What is the shareholder list?
The shareholder list (Gesellschafterliste) is the official register of the shareholders of a German GmbH (including the UG haftungsbeschränkt). It is held by the commercial register and shows who holds the company and to what extent. The legal basis is § 40 GmbHG.
It is more than information: towards the company, only a person entered in the list filed with the commercial register counts as a shareholder (§ 16 GmbHG). That is why it is usually the first document requested in share deals, financing rounds and due diligence.
What does the shareholder list contain?
For each share, the list contains among other things:
- the serial number and nominal amount of the share
- for individuals: surname, first name, date of birth and place of residence
- for companies: name, registered office, registry court and registration number
- the percentage held per share and the shareholder’s total holding
Who files it, and when?
A new list is due as soon as the shareholders or the size of their holdings change — after a share sale, an inheritance or a capital increase, for example. The managing directors must file it; if a notary was involved in the change, the notary does. The commercial register therefore often holds several versions; the one filed last is authoritative.
Getting the shareholder list
- Official and free — search for the company on handelsregister.de and open the current list among the documents filed for the entity. Retrieval has been free of charge since August 2022.
- With Implisense Platform — order the shareholder list in the company profile. It arrives as the official PDF from the commercial register, without searching the registry portal. It costs 10 Implicents and is charged only if a list is found — on both plans, the free one included.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a shareholder list for an AG or a KG too? No, the obligation applies only to the GmbH and the UG. An AG’s share register is not public. For an OHG or KG, the general partners and limited partners are entered directly on the commercial register sheet.
Why can’t I find a list for some GmbHs? Lists have only been kept electronically since the electronic commercial register was introduced in 2007. If nothing has changed in an older GmbH’s holdings since then, there is sometimes no electronic version.
Is the shareholder list the same as the transparency register? No. The shareholder list names the direct shareholders. The transparency register names the beneficial owners behind them and, since a ruling of the CJEU in November 2022, is no longer open to everyone.
How Implisense helps
The company profile in Implisense Platform already shows management and shareholders as structured data — the shareholder list adds the official document with shares and percentages. The latest annual financial statements can be retrieved from the same profile. Prices per action are on the pricing page.
Related: The Handelsregister, simply explained and Finding a company registration number.