Belgium Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Belgian Business

TL;DR. Belgium’s company registry is the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises, BCE, or Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen, KBO), operated by the FPS Economy. The KBO Public Search at kbopub.economie.fgov.be is free, available in English, Dutch, French, and German, and requires no account. Basic company data is available instantly for any registered entity. API access and bulk open data downloads are available from the FPS Economy, with the web services tier being a paid service.

What is the official Belgium business registry?

Belgium’s official company registry is the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE), known in French as the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (BCE) and in Dutch as the Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen (KBO). It is a central government database owned and operated by the FPS Economy (Federal Public Service Economy, SPF Economie), under the authority established by the Law of 16 January 2003 creating the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.

The CBE centralizes basic data on all companies and business units registered in Belgium. Every legal entity operating in Belgium receives a unique enterprise number (ondernemingsnummer / numéro d’entreprise), a 10-digit identifier in the format 0xxx.xxx.xxx. This number serves as the primary identifier across tax authorities, social security, courts, and public registries.

The public-facing portal is the KBO Public Search at kbopub.economie.fgov.be. The FPS Economy information hub is at economie.fgov.be. For companies operating across EU borders, Belgium’s enterprise number maps to the EU Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS), which links commercial registries across EU member states.

Financial filings (annual accounts) for Belgian companies are deposited with and published by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB / BNB) at nbb.be, not the KBO. Compliance buyers need both portals for a complete picture.

What can you search?

KBO Public Search (free, no account):

• Search by enterprise number (10-digit), company name (exact or phonetic), business activity (NACE-BEL codes), authorization or license status, or address
• Partial name matching is supported with a phonetic search option
• Returns: enterprise number, legal name, legal form, registered address, activity codes (NACE-BEL), entity status (active, announced, ceased), date of incorporation, and contact information where publicly filed
• Branch/establishment unit data is included for companies with multiple locations
• Available in Dutch, French, German, and English

National Bank of Belgium (free, no account):

• Annual accounts (financial statements) filed by Belgian companies are searchable at nbb.be/en/payments-and-securities/payment-standards/bank-identification-codes/financial-data-enterprises
• Returns: balance sheet, profit/loss, and key financial ratios for companies above the filing threshold
• Listed company disclosures and prospectuses are at fsma.be

KBO Open Data (free download):

• Full dataset of all active entities registered in the CBE is available as open data files
• Updated daily; accessible via regular download and SFTP

KBO Web Services (paid API tier):

• Programmatic access to KBO data for integration into applications and CRM/ERP systems
• Paid service; pricing set by FPS Economy

How much does it cost?

The KBO Public Search and open data download are entirely free. No registration is required for the web portal. The web services (API) tier is a paid service managed by FPS Economy; pricing details are available on request from FPS Economy.

Annual accounts filed with the NBB are freely accessible. The NBB charges for some value-added analytical tools but not for basic financial statement retrieval.

EUR/USD conversion: 1.10 (approximate; verify at point of purchase).

Do you need a local account or ID?

No. The KBO Public Search requires no account and no Belgian identity document. It is fully open to any user worldwide. The search interface is accessible without registration.

To access the KBO Web Services (paid API), an agreement with FPS Economy is required. No Belgian identity is required from foreign applicants, but a signed service agreement and billing arrangement are needed.

The “My Enterprise” application, which allows companies to correct their own data in the KBO, requires Belgian eID or itsme authentication. This is only relevant for companies managing their own record, not for third-party compliance searches.

Is the website in English?

Yes. The KBO Public Search portal offers a full English interface alongside Dutch, French, and German. Belgium’s three official languages are reflected throughout the portal, and English is provided as a fourth option for international users.

Document output (such as screen data from a search result) is presented in the selected language. There is no certified extract in the traditional sense from the KBO Public Search; the portal displays data directly on screen and in printed summaries.

The NBB annual accounts portal at nbb.be has an English interface. Filed financial statements are in the language of the company’s registered region (Dutch for Flemish companies, French for Walloon companies, German for German-speaking companies), which cannot be changed.

What’s the turnaround time?

Instant. The KBO Public Search returns results immediately upon query submission. There is no processing queue. The data displayed reflects the current state of the KBO database, which is updated continuously as registrations and changes are processed.

Open data file downloads are refreshed daily. The API (web services tier) provides real-time or near-real-time access depending on the service agreement.

