Commercial register - apply for registration
The commercial register contains information about companies that is important for doing business. This includes, for example
- the exact company name,
- the registered office of the company,
- in some cases, who the owner is,
- any limitations of liability or
- persons authorised to represent the company.
Tip: Coordinate your planned company formation in advance with your Chamber of Industry and Commerce. You will save yourself possible subsequent objections and costly changes. It can also speed up the registration process.
The commercial register is a public register. It is maintained electronically by the registry courts.
Responsible authority
the register court in whose register district the branch office of the merchant concerned or the registered office of the company concerned is located
Note: In Baden-Württemberg, the register courts are the local courts of Freiburg, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Ulm.
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
Obligated to register are:
- Partnerships such as general partnerships (OHG) and limited partnerships (KG),
- Corporations such as limited liability companies (GmbH) and joint-stock companies (AG), and
- any commercial enterprise which, by its nature and extent, requires a business set up in a commercial manner. Whether this is the case can depend, for example, on the annual turnover, the capital, the number of business transactions or the number of employees and is a case-by-case decision. There is no precise definition.
Small traders are exempt from the obligation to register in the commercial register. They can, but do not have to, register in the commercial register. Freelancers are also exempt from the obligation to register.
If your company is entered in the commercial register, you are legally considered a merchant and have the following rights and obligations, among others:
- You may grant procuration, i.e. give employees far-reaching management and representation powers. Because of its special significance, the granting of procuration is entered in the commercial register.
- You can freely agree on a place of jurisdiction.
- You can also issue guarantees, promises of debt or an acknowledgement of debt orally.
- You must observe the bookkeeping and accounting regulations under commercial law.
Procedure
You may only submit the application electronically to the registry court in publicly certified form. To do so, contact a notary public.
They will help you formulate the application, certify it and submit it to the competent registry court.
The Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Notaries will provide you with the names of notaries in your area on request.
Required documents
The notary you have chosen and your IHK will inform you about the exact documents.
Costs
depending on the object of the entry in the commercial register
Miscellaneous
All new registrations and amendments are announced electronically in the register portal.
Detailed information
Legal basis
Handelsgesetzbuchs (HGB):
- §§ 1 bis 8a, 12
Gesetzes über Kosten der freiwilligen Gerichtsbarkeit für Gerichte und Notare (GNotKG):
- § 58 Absatz 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Justizministerium Baden-Württemberg, 20.02.2025