What is the Handelsregister?
The Handelsregister is the official, public commercial register of all merchants and companies in Germany. Kept by the local courts (registry courts), it provides legal certainty in business: anyone dealing with a company can authoritatively check who represents it and how it is legally structured.
Key facts:
- Two divisions — HRA and HRB
- Established in 1861 (the General German Commercial Code)
- Fully electronic since 2007
- Free to access online since 2022
Two divisions: HRA and HRB
| Division | Who is registered | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| HRA | Sole traders & partnerships | e.K., OHG, KG, GmbH & Co. KG |
| HRB | Corporations (capital companies) | GmbH, UG, AG, KGaA, SE |
The registration number (e.g. “HRB 12345 B”) points to the responsible registry court and the division.
Related registers at the registry court
Besides the Handelsregister, the registry courts keep further public registers: the Vereinsregister (VR) for registered associations, the Genossenschaftsregister (GnR) for cooperatives, and the Partnerschaftsregister (PR) for professional partnerships. For companies, HRA and HRB are by far the most important.
What data is recorded?
An entry includes, among other things:
- Company name and legal form
- Registered seat and business address
- Object of the business
- Authorised representatives (managing directors, board) and signing authority
- Power of attorney (Prokura)
- Share or nominal capital
- Personally liable partners
- Insolvency, dissolution and deletion notes
Handelsregister vs. Unternehmensregister
The Unternehmensregister is the central online platform that bundles register data with further disclosures — such as annual financial statements and corporate announcements. The Handelsregister itself remains the authoritative source for the entries.
How Implisense builds on it
Implisense builds on the complete German commercial register: data on roughly 2.5 million companies is updated daily, enriched with further public sources and structured via an openly documented methodology. It is available as company data and via the API.
Related: Industry classification (WZ 2008 & NACE) and Company size & the EU SME definition.