Is there an API?

Yes. The FPS Economy provides several programmatic access routes:

• KBO Web Services: Paid API for integrating KBO search and data retrieval into third-party applications. Documented at economie.fgov.be. Contact FPS Economy for access and pricing.
• KBO Open Data: Free daily data files covering all active entities in the CBE. Available via download and SFTP. No API key required for file download; registration is required to secure data reception.
• XML extracts: Available as part of the open data program.

For compliance platforms integrating Belgian company data at scale, the KBO Open Data feed combined with the NBB financial data API provides broad coverage at low cost. The paid web services tier adds real-time search capability and richer query options.

What you legally cannot do

The FPS Economy Terms of Use for KBO data prohibit:

• Presenting KBO data as officially certified without obtaining a formal certification from the competent authority
• Modifying or misrepresenting data extracted from the CBE
• Automated bulk scraping of the KBO Public Search web portal (as distinct from the official open data download program)

The KBO Open Data files are made available under Belgium’s open data license, permitting commercial use with attribution to the FPS Economy as source. The data must not be presented in a way that implies official government endorsement of derived products.

Belgian companies are subject to the EU AML framework. Belgium transposed the Fourth and Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directives through the Law of 18 September 2017, which established the UBO Register (uboregister.be) requiring Belgian companies to declare ultimate beneficial owners.

Following the CJEU ruling of November 2022, unrestricted public access to UBO data was restricted. Access now requires demonstrating a legitimate interest. Obligated AML entities (banks, lawyers, notaries) and competent authorities retain broader access rights.

Practical tips for foreign users

• The enterprise number is the key identifier. Belgium’s 10-digit enterprise number (0xxx.xxx.xxx) is stable, unique, and consistent across the KBO, tax authority (SPF Finances / FOD Financien), social security (ONSS/RSZ), and courts. Always record it from the first KBO search.
• Cross-check KBO with NBB for financials. The KBO shows registration data and activity codes; it does not show financial statements. File the enterprise number at nbb.be to retrieve filed annual accounts. The NBB portal is free and in English.
• NACE-BEL codes identify what the company does. Belgium uses the NACE-BEL classification (a Belgian extension of the EU NACE Rev.2 framework). The KBO shows registered activity codes, which reflect what the company declared at incorporation or last update, not necessarily its current operations. Multiple NACE-BEL codes per entity are common.
• Legal form determines disclosure obligations. Belgium has several company forms. The Naamloze Vennootschap (NV) is equivalent to a public limited company and has the most extensive filing requirements. The Besloten Vennootschap (BV, introduced by the 2019 Companies and Associations Code) replaced the BVBA as the standard private limited company. A CV (Cooperative) has different governance rules. Verify the legal form before scoping due diligence.
• The 2019 Companies and Associations Code changed entity names. From 2019, Belgium reformed its company law. BVBA became BV; CVBA/SCRL became CV; IVZW became VZW for associations. Older documents may reference legacy entity types that have since been renamed. Both the old and new names are valid references for the same entity.
• UBO Register access requires legitimate interest. The Belgian UBO Register at uboregister.be is not fully public since the CJEU 2022 ruling. Foreign compliance buyers with a documented AML purpose can apply for access. Belgian notaries and financial institutions have direct access.
• FATF and EU context. Belgium is a FATF member and EU member state, not on the grey list as of May 2026. See FATF (fatf-gafi.org) for current status.
• The KBO covers all entity types. Unlike some registries that only cover commercial companies, the KBO covers all Belgian legal entities: companies, non-profit associations (VZW/ASBL), foundations, public entities, and foreign branch offices. A foreign company’s Belgian branch will have its own enterprise number in the KBO.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The KBO Public Search is genuinely accessible to foreign users: free, in English, no account needed. The practical challenge is not access but interpretation, particularly for financial data (NBB) and UBO data (uboregister.be), which require additional steps.

• Local data suppliers (see section below): GraydonCreditsafe and Trends Top both produce packaged company intelligence reports covering registry data, financial analysis, and credit risk scoring.
• Direct NBB access: Annual accounts are free at nbb.be in English. No account required for basic retrieval.

