The business register in Germany is the Handelsregister (Commercial Register), kept electronically by the local courts acting as registry courts and published through the joint register portal of the federal states at handelsregister.de. The Unternehmensregister (Company Register) is the central platform that brings the register entries and filed documents together with accounting documents, company-law announcements, insolvency notices and capital-market publications. Since 1 August 2022 retrieval of register data and documents has been free of charge.

The company registry in Germany

Section 8 of the Handelsgesetzbuch — HGB (Commercial Code) provides that the commercial register is kept electronically by the courts; the competent courts are the Amtsgerichte (local courts) acting as Registergerichte (registry courts). The register has two divisions under the Handelsregisterverordnung (Commercial Register Ordinance): Abteilung A (HRA) for sole merchants, general and limited partnerships and European economic interest groupings, and Abteilung B (HRB) for stock corporations, European companies, partnerships limited by shares, limited liability companies and mutual insurance associations.

Section 9 of the Commercial Code guarantees that inspection of the register and of the documents filed with it is permitted to everyone for information purposes; section 10 provides that entries are published by being made available for retrieval in the portal.

The other registers

Several related registers are reachable through the same portal: the Vereinsregister (register of associations), the Genossenschaftsregister (register of cooperatives), the Partnerschaftsregister (register of partnerships of liberal professions) and, since 1 January 2024, the Gesellschaftsregister (register of civil-law partnerships), created by the partnership law modernisation act for the eingetragene Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts — eGbR (registered civil-law partnership). Registration of a civil-law partnership is voluntary, but it is a precondition for holding registered rights and for being entered as a partner in other registers. The register of associations is not part of the Company Register platform.

Where sole traders appear

A small trader whose business does not require a commercially organised operation is not a merchant within the meaning of section 1 of the Commercial Code and therefore does not appear in the commercial register, although such a trader may opt in voluntarily under section 2. Every merchant must register their firm. Independently of the register, anyone starting a standing trade must file a Gewerbeanzeige (trade notification) with the competent authority under the Trade Regulation Act; the trade register held on that basis is not public in the way the commercial register is.

Legal forms that can be registered in Germany

  • Eingetragener Kaufmann — e.K. (Registered sole merchant) — entered in division A; unlimited personal liability.
  • Offene Handelsgesellschaft — OHG (General commercial partnership) — all partners are liable without limitation, jointly and severally.
  • Kommanditgesellschaft — KG (Limited partnership) — the Komplementär is unlimitedly liable while the Kommanditist is liable only up to the registered Haftsumme.
  • Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung — GmbH (Private limited company) — entered in division B; minimum share capital EUR 25,000, with liability limited to the company’s assets. The dominant German corporate form.
  • Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt) — UG (Entrepreneurial company with limited liability) — a GmbH formed below the minimum capital, from EUR 1; the capital must be paid in full, contributions in kind are excluded, and a statutory reserve of a quarter of the annual profit must be built until the GmbH minimum is reached.
  • Aktiengesellschaft — AG (Stock corporation) — minimum share capital EUR 50,000.
  • Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien — KGaA (Partnership limited by shares) — at least one unlimitedly liable partner alongside limited shareholders.
  • Societas Europaea — SE (European Company) — registered under the rules applicable to the stock corporation.
  • Eingetragene Genossenschaft — eG (Registered cooperative) — in the register of cooperatives; member liability follows the statutes and any obligation to make additional contributions.
  • Partnerschaftsgesellschaft — PartG (Partnership of liberal professions) and PartG mbB (with limited professional liability) — in the register of partnerships. In the mbB variant only the partnership is liable for claims arising from professional error, conditional on professional indemnity insurance.
  • Eingetragene Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts — eGbR (Registered civil-law partnership) — in the register of civil-law partnerships since 2024; the partners remain personally liable.
  • Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit — VVaG (Mutual insurance association) — entered in division B under the insurance supervision legislation.
  • Zweigniederlassung ausländischer Gesellschaften (Branch of a foreign company) — registered at the court of the branch’s district, with its own disclosure duties for the parent’s accounts.
  • Europäische wirtschaftliche Interessenvereinigung — EWIV (European Economic Interest Grouping) — entered in division A; members are unlimitedly liable.

Information available from the German business register

Register entries and all documents filed with the register are retrievable by anyone for information purposes. Entries and register announcements are published by being made available for retrieval in the portal, and the registry court may publish additional facts as register announcements.

