What is a company registration number?
A company registration number is the unique identifier under which a company is entered at its responsible registry court — for example “HRB 12345 B”. It starts with HRA (sole traders, partnerships) or HRB (corporations such as GmbH, UG, AG). Full details: The Handelsregister, simply explained.
Where is the registration number listed?
Every company is required to state its registration number in the imprint of its website and on business letters. It also appears:
- in the website imprint
- on invoices and in terms & conditions
- on the commercial register extract
Finding another company’s registration number
If the number isn’t directly available — for a business partner or competitor, say — there are two routes:
- Official, free search — search the Unternehmensregister or handelsregister.de by company name and location.
- Implisense Search — direct access to the HRA/HRB number, responsible registry court, and further company data for over 2 million German companies, without manually searching the register. Registration is free.
Frequently asked questions
Is searching for a company registration number free? Yes. The official Unternehmensregister has been free since 2022, as is basic search in Implisense Search.
What’s the difference between HRA and HRB? HRA applies to sole traders and partnerships, HRB to corporations. Details: The Handelsregister, simply explained.
Does a company’s registration number ever change? No, it stays the same at the responsible registry court for the company’s entire lifetime.
How Implisense helps
Implisense maintains commercial register data for around 2.5 million German companies, updated daily. HRA/HRB numbers and further core data are available via Implisense Search, as company data, and via the API.
Related: The Handelsregister, simply explained.