Company Information on the Internet Starting 2007
Good news for all of you, who need information on a corporation. The Companies’ Registry is going online. Latest with January 1, 2007, all company details subject to public disclosure are to be available online at the web-address www.Unternehmensregister.de or www.Handelsregister.de.
What is subject to disclosure? Some vital information: share-holders, directors, Prokuristen (proxy directors), corporation’s stock, any rises or reductions in stock, annual statement of accounts.
Who is subject to disclosure? All commercial corporations, i.e.: GmbH, AG, Partnership corporations (Partnerschaftsgesellschaften), (limited private partnerships) Kommanditgesellschaften and UG (limited liability company). If you have a registered subsidy here then it will be treated as any other German corporation and only the fact that the shareholder is a foreign legal private entity will be recorded.
The changes in detail are:
- Commercial, co-operatives, partnership companies registries will be changed to be kept up-to-date exclusively online starting January 1, 2007.
- County courts (Amtsgerichte) will remain competent to hold and maintain the registries as before.
- Documents and applications must be submitted digitally through a secure channel now.
- Public form is still required to apply for entries to the registries. Understand "public form" as signed and sealed by a Notar – so to say "notarized".
However, disclosure of company’s annual statement of accounts will not to be done with county courts anymore but then with electronic Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger). This gazette is to be channeled more and more into a commercial publication organ. The online access will be subject to prior registration – free of cost. The information is provided for minor fees.
Updated in 2010