🇦🇹 Business registers in Austria

Overview

Austria has fully digitized its company information processes, from registers to legal notices to document archives, the result of year-long, successful efforts to move away from paper-based filing. The country also takes a generally transparent approach to legal entities.

As a consequence, company data and documents are of good quality, and there is (at least some) publicly available information on every organization, including sole traders and associations.

However, one must pay to access company documents, as mandated by law. Additionally, the breadth of providers can be confusing, as the contact may be with the Firmenbuch, GISA, a Ministry, or one of several clearing offices, depending on the need.

This variety can create complexity for KYB (Know Your Business) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) workflows when not using an automated solution.

Official Registers

Firmenbuch

The Firmenbuch is Austria’s official commercial register. It is maintained by the country's 16 regional or commercial courts, and held centrally in electronic format at the Federal Computing Center (BRZ for Bundesrechenzentrum). The Firmenbuch contains registration data for almost all Austrian companies.

It is free to search for companies on the Firmenbuch (using the Justizonline website), and to obtain basic information: registration number, address, legal form, and company status. Further details and underlying documents, including trade register extracts, articles of association, and financial statements, can be purchased individually using a secure personal log-in, such as a European eID. Shareholder information can be indirectly accessed for limited companies and some partnerships using the articles of association (and their subsequent mandatory updates).

A specific feature of the Austrian business landscape is the existence of "clearing offices" (Verrechnungsstelle) such as HF data, Lexunited, and many others. These firms contract with the Ministry of Justice to facilitate the use of the commercial register by economic actors. Leveraging the data and documents from the Firmenbuch, the clearing offices compete to offer features such as complex searches, bulk usage, and document purchasing. Their services are paid, but can be simpler to use and more complete than those of Justizonline.

GISA (Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria)

The Ministry of Economy operates GISA, Austria's centralized information system about trade licenses and business permits. The system's primary focus is for entrepreneurs to handle various business processes electronically, including registrations, location changes, and manager appointments. By design, GISA's base only includes businesses requiring a trade license.

GISA queries are free of charge on the internet; extracts from GISA are available in German or English and are authentic public documents.

Information from GISA is somewhat limited, focusing on the nature of a commercial entity's trade authorization, in addition to the company name and company address, and the identification of the primary representative.

GISA is particularly important for sole proprietors and smaller businesses, as it is the only official information source for individual companies that are not registered in the Firmenbuch.

WiEReG (Wirtschaftliche Eigentümer Register)

WiEReG is the central UBO register in Austria for companies, foundations, and trusts; the Ministry of Finance maintains it for AML/CFT purposes. Concerned legal entities must file within 4 weeks of first registration and review their UBO information annually (confirm or update).

The register contains typical information about beneficial owners of a company: names, dates of birth, nationalities, nature and extent of ownership or control. WiEReG also offers more unusual features, such as organizational charts showing ownership structure or compliance packages with supporting documents.

Information is available for a fee ranging from €4 for simple extracts to €10 for compliance packages, with volume discounts available.

Since the ECJ ruling of 22 November 2022, Austria has disabled general public access to UBO information. Access remains open for competent authorities and obliged entities; other potential users may apply to view some of the information on a “legitimate interest” basis.

ZVR (Zentrales Vereinsregister)

ZVR is the Central register of Austrian associations and non-profit organizations. Local authorities manage it under the coordination of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Anyone can query the register online to obtain basic information such as name, ZVR number, address and governing bodies. Deeper disclosure requires submitting an application to the relevant local authority and providing proof of legitimate interest, as required by Austrian law.

Registration and publication requirements

Obligations with the Firmenbuch

Mandatory registration on the Firmenbuch applies to almost all legal forms: Kapitalgesellschaften (GmbH, AG, SE), Partnerships such as OG and KG, and other forms such as cooperatives, mutual insurers, and private foundations.

The notable exemptions are for :

• GesbR (civil-law partnerships), which lack legal personality,
• Sole proprietors (Einzelunternehmer) who register voluntarily, unless their turnover exceeds €700,000 over two consecutive years or €1,000,000 in a single year, which triggers mandatory registration.

As regards financial reporting, entities such as GmbHs and AGs are legally required to file annual financial statements—these must be submitted to the Firmenbuch's document archive and are publicly accessible (for a fee). There's no general filing requirement for sole proprietors or partnerships without corporate status, unless they exceed accounting thresholds.

Associations (Vereine) are not part of Firmenbuch—they're in the separate ZVR (Associations Register).

Obligations with GISA

Submission for a trade license and registration with GISA is mandatory for any sole trader or legal entity engaged in a "trade" activity, without exception.

"Trade" is the usual translation for the Austrian “Gewerbe”, meaning a regulated business activity under the Gewerbeordnung 1994 (Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act). The Act encompasses commercial, independent, and long-term activities undertaken for profit, unless specific professional regulations govern them. Therefore, the scope is much broader than just the trade of goods; it includes retailers, manufacturers, artisans, service providers, and others. Liberal professions, agriculture, and public services are not concerned.

UBO obligations

Companies, foundations, and certain partnerships must report beneficial owners, unless they fall under specific exemptions.

Exemptions include GmbHs with only individual shareholders; OGs and KGs with only individual personally liable partners; and associations or cooperatives if their beneficial ownership is already identifiable in other registers.

With Topograph

Topograph provides streamlined access to Austrian company information, available through our API or intuitive web app.

Available data

Company profile

• Company name and commercial name
• Company address
• Registation number (firmenbuchnummer and EUID)
• Legal form
• Registration status and date of registration
• Activity sector (ISIC / NACE) when provided (depends on legal form)

Legal representatives

• Name
• Date of birth
• Role

Ultimate beneficial owners (UBO)

• Name, date of birth, and citizenship of UBOs
• Nature and extent of ownership and/or control

Access is subject to individual requests for legitimate interest. Topograph supports justification and request processing.

Available documents

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