Search Germany Registerportal (Handelsregister)

TL;DR. Germany’s commercial register is the Handelsregister, reached through the federal Registerportal at https://www.handelsregister.de, which forwards to /rp_web/welcome.xhtml and is titled Registerportal | Startseite, over the line Gemeinsames Registerportal der Laender. A language switcher lists DE EN ES FR IT, but the welcome copy stays German, so English coverage is only partial. Nav labels include Normale Suche and Erweiterte Suche; the search form itself cannot be read, because search.xhtml returns a session notice. No fees, payment methods or turnaround are published on that welcome page, so they are unknown rather than free; confirm at source.

What is the official Germany business registry?

Germany operates a decentralised company registration system under the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, HGB). Registration is mandatory for commercial enterprises (Kaufleute) and is recorded at the local court (Amtsgericht) for the district of the registered seat.

The Handelsregister is the official commercial register. Each of Germany’s 16 federal states maintains its own register through local courts. The public starting point is the Gemeinsames Registerportal der Laender at https://www.handelsregister.de.

Two related official hosts are also online:

• Unternehmensregister (https://www.unternehmensregister.de): titled Unternehmensregister - Die zentrale Plattform zu Unternehmensdaten, and on its English path Company Register - The central platform for company data. The page notes that many functions need JavaScript.
• Bundesanzeiger (https://www.bundesanzeiger.de): titled Startseite Bundesanzeiger. The Federal Gazette, operated by Bundesanzeiger Verlag.

The Handelsregister divides companies into HRA (sole traders, OHG, KG) and HRB (GmbH, AG, UG, SE). The register number includes the section prefix (for example HRB 12345 Frankfurt am Main).

The welcome page links to http://www.transparenzregister.de. Its access rules, fees and beneficial ownership fields are not covered here; confirm at source.

What can you search?

The Registerportal welcome page shows nav labels Normale Suche, Erweiterte Suche and Registerbekanntmachungen, but not a search form. Opening https://www.handelsregister.de/rp_web/search.xhtml directly returns a session notice (Registerportal | Sitzungshinweis). What the results carry, how fast they return, and whether a name search is free are therefore not confirmed here; confirm at source.

The document types described for this register (Aktueller Ausdruck, Chronologischer Ausdruck, Historischer Ausdruck, Aktuelle Bekanntmachungen) are neither priced nor offered for download on the welcome page; confirm at source.

The Handelsregister is not Germany’s beneficial ownership register; confirm at source.

How much does it cost?

No fee figures are published on the Registerportal welcome page, so the table above reads unknown rather than free. Payment methods and turnaround are not published there either; confirm at source.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No. The Registerportal home opens without an account or a German identity document. The account and payment rules for downloading a document sit past that page and are not confirmed here; confirm at source.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The welcome page carries a language switcher with DE EN ES FR IT, with a GB flag on the English option. Choosing English still returns the German title Registerportal | Startseite and German welcome copy. The Unternehmensregister has an /en path whose title is in English. The Handelsregister welcome page is therefore not a full English interface.

What’s the turnaround time?

Unknown. The Registerportal welcome page publishes no download timing; confirm at source.

Is there an API?

No public API is documented on the Registerportal.

What you legally cannot do

The Registerportal’s own terms page is not restated here. The restrictions described for this portal include a ban on automated bulk querying and a requirement not to present extracts as if the republisher were the registry operator; confirm at source.

Germany’s Transparenzregister sits under the Geldwaschegesetz (GwG). Its access rules and beneficial ownership contents are not covered here; confirm at source.

Practical tips for foreign users

• Use HRB or HRA number when you have it. The register number plus court name is the precise key. Company names can appear in several forms.
• Registered seat is the filing court. A company with seat in Frankfurt am Main is registered at Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main.
• GmbH vs AG disclosure differs. A GmbH has more limited mandatory accounts disclosure than an AG.
• Geschaeftsfuehrer is the operative GmbH role. Confirm it on an extract when you can obtain one; the extract screens are not covered here.
• FATF status. https://www.fatf-gafi.org blocked automated checks, so Germany’s standing on the FATF lists is not restated here; confirm at source.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

• Local data suppliers (see below): Creditreform and Creditsafe sell English-language reports that include Handelsregister-derived data plus credit scoring.
• Unternehmensregister and Bundesanzeiger are both online. They are related publication systems, not a substitute for a certified Handelsregister extract.

Local data suppliers

• Creditreform (creditreform.de). German credit bureau network. Creditworthiness reports, payment risk scores, collections.
• Creditsafe Germany (creditsafe.com/de). International credit data platform with German and English report delivery.
• Dun & Bradstreet Germany (dnb.com/de). D-U-N-S profiles and credit risk tools.

Use the Registerportal for the official legal extract when the search UI is reachable. Use Creditreform or Creditsafe when you need payment behavior or monitoring on top of the registry record.

FAQ

Can a foreign company open the Registerportal without a German identity?

The welcome page loads without a German identity document or an account. The search and paid-download rules beyond that page are not confirmed here; confirm at source.

What is the difference between HRA and HRB?

HRA covers sole traders (Einzelkaufleute), general partnerships (OHG) and limited partnerships (KG). HRB covers corporations: GmbH, AG, UG, SE and similar forms. The section plus number plus court is the unique identifier.

Where is beneficial ownership (UBO) held?

The Registerportal welcome page links to transparenzregister.de. Its access rules and fees are not covered here; confirm at source.

Where are German company financial statements filed?

Annual accounts are published through the Unternehmensregister and Bundesanzeiger systems, both of which are online. Whether they can be viewed free is not stated on the Registerportal welcome page; confirm at source.

How current is the Handelsregister data?

The welcome page publishes no update timing; confirm at source.

Is Germany on the FATF grey list?

Not restated here: fatf-gafi.org blocked automated checks. Confirm at source.

What is a UG?

A UG (Unternehmergesellschaft haftungsbeschraenkt) is a low-capital variant of the GmbH, recorded in HRB. Its minimum capital and conversion rules are not restated here; confirm at source.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: handelsregister.de, titled Registerportal; unternehmensregister.de; bundesanzeiger.de. No fees, payment methods or turnaround are published on the Registerportal welcome page.