Frequently asked questions

The Handelsregister is Germany's public commercial register. It is maintained by local district courts (Amtsgerichte) acting as Registergerichte (register courts) and records legally relevant facts about registered merchants and companies — such as their legal form, registered seat, authorised representatives, share capital, and structural changes.

Registration in the Handelsregister is mandatory for most commercial entities in Germany. The register is publicly accessible and is the primary authoritative source for checking basic company facts during due diligence or cross-border onboarding. Full overview →

Basic searches and viewing current company data are free of charge on the official portal at handelsregister.de. You can search by company name, register number, or registered seat and view the current registered data at no cost.

Certified extracts (beglaubigte Auszüge) — which are legally recognised documents — may carry a fee set by official court fee schedules. Electronic (unofficial) printouts can usually be downloaded at no cost for informal reference purposes.

The Handelsregister is a public register — any person or organisation can access it without a specific legal interest or justification. This public accessibility is intentional: the register creates legal transparency so that trading partners, creditors, and the public can verify company information.

Access is available online via the federal portal, through individual court systems, and in some cases via third-party data providers who aggregate register data.

The register records information that companies are legally required to file, including: company name (Firma), registered seat (Sitz), legal form, register number, authorised representatives (e.g., managing directors, board members), representation rules (e.g., joint vs. sole signing authority), share capital for GmbH/AG, and certain structural events such as mergers, conversions, and dissolution.

It does not contain operational information such as current employees, turnover, solvency status, or day-to-day activity. For financial data, see the Bundesanzeiger for published annual accounts. What an extract shows →

HRB and HRA are the two sections (Abteilungen) of the Handelsregister. HRB (Abteilung B) contains companies with separate legal personality — GmbH, AG, UG (haftungsbeschränkt), KGaA, and similar forms. HRA (Abteilung A) contains sole merchants (Kaufleute) registered as e.K. and partnerships such as OHG, KG, and GmbH & Co. KG.

The section tells you about the legal structure of the entity — not about its financial health or reputation. An HRA entity is not inferior to an HRB entity; it simply has a different legal form. Detailed comparison →

A register number consists of three elements: the section prefix (HRB or HRA), a sequential number assigned by the court, and always the name of the responsible register court. Example: HRB 12345 München.

The number alone is meaningless without the court name — the same number sequence may exist at multiple courts across Germany. Always record both the number and the court when referencing a company. Full guide →

The official federal Handelsregister portal at handelsregister.de allows searching by company name, register number, or location. Most legal correspondence, invoices, and company websites in Germany are required to show the register number and court, so checking the company's own documents is often the fastest route.

Third-party aggregators also index register data but should be treated as secondary sources — always verify against the official portal for current, authoritative information.

A GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) is Germany's most common form of limited liability company, roughly equivalent to a UK Ltd or a French SARL. Shareholders' liability is limited to their capital contribution. It requires a minimum share capital of €25,000, of which at least half must be paid up at registration.

GmbH entries appear in HRB and include managing directors (Geschäftsführer), share capital, and the current shareholder list filed with the register. All entity types →

A UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is a simplified limited liability company sometimes called the "mini-GmbH." It can be founded with a minimum share capital of just €1, making it accessible for start-ups and small businesses. However, it must accumulate reserves until it reaches €25,000, at which point it can convert to a GmbH.

UG entities appear in HRB and are subject to the same basic transparency requirements as a GmbH. The "(haftungsbeschränkt)" suffix must always appear in the company name.

An AG (Aktiengesellschaft) is a German stock corporation, equivalent to a UK plc or French SA. It requires a minimum share capital of €50,000, has a supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) and management board (Vorstand), and is subject to more extensive disclosure obligations than a GmbH.

Listed AGs are subject to capital markets law in addition to company law, with additional disclosure obligations beyond what the Handelsregister shows.

An e.K. (eingetragener Kaufmann / eingetragene Kauffrau) is a registered sole merchant. Unlike a GmbH or AG, the e.K. does not provide limited liability — the proprietor is personally liable for all business debts.

e.K. entries appear in HRA and are simpler in structure than corporate entries. The register shows the owner's name, business name (Firma), and registered seat.

A Handelsregisterauszug is an official extract from the commercial register. Two main types exist: a current extract (aktueller Ausdruck) showing data currently in force, and a chronological extract (chronologischer Ausdruck) showing all changes over time.

Electronic extracts can be downloaded free of charge via handelsregister.de for informal purposes. Certified (beglaubigte) extracts — required for many official processes — must be requested from the responsible Registergericht and may carry a fee. Full guide →

An uncertified electronic printout (informeller Ausdruck) is generally not legally equivalent to a certified extract for formal legal processes, court proceedings, or notarial transactions. However, it is widely accepted for informal due diligence, onboarding checks, and internal reference.

If you need a document that can be used in legal proceedings or with authorities, request a certified extract (beglaubigter Auszug) directly from the Registergericht.

Several reasons can explain discrepancies. First, the online portal may show more recent data than a physical extract prepared earlier. Second, a current extract shows only active registrations, while a chronological extract shows historical entries — the two can look very different. Third, publication timing: there can be a delay between when a court processes a filing and when it appears on the public portal or in official publications like the Bundesanzeiger.

Always check the date of both documents and whether you are comparing like for like (current vs. chronological).

The Transparenzregister is Germany's beneficial ownership register, introduced as part of Germany's transposition of EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives. It records the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of legal entities — persons who ultimately own or control a company beyond the legal ownership structure.

It is separate from the Handelsregister, though both may be consulted in due diligence. As of 2022, all entities subject to registration must maintain an active entry; the "fictitious registration" exception under which entities already registered in the Handelsregister were automatically deemed registered was abolished. Full guide →

Not directly. The Handelsregister shows the legal structure of a company — its registered shareholders (for GmbH: the shareholder list; for AG: not always directly visible), managing directors, and legal form. But it does not systematically trace beneficial ownership through holding structures.

For beneficial ownership, the Transparenzregister is the designated source. Even there, access rules apply and the information may not always be complete, particularly for complex corporate chains.

No. The VAT ID (USt-IdNr, format: DE + 9 digits) is issued by the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (Federal Central Tax Office) and is not part of the Handelsregister. The register contains company law information, not tax administration data.

To verify a German VAT ID, use the EU VIES portal at ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies or the dedicated German verification service. VAT ID guide →

The Steuernummer is a domestic tax number assigned by the local tax office (Finanzamt) for tax filing purposes. It is not standardised across Germany and is generally not used in international transactions. The USt-IdNr (EU VAT identification number) is the internationally recognised identifier used for cross-border EU transactions. Both are tax administration identifiers separate from the commercial register. Full tax numbers guide →

There is no fixed timeline. After a change is filed (typically via a notary for structural changes), the register court reviews and processes the filing. Simple changes may appear within days; more complex ones can take weeks. There is then a further step where publication occurs in the official gazette (Bundesanzeiger), which may not happen simultaneously with the court registration.

This means a company's internally known change may not yet be visible in the register, and a register entry may not yet be reflected in all publication channels. Always check the date of the extract you are relying on.

Dissolution is a process, not an instant event. When a company resolves to dissolve, this is recorded in the register along with the appointment of liquidators. The company continues to exist as a legal entity during liquidation. Only after the liquidation process is complete and the company formally deleted (Löschung) does it cease to appear as an active entry.

Deleted entries remain in the historical register record and are still accessible in chronological extracts. Dissolution guide →