Luxembourg ownership evidence depends on the company form.
An SARL and an SA disclose different ownership information. Combine the RCS extract, filed acts and permitted RBE evidence without treating them as interchangeable.
Company search in Luxembourg
Luxembourg's beneficial owner register (RBE) was the subject of the CJEU judgment that closed public access across the EU: joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 began as references from Luxembourg courts in disputes with Luxembourg Business Registers. Since the law of 23 January 2025, the RBE is open only to authorities, AML professionals carrying out due diligence, self-regulatory bodies and persons who demonstrate a legitimate interest. The Trade and Companies Register (RCS) itself stays public, and for an SARL it lists the partners and their shares.
Fill Easy can order RCS extracts and filed documents from Luxembourg Business Registers 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
- Trade and Companies Register (RCS), kept by Luxembourg Business Registers
- Authority
- Minister of Justice; managed by the economic interest grouping LBR
- Language of records
- Mainly French; documents are kept in the language in which they were filed, often German or English
- Currency of fees
- Euro (EUR); RESA consultation is free, extracts and certificates follow the RCS tariff set by Grand-Ducal regulation
- Public online search
- Yes. Search by name or RCS number on lbr.lu, with filed documents as PDF and the RESA free to consult
- Shareholders disclosed
- Yes for an SARL and SARL-S (partners and number of shares); SA shareholders are not on the RCS. The RBE is not public
- Directors disclosed
- Yes. Managers, directors and signatories with private or professional address, powers and term of office
- Turnaround via Fill Easy
- Confirmed with the order
Registry
Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR), Trade and Companies Register (RCS)
Registre de commerce et des sociétés (RCS)
Under the authority of the Minister of Justice; managed by the economic interest grouping LBR (the State, the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts)
The RCS is the official register of traders and companies in Luxembourg and of the other legal persons covered by the law of 19 December 2002, such as non-profit associations, foundations, civil companies and investment funds. It operates under the authority of the Minister of Justice, who entrusts its management to Luxembourg Business Registers, an economic interest grouping of the State, the Chamber of Commerce and the Chambre des Métiers. LBR also keeps the RBE and publishes the Recueil électronique des sociétés et associations (RESA).
Search on lbr.lu by name or RCS number is public. The record shows the entity's registered details, its managers or directors with their private or professional address and powers, its auditor and, for an SARL or SARL-S, the partners and the number of shares each holds; filed documents such as articles and annual accounts can be consulted as PDF. Legal publications appear in the RESA, which is free to consult without authentication.
Identifier
RCS number (numéro d'immatriculation)
A letter for the register section followed by a serial number. Commercial companies are registered under B, for example B123456; other categories of entity on the RCS, such as sole traders, associations and foundations, are filed under other letters.
Documents
| Document | What it shows |
|---|---|
| RCS extract (extrait RCS) | Name, legal form, registered office, object, share capital, date of incorporation and duration, managers or directors and persons authorised to sign with their address, signing rules, date of appointment and expiry of mandate, the auditor and, for an SARL or SARL-S, each partner and the number and type of shares held. |
| Articles of association (statuts) | The deed of incorporation and the coordinated articles after each amendment, as filed with the RCS and published in the RESA. |
| Annual accounts (comptes annuels) | The balance sheet, profit and loss account and notes lodged each year, consultable as PDF on the RCS, with the filing notice published in the RESA. Small companies file abridged accounts. |
| Filed documents (dépôts) | Every filing on the company's record, such as changes of managers, transfers of registered office, mergers and liquidations, with filing reference and date. |
| RESA publications | The official publications for the company in the Recueil électronique des sociétés et associations, which make filings binding on third parties. |
| Statement of court rulings and administrative dissolutions filed with the RCS | LBR's statement of the court decisions, such as bankruptcy or judicial liquidation, and administrative dissolutions without liquidation entered against the company on the RCS, or that none are recorded. |
Worth knowing
- The RBE was public without login from 1 September 2019 until 22 November 2022, when the CJEU ruled in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 (WM and Sovim SA v Luxembourg Business Registers) that general public access breached Articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter. The Minister of Justice suspended public access on the LBR portal the same day; access for AML professionals and holders of a press card was restored in December 2022.
- The law of 23 January 2025 rewrote access to the RBE. It is open to national authorities, to professionals under the AML law of 12 November 2004 for their customer due diligence (including on entities their customers may transact with), to self-regulatory bodies, and to persons who demonstrate a legitimate interest in fighting money laundering or terrorist financing: professional journalists, EU non-profits working against money laundering, persons who may conclude a transaction with the entity, and other authorities. A person in the transaction category applies per entity by RCS number or name, with supporting documents; LBR decides after the opinion of an advisory commission and sends an extract within three working days of a favourable decision.
- Consultations of the RBE are logged and are not disclosed to the entity or its beneficial owners. The 2025 reform follows the access rules of the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/1640).
- An SA's shareholders are not on the RCS. For an SA, ownership comes from the company's own share register or from the RBE where you have access.
- Most records and publications are in French, and deeds may also be filed in German or English. A French or German filing needs translation for an English-language file.
Questions
Is the Luxembourg beneficial owner register (RBE) public?
No longer. Public access was suspended on 22 November 2022 after the CJEU judgment in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20. Under the law of 23 January 2025, access is limited to authorities, AML professionals, self-regulatory bodies and persons who demonstrate a legitimate interest, such as journalists, anti-money-laundering NGOs and those about to transact with the entity.
What does an RCS extract show?
The company's registered details from the Trade and Companies Register: name, legal form, registered office, object, capital, managers or directors with their address and signing powers, the auditor and, for an SARL, the partners and their shares.
Are SARL shareholders public in Luxembourg?
Yes. The RCS records the partners of an SARL and SARL-S with their private or professional address and the number and type of shares each holds. Shareholders of an SA are not recorded on the RCS.
What is the RESA?
The Recueil électronique des sociétés et associations, Luxembourg's electronic official journal for company publications, published by LBR. It is free to consult online without authentication, and a filing becomes binding on third parties once published there.
What is an RCS number in Luxembourg?
The registration number on the Trade and Companies Register. Commercial companies carry the letter B followed by a number, for example B123456.
Sources
- Ministry of Justice: Registre de commerce et des sociétés (opens in a new tab)
- Journal officiel (Mémorial A n° 22, 27 January 2025): law of 23 January 2025 amending the RCS and RBE laws (opens in a new tab)
- Government of Luxembourg: consequences of the CJEU judgment in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 (opens in a new tab)
- Guichet.lu: publication and lodging of information with the RCS (RESA) (opens in a new tab)
- Luxembourg Business Registers (opens in a new tab)