Trade Register in Germany
The Commercial Register in Germany
The German Trade Register, mainly known as the Commercial Register (Handelsregister) is the public company incorporation office that also contains all information about sole traders and legal entities registered in a district. German companies are usually registered in a local district. The German Trade Register has two divisions. Branch A of the Commercial Register stores all the information about individual ownerships, partnerships, and registered associations (Vereine) that do not require share capital, and Branch B that stores all the information about legal entities requiring share capital.
Our German attorneys can help you with the registration process of your company.
What are the functions of the German Trade Register?
The main function of the Companies Registrar in Germany is to receive, process and conduct the business registration procedure for companies. The German Trade Register also works as a database where one can find all the relevant information about a company. Among the information provided by the Commercial Register on German companies, there is the legal name of the business, the registered office, details about the management of the company, and share capital for companies required to have one. All information about company registration is verified before publishing and all entries in the Commercial Register are made by a judge or authorized person. All entries will be sent to the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) for publication. Companies are also required to submit their annual accounts with the Bundesanzeiger and Trade Register.
Information about companies is available to anybody, but registration may be required in certain cases. A fee must also be paid whenever requesting information about a company.
Company registration in Germany
The application for registration with the German Commercial Register must be submitted electronically in a notarized form. It is also important to know that all changes in a company’s management structure, new entries, and company liquidation must be updated in the Trade Register. For drafting the Articles of Association of a company clients can rely on our German law firm. You can also contact us for details about the share capital requirements.
