Domiciliation vs dedicated office in Luxembourg

Direct answer: domiciliation or dedicated office?

Domiciliation makes a registered-office address available to you; a dedicated office gives you a place to work. According to the CSSF, an address provided through an open-space desk or a virtual office is domiciliation, a regulated activity. A closed office genuinely let for exclusive, permanent use is not.

The right choice therefore depends on what you are really buying: an address, a workplace, or both. The operator pages ranking first for "coworking Luxembourg" praise flexibility and services, but do not explain on what conditions their space's address can serve as a registered office.

What the CSSF says about coworking and business centres

In its notice of 23 November 2021 (version of 17 December 2021), the CSSF recalls that making a registered office or an address available to a company that carries on its activity there, with or without services, is domiciliation under article 1 of the amended law of 31 May 1999. A provider offering its address through an open-space desk or a "virtual office" therefore carries on a domiciliation activity.

Renting closed, private offices is in principle not domiciliation, provided the letting is genuine: lasting and permanent, with premises for exclusive use. The CSSF lists five situations where it is not; the table below takes them one by one. A single service from the fifth row is enough for the whole to be treated as domiciliation. Incubators supporting start-ups in an innovative development phase do not carry on domiciliation within the meaning of the law.

Members of the regulated professions covered by the law may only domiciliate companies to which they provide professional services, and domiciliation must remain ancillary. Operating a business centre or coworking space outside that activity requires prior CSSF approval as a specialised PFS. Breaching the 1999 law is a criminal offence.

Comparing the options: address, office, premises

The table sets side by side the five situations operators often blur under the word "office". The last column says what to check before signing.

Virtual office: a domiciliation, not an office

A virtual office sells an address, mail handling and sometimes a phone line. No room is yours. According to the CSSF it is domiciliation: the provider must be authorised and sign an agreement. A "subscription" contract with no domiciliation agreement is a warning sign.

For a holding or a company without employees this is often enough for the address, but it creates no substance. See the economic substance (ATAD) page. With us, domiciliation is provided by our attorney at law, Cerno Law, who contracts directly with you: see the company domiciliation page.

Address in Luxembourg: registered office or place of operation

The registered office is the address recorded in the trade register, where the company receives notifications. The place of operation is where the activity actually takes place. They may or may not coincide. A company may have its office with a domiciliation agent and work elsewhere, but it must be able to show a real presence in Luxembourg if it applies for a licence or a tax regime.

For the general framework, see the registered office in Luxembourg page.

Premises, lease and floor area: what changes

Renting premises under a lease is a third route, more binding. The commercial lease is governed by articles 1762-3 et seq. of the Civil Code, introduced by the law of 3 February 2018: any lease of a building intended for a commercial, industrial or craft activity is commercial. Leases of one year or less are excluded from that regime (article 1762-4). The text mentions neither offices nor liberal professions: the activity carried on in the premises decides. An office lease for a liberal activity in principle falls under the general law of leases, but courts have already requalified as commercial leases presented as professional between two commercial companies.

Under a commercial lease, the rent guarantee may not exceed six months of rent, and the landlord may not refuse, instead of a cash deposit, a first-demand bank guarantee or equivalent insurance (article 1762-5). The termination notice may not be shorter than six months, by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, and a lease that ends without notice is renewed for an indefinite term (article 1762-7). These rules do not automatically apply to a coworking contract, which is a service or provision contract.

The commercial or usable floor area appears in the lease and is the basis for rent and charges. Ask what the contract means by area (gross, usable or weighted): two premises advertised at the same area may not be rented on the same basis.

Substance: what an office does not prove

Neither a domiciliation nor a rented desk proves substance. It is judged on facts: decisions taken in Luxembourg, a competent manager, own resources, local accounting. A private office where decisions are genuinely taken weighs more.

Keep evidence of that reality: minutes of meetings held on site, the manager's presence, contracts signed from Luxembourg. See the economic substance (ATAD) page.

Business licence: what the premises must show

A business licence requires a fixed place of business in Luxembourg (article 5 of the law of 2 September 2011). It combines physical facilities suited to the nature and size of the activity, the necessary administrative and technical infrastructure, effective and permanent management, the regular presence of the manager and keeping on site the documents relating to the activity, the accounts and the staff. The law states that a domiciliation does not, by itself, constitute an establishment.

In practice: an open-space desk or a virtual office, which the CSSF treats as domiciliation, is weak support for the file. A private office under a genuine letting, or premises under a lease, meets these criteria better. The application form provides that a lease or proof of establishment may be requested during the review.

Lease in the company's name. Have the lease or office contract made out to the company applying for the licence, not to the manager or a shareholder. If the company is being incorporated, sign for the company in formation and have the commitment taken over once it exists. If the premises stay rented personally, put a written sublease or provision agreement in place, which the lease must allow.

Parking, garage, storage. A parking space, a garage or a storage unit is not enough on its own: none offers administrative infrastructure or a place to keep documents. Conversely, if the activity uses vehicles or equipment (construction, transport, delivery, breakdown services), also plan where they are parked and stored: the facilities must suit the nature of the activity.

Address and follow-up. The place of business appears in the licence: a move is declared as an amendment of the licence (transfer of the business address). See the business licence page. Banks also look at the address when opening an account: see open a bank account.

Clauses to check in an office contract

Before comparing prices, compare clauses. This table lists those that change the nature of the contract or its real cost. On request we provide a private-office contract template aligned with the CSSF criteria, to be validated by a lawyer.

How to compare the total cost

The "from" prices shown by operators are not always based on the same unit: per person, per day, per hour or per team, sometimes with a long commitment mentioned only in the FAQ. Compare the full annual cost: rent or subscription, charges, guarantee, commitment period, notice, extra services, VAT.

The right reflex is to ask for the contract before comparing prices. We can read it with you: see the dedicated office and coworking page.

Which option for which profile

Holding or company without employees: a domiciliation, with substance handled separately. Freelancer or consultant: a dedicated desk, with a domiciliation if the address must be official. Team receiving clients: a private office under a genuine letting. Shop or craft activity open to the public: premises under a commercial lease.

This article states the law as at the publication date. Rules and CSSF practice evolve: any decision binding your company should be checked at the date you rely on it.

Sources and verification

Sources consulted on 22 October 2026. The CSSF notice of 23 November 2021 on domiciliation activity exercised when operating a business centre or a coworking space, in its version of 17 December 2021, for the qualification as domiciliation, the five genuine-letting criteria, the incubator exception and the specialised PFS approval; we found no later version on cssf.lu. The law of 3 February 2018 on commercial leases, read on legilux.public.lu, for articles 1762-3, 1762-4, 1762-5 and 1762-7 of the Civil Code.

Article 5 of the law of 2 September 2011 regulating access to the professions of craftsman, trader, industrialist and certain liberal professions, for the fixed place of business and the exclusion of domiciliation. The business licence application form published on guichet.public.lu, for physical facilities and proof of establishment.

Three limits. Article 5 was read in the version published in Mémorial A No 198 of 22 September 2011, not in its consolidated version; a bill filed with the Chamber (No 7989) amends its point on keeping documents. The requalification of an office lease as a commercial lease rests on court decisions reported in legal commentary, not on the text of the law. The tips on the lease in the company's name, parking and storage come from our practice on these files, not from a written rule: the assessment belongs to the ministry.