A German company number needs its register court.
A register number alone can lead to the wrong German company. Pair the court with the number, then connect the current extract to the filed ownership documents.
Company search in Germany
Retrieving data from the German commercial register (Handelsregister) has been free since 1 August 2022. The current extract names the managing directors with date of birth and place of residence, and a GmbH's shareholder list, with each shareholder's stake, is on file with the register court. The Transparenzregister of beneficial owners is not open to the public: since the CJEU judgment of 22 November 2022 a member of the public must show a legitimate interest.
Fill Easy can order Handelsregister extracts and filed documents by email or through the API as part of its company registry search across 60+ jurisdictions. Price and turnaround are confirmed with the order.
At a glance
- Registry
- Handelsregister, through the Common Register Portal of the German Federal States and the Unternehmensregister
- Authority
- Register courts at the local courts (Amtsgerichte) of the federal states
- Language of records
- German
- Currency of fees
- Euro (EUR); retrieving register information has been free since 1 August 2022
- Public online search
- Yes. Free search by name across all states, with free current, chronological and historical extracts and filed documents
- Shareholders disclosed
- Yes for a GmbH, on the shareholder list filed with the register court. AG shareholders are not on the register; the Transparenzregister is not public
- Directors disclosed
- Yes. Managing directors and board members with name, date of birth, place of residence and powers
- Turnaround via Fill Easy
- Confirmed with the order
Registry
Commercial register (Handelsregister), through the Common Register Portal of the German Federal States
Handelsregister, Gemeinsames Registerportal der Länder
Register courts at the local courts (Amtsgerichte) of the 16 federal states
The commercial register is kept by the register courts at the local courts (Amtsgerichte), each for its own district. The federal states run a common register portal, handelsregister.de, that searches the commercial, cooperative, partnership, civil-law partnership and association registers of all states at once, by part of the name, without knowing the register number or court. The Unternehmensregister, the federal company register, gives access to the same register data and also holds published financial statements and company announcements.
The register content is delivered as PDF in several forms: the current extract (Aktueller Abdruck), the chronological extract (Chronologischer Abdruck) and the historical extract (Historischer Abdruck), with documents filed electronically, such as shareholder lists and articles of association, in a document tree. Fees for retrieving register information were abolished on 1 August 2022.
Identifier
Register number (Registernummer) with the register court
The register section and a serial number, read together with the local court that keeps the register, for example Amtsgericht München HRB 123456. HRB is the section for corporations (GmbH, AG, SE, KGaA); HRA is for sole traders, general partnerships (OHG) and limited partnerships (KG). The number alone is not unique across Germany, so always record the court.
Documents
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Current extract (Aktueller Abdruck, AD) | All entries currently valid: name, seat and business address, object, share capital, legal form and date of articles, general representation rules, managing directors or management board members with surname, first name, place of residence and date of birth and their individual powers, Prokura holders, and any insolvency or liquidation entries. |
| Chronological extract (Chronologischer Abdruck, CD) | Every entry since the register was converted to electronic form, in order, including directors who have left and earlier names, seats and capital. |
| Historical extract (Historischer Abdruck, HD) | Entries that were valid up to the conversion to electronic record-keeping, for companies older than the electronic register. |
| Shareholder list (Liste der Gesellschafter) | For a GmbH, the shareholders filed with the register court, with name, date of birth and place of residence (or name, seat and register number for a legal entity), each share's number and nominal amount, and the percentage of share capital. It is part of the documents filed electronically (DK). |
| Articles of association and filed documents (Dokumente zum Rechtsträger, DK) | The articles (Gesellschaftsvertrag or Satzung), resolutions, lists of supervisory board members and other documents sent to the register court electronically, in the format filed. |
| Structured register content (Strukturierter Registerinhalt, SI) | An XML file with the data of the current and chronological extracts for automated processing. |
| Annual financial statements (Jahresabschluss) | The accounts a company publishes, viewable on the Unternehmensregister. A micro company may deposit its balance sheet instead of publishing it; deposited accounts are sold on request rather than shown openly. |
Worth knowing
- The Transparenzregister of beneficial owners is kept by Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH, with the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) enforcing the filing duties. After the CJEU judgment of 22 November 2022 in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, the register stopped releasing data to the public the same day; since 12 December 2022 members of the public must state and prove a legitimate interest, which the register accepts in particular for a check of one's own entry and for journalists and NGOs researching money laundering or terrorist financing. Obliged entities under the Money Laundering Act (GwG) have access case by case within their due diligence, and authorities have full access.
- The Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/1640) harmonises who has a legitimate interest across the EU, so Germany's access rules under section 23 GwG will change as it is transposed.
- The shareholder list is the company's own filing, submitted by the managing directors or a notary after each change. It shows registered shareholders, not beneficial owners, and the date of the latest list matters: check it against the chronological extract.
- The register court's data on the portal is informational. A certified extract (beglaubigter Ausdruck) for use in court or abroad is issued by the register court for a fee and may need an apostille and translation.
- Individual states take their retrieval systems offline for maintenance at night, and heavy use has caused temporary outages on the portal; documents can also be retrieved through the Unternehmensregister.
Questions
Is a Handelsregister extract free?
Yes. Since 1 August 2022 no fees apply to retrieving register information, including the current, chronological and historical extracts and documents such as the shareholder list. A certified extract from the register court still carries a court fee.
Where can I find the shareholders of a German GmbH?
In the shareholder list (Gesellschafterliste) filed with the register court, retrieved from the Handelsregister documents. It shows each shareholder's name, date of birth and place of residence, or a legal entity's name, seat and register number, with the nominal amount and percentage of each share.
What is the difference between HRA and HRB?
They are the two sections of the commercial register. HRB holds corporations such as the GmbH, AG and SE; HRA holds sole traders and partnerships such as the OHG and KG. A register number is unique only together with the local court that keeps it.
Can I access the German Transparenzregister?
Only with a legitimate interest, if you are a member of the public. Public access was suspended after the CJEU judgment of 22 November 2022, and applicants now have to explain and evidence their interest. Obliged entities under the Money Laundering Act can access it case by case for their customer due diligence.
What does an Aktueller Abdruck show?
The current extract shows every entry now valid for the company: name, seat, object, share capital, representation rules, managing directors or board members with date of birth and place of residence, Prokura holders and any insolvency or liquidation entries.
Sources
- Justizportal des Bundes und der Länder: Gemeinsames Registerportal der Länder (opens in a new tab)
- Unternehmensregister: register information, document types and fees since 1 August 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- Common Register Portal of the German Federal States (opens in a new tab)
- Bundesverwaltungsamt: Transparenzregister (opens in a new tab)
- Transparenzregister: register portal and access notices (opens in a new tab)