New rule for all persons registered with Luxembourg RCS: Are you and your firm prepared?

By Bram Eijsbouts, Chief Commercial Officer, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

As of 12 November 2024, natural persons associated with entities registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register (RCS) will be required to provide or obtain a Luxembourg National Identification Number (LNIN).

This obligation concerns, in particular, company directors, managers, shareholders, liquidators, statutory auditors and legal representatives.

Once the regulation takes effect on Tuesday 12 November, it will be necessary to:

• Communicate the existing LNIN for individuals who already have one
• Request the creation of an LNIN for those who don’t, providing the required information (listed below)

Compliance with this requirement (which is pursuant to Article 12bis of the law of 19 December 2002) is mandatory and essential for ensuring the continuous operation of business activities. Failure to comply could lead to the rejection of future filings with the RCS, impacting critical processes.

Key details of the new regulation

• All natural persons registered with the RCS will have to communicate their LNIN regardless of their geographic residency status and their role in the company
• The LNIN is a unique identifier assigned to individuals in accordance with the amended law of 19 June 2013 relating to the identification of natural persons. It’s more commonly known as the ‘matricule number’ or ‘CNS number’
• If the natural person is already in possession of an LNIN, it must be promptly communicated upon filing, either independently or as part of a modification
• Persons who do not have an LNIN will be given one when they register with the RCS
• When a person registers to receive an LNIN and their application is accepted, the Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR) will collect the following data for the sole purpose of creating this number in the database of the National Register of Natural Persons:
  • Last name
  • First name
  • Date, place and country of birth
  • Nationality
  • Gender
  • Private residence address
• Supporting documentation proving the person’s identity (identity card or passport) and private address (e.g. certificate of residence, declaration of honours certified by a competent authority, utility bill dated less than six months ago) must also be attached to the application
• The LBR has confirmed that a transitional period will follow the 12 November effective date, allowing reasonable time to adapt to the new obligation and obtain the necessary documents and information
• After the transitional period, communication of LNINs will become mandatory and failure to comply with the new requirements will result in the failure to finalise filing proceedings with the RCS (in any capacity, including outside the natural persons scope)

Implementation timeline

How IQ-EQ can help

Our experienced Luxembourg team is committed to assisting clients throughout this process, taking full care of the mandatory filings including LNIN creation requests where required and ensuring all information is up to date. To find out more, please get in touch today.