You want to know more about the commercial register? The Commercial Register contains entries about registered merchants and companies.
The Commercial Register is a public register that keeps records of registered merchants and companies in the district of the competent registration court and that provides information on the documents deposited there. The Commercial Register provides information about essential legal and economic circumstances ("facts") of merchants and companies and can be inspected by anyone.
Task of the Commercial Register
The purpose of the Commercial Register is to create legal certainty (for example, for the conclusion of contracts). It therefore contains information on the factual and legal circumstances of companies (for example, the exact company name, the company's registered office, branches, any limitations of liability, persons authorized to represent the company.
Lists of shareholders or minutes of general meetings can also be inspected at the local court.
Freely accessible information
All interested parties can inspect the Commercial Register at the District Court for information purposes and request an extract from the Commercial Register (subject to a fee).
Structure
The Commercial Register consists of 2 sections:
Commercial rights and duties
Businessmen have the following rights and duties:
To file an application, contact a notary public.
Electronic Commercial Register
Since January 1, 2007, the commercial register has been maintained exclusively electronically. Data from the following public registers is available on the joint Internet portal of the German register courts:
Entry of a small business
Small businesses are companies that do not require business operations in a commercial manner.
If you run a small business, you do not have to register in the Commercial Register.
However, you may register in the Commercial Register. If you register, you can also get the registration "Kauffrau" or "Kaufmann" as a small trader.
The registration court must decide on the registration immediately after receipt of the application. If all documents are available and no objections by the court are necessary, registrations are usually made within a few working days.
Fixed fees are charged for entries in the Commercial Register in accordance with the Commercial Register Fees Ordinance.
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Full information only available in German language
Last update at 24.02.2023