An important change concerns financial statements. The Commercial Code now requires the accounting documents to be transmitted to the body that keeps the Company Register for entry in that register, rather than published in the Federal Gazette. The transitional rule is precise: the new regime applies to accounting documents and company reports for financial years beginning after 31 December 2021, while earlier financial years remain in the Federal Gazette. In practice, therefore, accounts for financial years from 2022 onwards are found in the Company Register and older ones in the Federal Gazette, which continues to carry company-law and capital-market announcements that are then mirrored into the Company Register.

What is restricted

The Transparenzregister (Transparency Register) of beneficial owners is no longer open to the general public. Section 23 of the Geldwäschegesetz — GwG (Money Laundering Act) permits inspection only by authorities, courts and the bodies designated by the Act where needed for their statutory tasks; by Verpflichtete (obliged entities) who show that inspection serves their customer due diligence duties; and by any person who demonstrates a berechtigtes Interesse (legitimate interest) to the body keeping the register. Legitimate-interest applicants receive a restricted data set: the beneficial owner’s name and the nature and extent of the economic interest, together with the month and year of birth, the country of residence and all nationalities. Inspection requires online registration, and the procedure is set out in a dedicated ordinance.

Section 23 also allows an Einschränkung der Einsichtnahme (restriction of inspection) on application by the beneficial owner where overriding protectable interests exist — a risk of fraud, kidnapping, extortion, violence, coercion or threats, or where the owner is a minor or lacks legal capacity. No restriction is possible as against authorities, courts, the designated bodies, the core categories of obliged entities and notaries, and annual statistics on restrictions must be published.

Documents that can be obtained from the register

  • Aktueller Ausdruck (Current extract) — the entries in force at the time of retrieval: firm, seat, business address, object, capital, representatives and their powers and the register number. The standard proof of current status.
  • Chronologischer Ausdruck (Chronological extract) — all entries since the register was converted to electronic form, in sequence, including deleted ones; used to trace changes.
  • Historischer Ausdruck (Historical extract) — the content from the paper era before electronic conversion, for older corporate history.
  • Beglaubigter Registerausdruck (Certified register extract) — the court certifies conformity with the register content, and certified copies of paper documents are issued by the registry office. Used as official evidence, for notarial and foreign use and for apostille.
  • Bescheinigung nach § 9 Abs. 5 HGB (Negative certificate) — certifies that no further entry, or no particular entry, exists.
  • Gesellschafterliste (List of shareholders) — for a GmbH or UG; it shows each shareholder’s name, first name, date of birth and place of residence, the nominal amounts and consecutive numbers of the shares and the percentage of the share capital, with corporate shareholders identified by firm, seat, register and number. It is the instrument that identifies GmbH shareholders and legitimates them towards the company.
  • Gesellschaftsvertrag und Satzung (Articles of association and statutes) — in the version currently applicable and in earlier versions, for governance, representation and capital structure.
  • Jahresabschlüsse (Annual financial statements) — balance sheet, profit and loss account, notes, management report, audit certificate and supervisory board report, retrieved through the Company Register for financial years from 2022 onwards and through the Federal Gazette for earlier years. Documents filed for permanent deposit by small companies are supplied only on request as a copy.
  • Registerbekanntmachungen (Register announcements) — searchable in the portal and in the Company Register.
  • Transparenzregisterauszug (Transparency register extract) — obtainable only within the access categories described above and after online registration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the business register in Germany called?

The Handelsregister (Commercial Register), kept electronically by the local courts and published through the joint register portal of the federal states, with the Company Register acting as the central platform.

Is the German commercial register free?

Yes. Section 9 of the Commercial Code permits inspection by everyone for information purposes, and since 1 August 2022 retrieval of entries and documents has been free of charge.

What is the difference between HRA and HRB?

Division A holds sole merchants, general and limited partnerships and European economic interest groupings; division B holds stock corporations, European companies, partnerships limited by shares, limited liability companies and mutual insurance associations.

Where are German annual accounts published?

In the Company Register for financial years beginning after 31 December 2021, and in the Federal Gazette for earlier financial years.

Can I look up the beneficial owner of a German company?

Not as a member of the general public. Access under section 23 of the Money Laundering Act is limited to authorities and designated bodies, to obliged entities for customer due diligence, and to persons demonstrating a legitimate interest, who receive a restricted data set.

What is the eGbR?

The registered civil-law partnership, entered in the new register of civil-law partnerships since 1 January 2024. Registration is voluntary but is a precondition for holding registered rights and for being recorded as a partner in other registers.

Sources

Keywords

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