Is the German Handelsregister publicly accessible?

Yes. The register is public, and electronic copies of filed documents (including current Gesellschafterlisten for GmbHs) are available through the Unternehmensregister online portal.

How does the Handelsregister differ from the German UBO register?

Different purposes. The Handelsregister holds public commercial information (form, capital, directors). The Transparenzregister holds beneficial-owner information under EU AMLD. Most German entities must file in both; the access regimes are different (Transparenzregister access is restricted post-2022 CJEU ruling).

Are foreign corporate registries interconnected with the German Handelsregister?

Within the EU, yes, via the Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS). Outside the EU, no direct interconnection, but most registries are searchable online. Cross-jurisdictional verification typically requires manual lookup in each registry.

International & cross-border

Handelsregister / commercial register

German commercial register. Conceptually similar registries exist across the EU.

Definition

The Handelsregister is Germany's commercial register, maintained at each Local Court (Amtsgericht). Every German commercial entity (GmbH, AG, OHG, KG, and others) is registered here. The register holds information about the entity (legal form, capital, registered office, directors, managing directors), shareholders (for a GmbH, via the Gesellschafterliste), and changes over time. Conceptually equivalent registries exist across the EU and internationally; this entry uses Germany as the canonical example.

Same concept, different names

Germany	Handelsregister (at the Local Court)
Netherlands	Kamer van Koophandel (KvK) Handelsregister
France	Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS)
UK	Companies House (UK companies register)
Canada (federal)	Corporations Canada online registry

Content and access

The Handelsregister is public. Anyone can search for and obtain information about a registered entity, including its current legal form, capital, registered office, and authorized representatives (Vertretungsbefugnis). For GmbHs, the current Gesellschafterliste (shareholder list) is also publicly accessible — which is a notable difference from US and Canadian practice, where the share register is internal.

Filing obligations

German entities must file specific events: formation, capital changes, articles amendments, director appointments and resignations, mergers, transformations, and dissolution. Filings are typically lodged through a notary (notarial deeds) and indirectly by the company's representatives. Failure to file material changes within statutorily-defined windows can trigger penalties.

Equivalents across the EU and internationally

Each EU member state has an equivalent registry. The 2017 EU Directive on the interconnection of business registers (BRIS) lets these registries exchange information across the EU. Outside the EU, the equivalents include UK Companies House, US state corporate registries (varies by state), Canadian federal Corporations Canada and provincial registries, and Singapore's ACRA registry.

In Octelligence

Track Handelsregister filings alongside your corporate records.

Octelligence stores your Handelsregister-filed documents (formation deeds, capital-change resolutions, Gesellschafterlisten) structured against the entity record. EU data residency for German customers.

See Digital Corporate Records

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For EU and international corporations

Same platform, EU data residency.

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Handelsregister / commercial register

Content and access

Filing obligations

Equivalents across the EU and internationally

Related terms