Greece Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Greek Business

TL;DR. Greece’s commercial register is GEMI (Γενικό Εμπορικό Μητρώο), accessible in English at businessportal.gr. Basic company searches are free and instant. Certified extracts cost EUR 5-30. The AFM (Tax ID) is the 9-digit company identifier. Greece is an EU member state and is not on the FATF grey list. Primary filings are in Greek.

What is the official Greece business registry?

Greece’s commercial register is the GEMI (Γενικό Εμπορικό Μητρώο / General Commercial Register), established by Law 3419/2005 and substantially reformed by Law 4919/2022, which overhauled the GEMI legal framework and digitalised company formation and filing processes.

GEMI is operated by the Hellenic Chambers of Commerce (ACCI and regional chambers) under the supervision of the Ministry of Development. Each company is registered with the GEMI office of the regional Hellenic Chamber of Commerce corresponding to its registered seat. The national portal aggregates all regional registrations.

The main public-facing portals are:

• businessportal.gr: The English-accessible portal providing company search, profile viewing, and links to registered documents.
• publicity.businessportal.gr: The public register portal for viewing GEMI filings, announcements, and requesting certified extracts.
• efka.gov.gr: The Unified Social Security Entity (EFKA), relevant for verifying employee registration status of companies.

The main company forms registered in GEMI include:

• ΑΕ (Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία / Anonymi Etairia): Société anonyme / public limited company. Required for larger entities and listed companies; minimum share capital EUR 25,000.
• ΕΠΕ (Εταιρεία Περιορισμένης Ευθύνης): Limited liability company (equivalent to LLC/GmbH). Historically common but increasingly displaced by IKE.
• ΙΚΕ (Ιδιωτική Κεφαλαιουχική Εταιρεία): Private Capital Company, introduced by Law 4072/2012. The modern default for new SME incorporations, with no minimum capital requirement and simplified governance.
• ΟΕ (Ομόρρυθμη Εταιρεία): General partnership.
• ΕΕ (Ετερόρρυθμη Εταιρεία): Limited partnership.
• Υποκατάστημα (YpokatastiMA): Branch of a foreign company.

What can you search?

businessportal.gr - free, no account required:

• Company name search in Greek (transliteration sometimes works) or by GEMI number
• Returns: official company name in Greek, GEMI registration number, entity type (ΑΕ, ΕΠΕ, ΙΚΕ, etc.), registered seat (municipality), current status (active, in liquidation, dissolved), date of registration, and AFM (Tax ID / ΑΦΜ)
• Registered representative or legal representative name as filed
• Link to published announcements in the company’s GEMI file

publicity.businessportal.gr - free browsing, paid for certified:

• View filed documents: articles of association, capital changes, director appointments, annual accounts (where filed)
• Browse GEMI announcements (ανακοινώσεις ΓΕΜΗ) covering corporate events
• Order certified extracts (Πιστοποιητικό ΓΕΜΗ) with official signature and stamp

Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC / ΕΠΤΕ) - hcmc.gr (for listed companies):

• Financial statements (audited annual reports, interim reports)
• Major shareholder notifications above disclosure thresholds
• Governance reports and board composition

AADE (Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων / Independent Authority for Public Revenue) - aade.gr:

• AFM verification for individuals and companies (limited public check)
• VAT registration status

How much does it cost?

EUR/USD conversion used: 1.090 (approximate; verify at point of purchase). Prices are based on published GEMI fee schedules as of May 2026. Certified extract fees vary by document type and number of pages.

Do you need a local account or ID?

For free company searches on businessportal.gr and document browsing on publicity.businessportal.gr, no account and no Greek identity document are required.

For ordering a certified GEMI extract, account registration on the publicity.businessportal.gr platform is required. Greek residents and businesses use their TaxisNet credentials (Greek tax authority digital identity). Foreign users without Greek credentials can register with an email address and pay by credit card or web banking for most certified document types.

The TaxisNet digital identity (used for Greek e-government services including tax and company filings) is not available to foreign nationals without Greek residency or a Greek AFM. This limits access to filing and advanced administrative services but does not prevent foreign buyers from ordering standard certified extracts.

Is the website in English?

Partially. The businessportal.gr portal has an English interface covering company search and profile viewing. This is the most accessible entry point for foreign compliance buyers.

The publicity.businessportal.gr portal for certified extracts and document ordering is primarily in Greek. Navigation requires basic Greek-language comprehension or translation assistance.

All company filings, GEMI announcements, and certified documents are in Greek. No English-language official documents are issued. International compliance buyers typically require translation of Greek-language content.

The HCMC (hcmc.gr) has an English section covering listed company disclosures, and many larger Greek companies file annual reports in both Greek and English.

What’s the turnaround time?

Free company profile searches on businessportal.gr are instant.

