How to search for a company in Germany
German commercial registers are kept by local courts and searched through the joint register portal of the Länder (handelsregister.de). The Unternehmensregister, run for the Federal Ministry of Justice, gives central access to company announcements and filed annual accounts. Register searches and documents have been free since August 2022.
What it publishes
- Register entries: company name, legal form, seat, share capital, managing directors and authorised signatories.
- Documents filed with the register, such as articles of association and shareholder lists.
- Annual financial statements filed by companies.
- Register announcements, including insolvency-related notices.
Key datasets
- Joint register portal of the Länder
Search of commercial, cooperative, partnership and association registers.
- Unternehmensregister
Central access to annual accounts and company disclosures.
- Transparency register
Register of beneficial owners; access is restricted.
When it publishes
Entries are updated when the register court records a change.
How to use it to check a claim
- Identify a company by its register court and number (for example HRB 12345), not just its name.
- Check the date of the latest entry for directors and capital.
- Annual accounts are often filed many months after the year end; check which year is shown.
Common mistakes
- Assuming small companies publish full accounts; many may file abridged balance sheets.
- Confusing the commercial register with the trade licence (Gewerbe) records held by municipalities.
Is the German company register free?
Yes. Since 1 August 2022 searching and downloading register data on handelsregister.de has been free.
Where are German company accounts?
In the Unternehmensregister, which publishes the accounts companies must disclose.
Questions answered using this source
Links checked 14 October 2026. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.