Starting a webshop

Start an online store without registering a business: is it allowed?

Can you start an online store without registering a business? You can build one, but once you sell regularly to make money, countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Spain treat you as a business. This guide explains where the line between hobby and business lies, what to register in each of those countries, and what every EU webshop must show.

Updated 20 October 2026 9 min read
In short
  • Building and testing a webshop is fine before you register. Registration starts when you really begin to sell.
  • The test is not how much you earn, but whether you sell regularly, at a price meant to make money, to people outside your own circle.
  • Netherlands: register with the KVK. Germany: register a Gewerbe. Spain: register with the tax office and as autónomo.
  • Small business VAT schemes exist, such as the KOR in the Netherlands and the Kleinunternehmerregelung in Germany, but they do not replace registration.
  • Every EU webshop must show who is behind it: name, address, email, phone and, where they apply, a registration and VAT number.

Can you start an online store without registering a business?

Yes and no. Nothing stops you from building a webshop, adding products and testing it before you register anywhere. Setting up a website is not a business activity on its own. It changes when you start to sell. In the Netherlands, Germany and Spain, selling regularly with the aim of making money makes you a business owner, even if the shop is small and runs next to a job. The details differ per country, so below we look at each one. Selling a few of your own used things once is a different story. A one-off clear-out of private belongings is usually not a business.
Good to know
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your situation may differ. Check with the chamber of commerce, the tax office or an adviser in your country before you start selling.

Hobby or business: the signs that count

Authorities look at how you sell, not only at how much. A hobby that only costs you money stays a hobby. Asking friends and family just enough to cover your costs usually does too. Once you sell to strangers, set prices to make money and plan to keep going, you are running a business. You do not need to have made a profit yet. In Germany the IHK explains that the aim of making a profit counts, not the result. In the Netherlands the KVK says that buying materials for a product already counts as preparing a business.

Signs you are running a business

  • You sell regularly, not just once
  • Your prices are meant to earn money, not only to cover costs
  • You sell to people outside your family and friends
  • You buy stock or materials to sell on

The Netherlands: when you need the KVK

According to the KVK, you must register when you meet three criteria. You deliver products or services independently, or prepare to. You ask a price that earns you money. And you deliver regularly to people other than family or friends. There is no minimum amount. The KVK even uses a webshop as an example: someone who opens a webshop, earns money with it and expects to sell regularly to different customers meets the criteria, even before the first customer arrives. You register on your start date, from one week before to one week after. Not registering when you should can be punishable under the Dutch Economic Offences Act. For VAT, the Belastingdienst has the small business scheme (KOR). It is for businesses established in the Netherlands with a turnover of no more than €20,000 in the current and the previous calendar year. With the KOR you charge no VAT, you cannot deduct VAT on your costs and you stop filing VAT returns. Go over €20,000 in a calendar year and you must leave the scheme straight away.

Germany: Gewerbe and Kleinunternehmer

In Germany you register a Gewerbe when you run an independent activity for the long term with the aim of making a profit. The IHK points out that a one-off sale of private belongings is not a Gewerbe. A webshop you plan to keep running usually is. You register with the municipality or city where you start, usually at the Gewerbeamt, which passes the details on to the tax office. The Kleinunternehmerregelung is a VAT relief, not an exemption from registering. Since 2025 it applies when your turnover was no more than €25,000 in the previous year and stays under €100,000 in the current year. As a Kleinunternehmer you do not show VAT on your invoices and you cannot reclaim input VAT. German webshops also need an Impressum, a page with the legal details of the seller. According to the IHK this applies to commercial online services even without a profit motive.
  • Register your Gewerbe with your municipality or city
  • Kleinunternehmer: no more than €25,000 turnover in the previous year
  • And under €100,000 in the current year
  • Add an Impressum with your legal details

Spain: alta de autónomo and the tax office

In Spain the Seguridad Social defines a self-employed person (autónomo) as someone who carries out a profit-making economic activity habitually, personally and directly. If that describes your webshop, you register with the special scheme for self-employed workers (RETA). The definition does not mention a minimum income. You also register with the tax office (Agencia Tributaria) through the census declaration, form 036 or the simpler 037. Individuals are exempt from the business activity tax (IAE), but they still file the census declaration. Your social security contribution depends on your net income from the activity. Spanish webshops also need an aviso legal with the seller's details. The e-commerce law (LSSI) requires it as soon as a website earns money, for example through online sales.

What every EU webshop must show

Whatever country you sell from, EU rules require you to tell customers who they are buying from. According to Your Europe, the EU's official portal for businesses, a business website must show your identity and contact details and, where they apply, your registration and VAT number. Put them in a fixed spot, such as the footer or a contact page, so customers find them before they buy. Customers in the EU also have 14 days to withdraw from an online purchase without giving a reason. In the Netherlands, the KVK adds that a cancellation button has been required since 19 June 2026.

Show at least

  • Your name or business name
  • A physical address
  • An email address
  • A phone number
  • Your trade register and registration number, if you are registered
  • Your VAT identification number, if you have one
Good to know
The EU platform for online dispute resolution closed on 20 July 2025. If your site still links to it, you can remove that link.

Build first, sell when you are ready

You do not have to wait for a registration number to get started. Building your shop first helps you decide what you will sell, at what price and how it should look. Just make sure the paperwork is done before the first real order comes in.

A sensible order of steps

  • Build your shop and add your products
  • Check your plans against the signs and rules above
  • Register with the right authorities if the rules apply to you
  • Add your business details, terms and privacy policy
  • Switch on payments and take your first order

Starting on SitePack before you register

On SitePack you can try a webshop free for 14 days, without entering payment details. That gives you time to build your shop, add products with variants and prices, and see how everything works before you register a business. When you are ready to sell, register first if the rules in your country ask for it. Then add your details. The Contact details element in your footer shows the address, phone number and email of your location, and SitePack has ready-made editors for legal pages such as your terms and privacy policy. A webshop starts at €25 per month, billed yearly.
  • 14-day free trial, no payment details upfront
  • Unlimited products, variants with their own stock and price
  • Ready-made editors for your terms and privacy policy
  • iDEAL, Wero, Bancontact, cards and PayPal through SitePack Payments

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