Certified GEMI extracts (Πιστοποιητικό ΓΕΜΗ) ordered through publicity.businessportal.gr are typically processed within 1-2 business days during normal periods. The GEMI Law 4919/2022 reform introduced targets for faster electronic processing.

Certain simple non-certified print-ready documents are available immediately after payment.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for GEMI company data retrieval. The businessportal.gr and publicity.businessportal.gr portals do not publish open APIs or documented data feeds for third-party integration.

ICAP CRIF and Coface Greece offer commercial API products built on GEMI and supplementary data sources for institutional subscribers. These are commercial arrangements, not open public APIs.

What you legally cannot do

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) applies in Greece as an EU member state. The Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA / ΑΠΔΠΧ at dpa.gr) supervises GDPR enforcement. Director names, partners, and shareholder details from GEMI records are personal data subject to GDPR when processed by private entities for commercial purposes.

Automated bulk extraction (scraping) of GEMI records from businessportal.gr or publicity.businessportal.gr is prohibited under the portals’ terms of use and the database protection provisions of Law 3966/2011 implementing the EU Database Directive.

Κεντρικό Μητρώο Πραγματικών Δικαιούχων (Central Register of Beneficial Owners / UBO Register). Greece introduced its UBO register under Law 4557/2018 and Law 4734/2020 (implementing the EU Fourth and Fifth AML Directives). The register is managed by the AADE (Independent Authority for Public Revenue). Following the November 2022 CJEU ruling (Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20) restricting unrestricted public access to UBO registers, Greece restricted access to obligated AML entities, competent authorities, and persons demonstrating a legitimate interest. Access to the register is via gov.gr/mpo (Μητρώο Πραγματικών Δικαιούχων).

Greece’s AML/CFT framework is governed by Law 4557/2018 (AML Law). Greece is a FATF member and is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026.

Practical tips for foreign users

• Use the AFM (ΑΦΜ) as the primary identifier. The AFM (Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου / Tax Registration Number) is a 9-digit identifier assigned by the AADE to all companies and individuals registered in Greece. For companies, it simultaneously functions as the VAT registration number (when prefixed with the EL country code for EU VAT purposes: EL followed by 9 digits). The GEMI registration number and the AFM are both searchable on businessportal.gr; always record both for cross-system lookups. The AFM is the more universally used identifier in commercial and financial transactions.
• Distinguish ΑΕ, ΕΠΕ, and ΙΚΕ by their disclosure profiles. ΑΕ companies (Anonimi Etairia) have the most extensive mandatory disclosure requirements, including mandatory statutory audit above certain thresholds and publication of annual accounts in the GEMI announcement system. ΕΠΕ companies are mid-level disclosure. ΙΚΕ companies (Private Capital Company, introduced in 2012 under Law 4072/2012) have the lightest formation requirements and are the dominant form for new Greek SMEs; however, their annual account filing compliance varies. For an ΙΚΕ, verify independently whether annual accounts have been filed before relying on an absence of filings as evidence of inactivity.
• IKE can have zero-capital contributions. Unlike older company forms, the ΙΚΕ allows capital contributions valued at zero (non-cash, guarantee, or work contributions). This means the share capital figure in a GEMI extract for an ΙΚΕ may be EUR 0 or a nominal figure unrelated to the actual financial substance of the business. Do not interpret low or zero-capital as an insolvency signal without further analysis.
• GEMI announcements as a free event log. Every notable corporate act for a GEMI-registered company is published as a GEMI announcement (Ανακοίνωση ΓΕΜΗ) including incorporation, capital changes, director appointments, mergers, and dissolution. These announcements are freely browsable without an account on businessportal.gr and provide a chronological event history before purchasing a paid certified extract.
• Greek fiscal year is typically calendar year. Most Greek companies use the 1 January to 31 December fiscal year. Annual accounts are generally due for filing by the end of July of the following year. Delays are common for smaller entities. Cross-check filing dates against the stated fiscal year when assessing the timeliness of available financial information.
• Insolvency notices through GEMI and the court gazette. Insolvency proceedings (πτώχευση) under Law 4738/2020 (Insolvency Code, revised in 2022) are published in GEMI announcements. The insolvency register (Ηλεκτρονικό Μητρώο Φερεγγυότητας) at gov.gr provides a searchable public register of insolvency proceedings in Greece. Check both for a complete picture.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The Greek-language primary interface and the TaxisNet credential requirements for some advanced services limit direct document access for foreign compliance buyers.

