Extrait RCS (Luxembourg business register extract)

What is the Extrait RCS?

The Extrait RCS is the official trade register extract issued by Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR), the entity managing the Trade and Companies Register (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés – RCS) on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. This document provides a certified snapshot of a company's legal and administrative status as recorded in the register.

The extract consolidates key corporate information in a single document: company identifiers, registered office, share capital, corporate purpose, shareholders, and legal representatives. It is widely used in KYB (Know Your Business) and AML processes, corporate due diligence, and as official proof of a company's existence and legal standing.

The Extrait RCS is issued electronically with a digital signature from LBR, which guarantees authenticity and data integrity. The document explicitly states that it reflects the situation recorded in the RCS up to one day before the date of issuance.

What does it contain?

Below is an extract from a real Extrait RCS from LBR.

1. Document header

The extract opens with the RCS logo and header, followed by the company name and registration number (numéro d'immatriculation). The registration number follows a standardised format: a letter prefix indicating the entity type (e.g., "B" for commercial companies) followed by a numeric identifier.

2. Company identification

This section provides core identifiers:

• Registration number (Numéro d'immatriculation) — the unique RCS identifier
• Registration date (Date d'immatriculation) — when the company was registered with the RCS
• Company name (Dénomination) — the official legal name
• Legal form (Forme juridique) — e.g., Société à responsabilité limitée (SARL), Société anonyme (SA)
• Registered office (Siège social) — full address including street number, street name, postal code, and locality

3. Corporate purpose

The corporate purpose (Objet social) describes the activities the company is authorised to carry out. This section reproduces the purpose clause from the company's articles of association, which can range from a concise description to a detailed enumeration of permitted activities. The text appears in the language used in the founding documents—typically French, German, or occasionally English.

4. Share capital

The share capital section (Capital social / Fonds social) includes:

• Type — Fixed (Fixe) or Variable
• Amount (Montant) — the nominal capital amount
• Currency (Devise) — typically Euro
• Payment status (État de libération) — whether the capital is fully paid up (Total) or partially paid

5. Key dates

Several important dates are recorded:

• Date of constitution (Date de constitution) — when the company was legally formed
• Duration (Durée) — typically "Unlimited" (Illimitée) or a fixed term
• Financial year (Exercice social) — the start and end dates of the accounting period, including details of the first financial year if it was shortened

6. Activity classification

The NACE code (Code NACE) indicates the company's principal economic activity according to the European statistical classification. This information is updated monthly based on data exchanges between the RCS and STATEC (Luxembourg's national statistics office).

7. Shareholders

Notably, the extract includes detailed shareholder information (Associé(s)), which is not commonly disclosed in trade register extracts across all jurisdictions. For each shareholder, the document shows:

• Full name (Nom, Prénom(s))
• Private or professional address (Adresse privée ou professionnelle) — including street, postal code, locality, and country
• Shares held (Parts détenues) — number of shares and share type (e.g., parts sociales, Anteile)

This provides a clear view of the ownership structure directly from the official register.

8. Directors, managers and delegates

The section on administrators and managers (Administrateur(s) / Gérant(s)) lists the individuals authorised to represent and bind the company. For each representative, the extract includes:

• Full name
• Private or professional address
• Function (Fonction) — e.g., Gérant unique (sole manager), Gérant technique (technical manager), Geschäftsführer (manager, in German)
• Signatory powers (Pouvoir de signature) — a description of how the company is legally bound (e.g., by the sole signature of the manager, or by joint signatures)
• Appointment date (Date de nomination)
• Mandate duration (Durée du mandat) — typically "Unlimited" (Indéterminée) or a fixed term

The statutory signature rules (Régime de signature statutaire) are also reproduced, explaining the general framework for how the company enters into commitments with third parties.

Where applicable, the extract may include a section on delegates to daily management (Délégué(s) à la gestion journalière), listing individuals with delegated authority for day-to-day operations.

9. Certification and electronic signature

The final page contains the certification statement (Pour extrait conforme), the date of issuance, and the electronic signature of LBR. The signature block includes technical details (signing time, certificate serial number, signature policy) that allow verification of the document's authenticity.

A footnote clarifies that the extract reflects data communicated to the RCS up to one day before issuance, and that any modifications notified in the interim may not yet be reflected.

What is not included?

The Extrait RCS does not contain:

• Dates of birth for shareholders or managers (only names and addresses are shown)
• Filing history — historical filings must be consulted separately on the RCS portal
• Financial statements — annual accounts are filed separately and available as distinct PDF documents
• Beneficial ownership information — UBO data is held in the separate Register of Beneficial Owners (RBE) and requires a separate request

With Topograph

Topograph provides certified Luxembourg trade register extracts (Extrait RCS) through our API and web application. Through our platform, you can:

• Order certified extracts with electronic signature from LBR
• Retrieve structured company data including shareholders, managers, and signatory powers
• Access extracts for all entity types registered with the RCS: commercial companies, partnerships, associations (ASBLs), and foundations
• Integrate Luxembourg company verification into your onboarding and compliance workflows

This enables efficient, compliant due diligence on your Luxembourg counterparties without manual searches on the LBR portal.