Handelsregister Eintragung als Einzelkauffrau oder Einzelkaufmann (e.K.)

The commercial register is a public register kept by the district courts. It serves to ensure legal certainty in commercial transactions by providing complete and reliable evidence of the factual and legal circumstances whose disclosure is of particular interest to the general public. Two sections are maintained:

• Department A: For sole traders and partnerships (e.K., OHG, KG).
• Department B: For corporations (GmbH, AG)

The commercial register enjoys public faith. This means that bona fide legal transactions are protected to a limited extent in their trust in the correctness of the entries and announcements.

The content of the entry is published ex officio in the electronic Federal Gazette. In principle, all entries are published in their full wording.

Every merchant is obliged to apply for registration of his company name and the location of his place of business at the court in whose district the place of business is located, unless the company does not require a business operation set up in a commercial manner in terms of type and scope.

Along with the application, submit the notarized name signature with company information to the court for retention.

Required information:

• The company name and legal form (e.K., e.Kfm. or similar).
• The place of business
• Domestic business address
• Surname, first name, date of birth and place of residence of the merchant
• Branch of business
• If applicable, granting of procuration