggi; Brescia Chamber of Commerce, operating note No. 2/2026 on stamp duty paid through the single electronic form

Law No. 580 of 29 December 1993, Article 18, paragraphs 4 and 10; Decree-Law No. 90 of 24 June 2014, converted into law by Law No. 114 of 11 August 2014, Article 28, paragraph 1 (Normattiva); Interministerial Decree of 21 April 2011; MIMIT note No. 9347 of 16 January 2026 (2026 annual chamber fee amounts); MIMIT Decree of 17 March 2026 (increase in the annual chamber fee for 2026-2028), published on 28 April 2026

Camera di commercio di Ferrara e Ravenna: pages “Diritto annuale 2026”, “Diritti – Bolli – Tariffe”, “Imposta di bollo”, “Deposito bilanci”, “Obbligo di iscrizione del domicilio digitale degli amministratori di società”, offices and name (fera.camcom.it); Marche Chamber of Commerce, table of filing fees and stamp duty (updated 26 September 2025); Romagna Chamber of Commerce, table for online filings; Pordenone-Udine Chamber of Commerce, table of Business Register fees 2025; Ministerial Decree of 17 July 2012 (Official Gazette No. 177 of 31 July 2012); Ministerial Decree of 22 September 2025 (OIC supplement)

Presidential Decree No. 917 of 22 December 1986, Article 77; Legislative Decree No. 446 of 15 December 1997, Article 16 (Normattiva); Emilia-Romagna Region, “Novità IRAP 2026” (5 February 2026) and table “Aliquote IRAP 2026”; Regional Law No. 1 of 31 March 2025

Law No. 662 of 23 December 1996, Article 1, paragraphs 203 and 208; Legislative Decree No. 127 of 5 August 2015, Article 1, paragraph 3 (Normattiva)