German company search: Handelsregister and register court
Search Germany’s joint register portal and check the register number, court and legal form.
Official services open in a new tab. Guidance checked: 21 October 2026. Access conditions and interfaces may change.
What to prepare
German companies may use GmbH, UG or AG forms, while other entity categories appear in different registers. A trade name on an invoice is not necessarily the registered legal name. Ask for the full company name, register court (Registergericht) and number, for example an HRB number for many corporations.
How to search the official register
Open the joint register portal, select normal search and enter the name or known register identifier. Where several results appear, compare the register court and the HRB or HRA number rather than choosing the nearest spelling. Then inspect the current entry and any relevant historical record or filed documents.
Interpret the result carefully
A business location alone does not identify the responsible register court. A registration excerpt describes recorded facts, but it cannot by itself establish solvency, contractual performance or a sector-specific permit. If signing authority matters, review the representation wording rather than assuming that any named manager can sign alone.
Which document do you need?
Decide whether the recipient wants a current excerpt, a historic document or a particular filing. The portal indicates which documents are available and the official access terms. Send the legal name, court and register number in your enquiry to avoid matching another company.
If a search is inconclusive
If the name is common, add the register court and the HRB or HRA number from the imprint (Impressum) or contract. A company might also have changed its name; the current entry and historical documents help trace that change. Be careful with a branch’s address: the registered office and the court responsible for the legal entity can differ from the branch location.