Local data suppliers

If you need a packaged report rather than raw KBO and NBB data, Belgium has a set of established providers:

• GraydonCreditsafe (creditsafe.com/be). Formed in 2022 by the merger of Graydon (Belgium’s legacy credit bureau) and Creditsafe (global business intelligence platform). Provides credit reports, credit scoring (predicting 81% of Belgian bankruptcies 12 months in advance by their estimate), KYC/AML screening via LexisNexis WorldCompliance, PEP and sanctions checks, and API integration. Covers 365 million companies across 160 countries. Used by Belgian banks and multinationals for credit risk and compliance.
• Trends Top (trendstop.knack.be). Belgian business intelligence platform covering 1.69 million companies and 1.77 million contacts. Provides financial statement searches, VAT number lookups, company benchmarking, market analysis, sector reports, and prospect list generation. Strong in SME coverage across Belgium. Part of the Knack/Roularta media group.
• Bureau van Dijk / Moody’s Orbis (bvdinfo.com). Global company data platform from Moody’s covering 400 million companies worldwide, with Belgium covered through Bel-First (the dedicated Belgium/Luxembourg module). Provides standardized financial data, ownership structures, shareholder networks, and M&A intelligence. Used primarily by banks, private equity, and large corporates for structured due diligence. Access is subscription-based through BvD/Moody’s directly.

Use the KBO Public Search for free official registration data. Use the NBB for filed financial statements. Use GraydonCreditsafe or Trends Top when you need payment behavior, credit scoring, or ongoing counterparty monitoring. Use Orbis when the engagement requires ownership mapping or cross-border structured analysis.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access Belgium’s KBO registry without a Belgian identity document?

Yes. The KBO Public Search at kbopub.economie.fgov.be is fully open, requires no account, and accepts no login of any kind. Any user worldwide can search Belgian company data in English at no cost. No Belgian eID, itsme, or company registration is required.

What is the enterprise number and how does it relate to the VAT number?

The enterprise number is a 10-digit identifier assigned by the KBO (format: 0xxx.xxx.xxx). The Belgian VAT number is derived from the enterprise number by adding the country prefix and removing the leading zero: BE0xxx.xxx.xxx. Most Belgian companies subject to VAT have the same underlying digits in both numbers. A company may have an enterprise number without being VAT-registered (for example, non-profit associations). Always verify VAT status separately via the VIES system (ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies) for cross-border transactions.

Where do I find directors and shareholders for a Belgian company?

Director (bestuurder / administrateur) information is published in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur Belge) when appointed or changed, and is searchable at ejustice.just.fgov.be. The KBO may show certain mandate holder information. For shareholder structure, the UBO Register (uboregister.be) covers beneficial owners with 25% or more interest. Listed company major shareholdings are disclosed to the FSMA (fsma.be). Private company shareholder registers are not publicly searchable beyond the UBO threshold.

How current is the KBO data?

The KBO is updated continuously. When a company files a change (address, legal form, activity code, status), the update propagates to the KBO database within the processing cycle of the competent authority (typically within a few business days of the filing event). The KBO Public Search reflects the current state of the database at query time. Annual accounts at the NBB are filed within 6 months of financial year end and reflect historical data.

Is Belgium on the FATF grey list?

No. Belgium is a FATF member country and is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. Belgium undergoes the standard FATF Mutual Evaluation cycle as a member. For current status, check fatf-gafi.org.

Does Belgium have a UBO register?

Yes. The Belgian UBO Register (uboregister.be) was established under the Law of 18 September 2017. Belgian companies must declare beneficial owners holding 25% or more of shares or voting rights. Following the CJEU November 2022 ruling on beneficial ownership public access, unrestricted public access was withdrawn. Access for third parties now requires demonstrating a legitimate interest. Obligated AML entities (banks, notaries, accountants, lawyers) retain direct access. Foreign compliance buyers with a documented CDD purpose can apply for access through the appropriate channel.

What is the difference between the KBO and the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad)?

The KBO (kbopub.economie.fgov.be) is a live database of company registration data maintained by FPS Economy. The Belgian Official Gazette (ejustice.just.fgov.be) publishes corporate acts: incorporation deeds, director appointments and resignations, statutory amendments, and dissolution notices. Both are needed for complete due diligence. The KBO gives you current status and identifiers; the Official Gazette gives you the historical corporate event record and the underlying legal acts.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: FPS Economy / Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (economie.fgov.be), KBO Public Search (kbopub.economie.fgov.be), National Bank of Belgium (nbb.be), FATF (fatf-gafi.org).