• businessportal.gr English portal: For basic company verification, the English interface provides AFM, GEMI number, entity type, and current status without any account or Greek language skills. This covers most initial screening needs.
• GEMI announcements: Free browsing of corporate event history on publicity.businessportal.gr without an account (in Greek).
• Commercial data suppliers (see section below): ICAP CRIF Greece and Coface Greece produce English-language company reports with GEMI data, financial analysis, and risk scoring.
• Licensed Greek legal or business service firms: Greek law firms and licensed business service providers can retrieve certified GEMI extracts and other official documents on behalf of foreign clients as a standard commercial service.

Local data suppliers

If you need a packaged report rather than a raw GEMI extract, the following providers cover the Greek market:

• ICAP CRIF Greece (icap.gr). Greece’s leading business information provider and credit rating agency, part of the CRIF Group. Offers credit reports, financial analysis, risk scoring, UBO mapping, and compliance screening tools for Greek companies. ICAP CRIF covers the full range of ΑΕ, ΕΠΕ, and ΙΚΕ entities with data sourced from GEMI, AADE, court registries, and direct company surveys. English-language report options are available for international compliance buyers.
• Coface Greece (coface.gr). Trade credit insurer with a business information division covering Greece. Provides commercial reports including GEMI-sourced registry data, financial statements, payment behavior, and credit risk assessment. Used by exporters and financial institutions assessing Greek counterparties for trade credit decisions.
• Tresor (tresor.gr). Greek business information provider offering credit reports, financial analysis, and risk assessment on Greek companies. Covers commercial registry data, financial statements, and payment behavior with local market expertise. Used by Greek banks, suppliers, and distributors for domestic credit decisions and counterparty screening.
• Dun & Bradstreet Greece (dnb.com/gr). Global data and analytics provider with Greece coverage. Provides D-U-N-S registered company reports, credit risk scoring, and compliance due diligence in English. Covers Greek entities from ΑΕ listed companies to SME ΙΚΕ formations, with data mapped from GEMI filings and supplementary commercial sources.

FAQ

What is the GEMI number and how does it differ from the AFM?

The GEMI registration number is the identifier assigned by the General Commercial Register upon incorporation or registration. It is specific to the GEMI system. The AFM (ΑΦΜ, Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου) is the 9-digit tax registration number assigned by the AADE (Greek tax authority) and is the primary identifier across commercial transactions, invoices, and EU VAT filings (as the EL prefix VAT number). For compliance searches, record both: the GEMI number for registry purposes and the AFM for tax and commercial cross-referencing.

What is an ΙΚΕ (Idiotiki Kefalaioychiki Etaireia)?

The ΙΚΕ (Ιδιωτική Κεφαλαιουχική Εταιρεία / Private Capital Company) is a simplified limited liability company form introduced by Law 4072/2012. It is now the most popular form for new Greek company incorporations, displacing the older ΕΠΕ. Key features: no minimum share capital requirement (can be formed with EUR 1), flexible governance, simplified accounting for small companies, and streamlined formation via the GEMI one-stop portal. Despite low formation barriers, ΙΚΕ companies are full legal entities with separate legal personality and limited liability.

Does Greece have a public beneficial ownership register?

Yes. Greece’s Central Register of Beneficial Owners (Κεντρικό Μητρώο Πραγματικών Δικαιούχων) is managed by the AADE and accessible via gov.gr. Following the November 2022 CJEU ruling restricting public access to UBO registers, Greece limited access to obligated AML entities, competent authorities, and persons demonstrating a legitimate interest. Access is no longer fully public; applications for legitimate interest access are handled through the AADE platform.

Is Greece on the FATF grey list?

No. Greece is an EU member state and a FATF member country. It is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. For current FATF standing, verify at fatf-gafi.org.

Where can I find financial statements for Greek companies?

Annual accounts for Greek ΑΕ and ΕΠΕ companies above applicable size thresholds are filed with GEMI and accessible via publicity.businessportal.gr at a small per-year download fee. ΙΚΕ companies are required to file but compliance varies for small entities. For listed companies, full financial statements are disclosed to the HCMC (Hellenic Capital Market Commission, hcmc.gr) and available publicly on the HCMC website. The General Secretariat for Commerce also maintains a business registry publication portal. Commercial suppliers such as ICAP CRIF can provide financial statements for companies where direct registry access returns incomplete data.

Can I search for a Greek company using the Latin alphabet?

Partially. businessportal.gr accepts Latin-alphabet input and will attempt to match transliterated company names. Greek company names are officially registered in Greek script (using the Greek alphabet). Searches based on transliteration may miss companies where the official name differs from a common English transliteration. For reliable searches, obtain the AFM or GEMI number from a reliable source and search by number rather than by name.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: GEMI / businessportal.gr (businessportal.gr), Hellenic Data Protection Authority (dpa.gr), AADE (aade.gr), HCMC (hcmc.gr), FATF (fatf-gafi.org), CJEU Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 (November 2022), EU GDPR Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Greek Law 4919/2022.