Overview
Germany's company information sits across three federal registers, and the Handelsregister is the foundation. The Handelsregister (Commercial Register) records every incorporated entity, partnership, and registered sole trader, along with their officers, share capital, and corporate filings. Two related registers complete the picture: the Unternehmensregister (Company Register) consolidates accounts and publications, and the Transparenzregister (Transparency Register) holds beneficial-ownership declarations.
Each company is identified by a Handelsregisternummer (commercial-register number), prefixed by the local court (Amtsgericht) where the Handelsregistereintrag (register entry) was filed. The Handelsregister is not centralised in Berlin: it is maintained by the Amtsgerichte (local district courts) of each Land, and exposed through a single national portal at handelsregister.de. Since August 2022, online access is free for everyone.
For KYB and AML due diligence, Germany is rich but requires walking three registers: the Handelsregister for identity, the Unternehmensregister for accounts, and the Transparenzregister for UBO data (restricted access).
Official Registers
Handelsregister (Commercial Register)
The Handelsregister is maintained by the local Amtsgerichte and exposes legally binding corporate data: formation documents, legal representatives, share capital, and register entries (Handelsregistereinträge) over the lifetime of each company.
Access is free since 2022. The portal is functional but slow, and search is keyed off the Handelsregisternummer, the company name, or the registered office. The Handelsregister is the canonical source for register extracts (Aktueller Abdruck), articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag / Satzung), and the full filing history of a German company.
The Handelsregister is structured into two sections:
- Abteilung A (HRA): sole traders registered as eingetragener Kaufmann (e.K.), general partnerships (Offene Handelsgesellschaft, OHG), and limited partnerships (Kommanditgesellschaft, KG)
- Abteilung B (HRB): capital companies, including the limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH), the entrepreneurial company (Unternehmergesellschaft, UG), the joint-stock company (Aktiengesellschaft, AG), and the partnership limited by shares (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, KGaA)
The Handelsregisternummer carries the section prefix: `HRA 12345` for an entity in Section A, `HRB 67890` for one in Section B. The Amtsgericht code further qualifies it (e.g. `HRB 67890 Amtsgericht München`).
The Handelsregister sometimes lags the Unternehmensregister by a few days or weeks on company closures and changes of directors or shareholders.
Unternehmensregister (Company Register)
The Unternehmensregister aggregates data from the Handelsregister and the Bundesanzeiger (Federal Gazette). It publishes financial statements, register extracts, and status updates, often more current than the Handelsregister itself.
Financial statements (Jahresabschluss) are filed here for every company that meets the disclosure thresholds. Small entities can file abridged accounts (Hinterlegte Jahresabschlussunterlagen); medium and large entities file fully detailed accounts.
Transparenzregister (Transparency Register)
The Transparenzregister is the central source for Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) disclosures in Germany. Following the November 2022 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, public access has been suspended. Access is restricted to obliged entities under AML regulations and to persons demonstrating a legitimate interest (legitimes Interesse). UBO requests can involve manual review by the register and corresponding delays.
Since January 1, 2026, §23b GwG requires authorities and notaries — particularly in real-estate transactions — to report discrepancies between Transparenzregister data and their own records. This obligation strengthens the accuracy of beneficial-ownership data over time.
Registration and Publication Requirements
Capital companies (GmbH, UG, AG, KGaA)
Registration with the Handelsregister Section B (HRB) is mandatory before commencing operations. Capital companies must:
- File their Gesellschaftsvertrag or Satzung (articles of association) on incorporation
- Keep changes to directors, share capital, and registered office up to date through subsequent Handelsregistereinträge
- File annual financial statements with the Unternehmensregister
- Register their beneficial owners with the Transparenzregister
Partnerships and registered sole traders
General partnerships (OHG), limited partnerships (KG), and sole traders registered as eingetragener Kaufmann (e.K.) sit in Handelsregister Section A (HRA). They must register and keep their data current. Financial-statement filing depends on size (HGB §§ 264 et seq.).
Non-registered sole traders and civil partnerships
Sole proprietorships (Einzelunternehmen) and civil partnerships (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts, GbR) are only required to register with the Handelsregister when they operate as a kaufmännischer Geschäftsbetrieb (commercial enterprise). In practice, fewer than 5% of these entities are registered. When they are, sole traders appear as e.K. in Section A.
Since January 1, 2024, the MoPeG reform (Personengesellschaftsrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz) introduced a new Gesellschaftsregister for GbR partnerships. Registration is voluntary, but a registered GbR — known as an eingetragene Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (eGbR) — gains full legal standing: it can hold real property in its own name, appear in the land register, and sue and be sued. The eGbR is identified by a dedicated register number. This meaningfully reduces the KYB gap for GbR entities that opt in.
There remains no central register for unregistered Einzelunternehmen and GbR, which continues to leave a structured-data gap for entities that have not opted into the Gesellschaftsregister.
With Topograph
Topograph queries the Handelsregister, the Unternehmensregister, and (for obliged entities) the Transparenzregister through one API, returning identity, officers, accounts, and UBO data in a single call.
Available Data
Company Profile
- Legal name and Handelsregisternummer (HRA/HRB prefix with Amtsgericht)
- Legal form
- Registered address
- Registration authority and date
- Activity description
- Share capital (amount and currency)
Directors and Legal Representatives
- Full names of officers
- Positions (Geschäftsführer, Vorstand, Prokurist, etc.)
- Signatory rights
- Powers of representation (Vertretungsbefugnis)
Shareholders
- Name of each shareholder (when disclosed)
- Nature of ownership
- Percentages (if public)
UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Ownership)
- UBO names, dates of birth, nationalities
- Access subject to a legitimate-interest request to the Transparenzregister
- Topograph supports the legitimate-interest documentation and end-to-end request processing
Available Documents
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