🇱🇺 Business Registers in Luxembourg

Overview

Luxembourg operates a publicly accessible company information system operated by Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR). The Grand Duchy approach to transparency is contrasted: trade register extracts contains rich information but they are expensive; filed coporate documents are available free of charge online, with a near-immediate publication.

Luxembour position as a leading investment fund domicile means the register contains an unusually high proportion of holding companies, investment vehicles (SICAVs, SIFs, RAIFs), and special purpose entities alongside traditional operating businesses.

For KYB professionals, Luxembourg offers rich company data with access to most documents. However, beneficial ownership information is restricted to authorised parties following the ECJ's November 2022 ruling.

Official Registers

Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS)

The RCS is Luxembourg's central commercial register, containing registration data for virtually all legal entities operating in the country: commercial companies, partnerships, sole traders, civil companies, non-profit associations (ASBLs), foundations, investment funds, and branches of foreign entities. The register has operated under the authority of the Ministry of Justice since 2003, with day-to-day management delegated to Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR), an economic interest grouping comprising the State, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber of Skilled Trades.

The RCS was fully digitised between 2006 and 2007, and today all filings and consultations occur electronically. The register is entirely public: anyone can search by company name or registration number and access filed documents in PDF format at no cost. Certified extracts and official copies carry a fee.

Information available through the RCS includes: company name and trade name, registered office address, legal form, RCS registration number and EUID, date of incorporation, share capital, identity of directors, managers, and authorised signatories (with dates of birth and addresses), articles of association, statutory amendments, and annual financial statements.

The Luxembourg system requires for all natural persons registered with the RCS, such as shareholders, directors, and auditors, to provide their Luxembourg national identification number (matricule). This requirement is enforced since 2024 and enhances traceability and data quality. Note that these identification numbers are not disclosed publicly.

Recueil Électronique des Sociétés et Associations (RESA)

RESA is Luxembourg's electronic official gazette, which replaced the traditional Mémorial C in 2016. It functions as the publication platform integrated into the RCS website where all mandatory legal notices appear. Once a document is filed with the RCS, it is simultaneously published in RESA, typically on the same day—a dramatic improvement from the four-to-five-week delays that previously characterised the Mémorial C.

Consultation of RESA is free and requires no authentication. Legal acts only become enforceable against third parties from the date of their publication in RESA, making timely publication essential for corporate transactions.

Registre des Bénéficiaires Effectifs (RBE)

The RBE is Luxembourg's central register of beneficial owners, established in March 2019 under the law of 13 January 2019. It is also managed by LBR under the authority of the Ministry of Justice. All entities registered with the RCS (except sole traders, temporary commercial companies, and joint ventures) must declare their beneficial owners within one month of any relevant event.

The register contains: names and surnames of beneficial owners, dates of birth, nationalities, countries of residence, and the nature and extent of beneficial interests held. Addresses and national identification numbers are collected but not disclosed to most users.

Following the European Court of Justice ruling of 22 November 2022 (the Luxembourg Business Registers judgment), public access to the RBE was immediately suspended. The court found that unrestricted public access constituted a disproportionate interference with fundamental rights to privacy and data protection. Luxembourg enacted new legislation in December 2024 to formalise restricted access.

Today, access to the RBE is limited to:

• National authorities (prosecutors, CSSF, tax authorities): full, unrestricted access
• AML/CFT obliged entities: access via secure platform with LuxTrust certificate and signed agreement with LBR; consultations are logged and retained for five years
• Persons with legitimate interest: professional journalists and NGOs focused on combating money laundering may apply for access

Access is granted to information only—not to supporting documents.

Registration and publication requirements

Obligations for companies

Registration with the RCS is mandatory for all commercial companies upon incorporation. This includes: public limited companies (SA), private limited companies (SARL and SARL-S), partnerships limited by shares (SCA), general partnerships (SENC), limited partnerships (SCS and SCSp), cooperative companies, European companies (SE), and civil companies.

Annual accounts must be filed by all capital companies (SA, SARL, SECA, cooperatives, SE) and by partnerships and sole traders with annual turnover exceeding €100,000. Filing must occur within one month of approval and no later than seven months after the financial year-end. Accounts are validated through the eCDF platform (electronic gathering of financial data) using the standardised chart of accounts (plan comptable normalisé – PCN) before submission to the RCS.

Small, medium, and large companies have different disclosure requirements based on size thresholds (balance sheet total, turnover, and employee count). Small companies may file abridged accounts; large companies must file full financial statements and are subject to statutory audit.

UBO obligations apply to all registered entities except sole traders, listed companies (which need only declare the regulated market), and temporary commercial companies. Declarations must be filed within one month of incorporation or any change.

Obligations for sole traders (commerçants personnes physiques)

Any natural person carrying on a commercial activity must register with the RCS. Registration is completed electronically using a LuxTrust certificate. While sole traders must maintain accounting records, they are only required to file annual accounts with the RCS if their annual turnover exceeds €100,000 excluding VAT.

Sole traders are not subject to UBO obligations, as they are natural persons rather than legal entities.

Non-profit associations (ASBLs) and foundations

Non-profit associations (associations sans but lucratif – ASBLs) and foundations must register with the RCS and file their articles of association. An ASBL acquires legal personality upon publication of its statutes in RESA.

The law of 7 August 2023 modernised the regulatory framework for ASBLs and foundations:

• Minimum two founders (reduced from three)
• Mandatory filing of annual accounts within one month of approval
• Categorisation by size, with simplified accounting for small associations
• Abolition of the annual member list filing requirement (replaced by an internal register)
• UBO declarations required for all ASBLs and foundations

Associations that fail to update their RCS data within six months of a request from LBR and have made no filings for at least five years face administrative dissolution without liquidation.

With Topograph

Topograph provides streamlined access to Luxembourg company information through our API and web application.

Available data

Company profile

• Legal name and trade name
• Registered office address
• RCS registration number and EUID
• Legal form
• Date of incorporation
• Registration status
• Share capital
• Activity sector (NACE code) when available

Legal representatives

• Name and address of directors, managers, and authorised signatories
• Roles and powers
• Appointment and expiry dates

Shareholders (for some legal forms)

• Name and address
• Number and types of shares

Ultimate beneficial owners

• Names, dates of birth, and nationalities
• Nature and extent of beneficial interests
• Access subject to legitimate interest request.

Available documents

Topograph provides access to key KYB documents in Luxembourg.

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