Germany

Data Sources

Germany uses a multi-source strategy combining official registers for comprehensive company coverage. Requests are routed to the appropriate register based on the company’s register type. Company profile data is extracted from official trade register documents using AI parsing.

Unternehmensregister (Company Register) — Germany’s central commercial register portal, operated by the Bundesanzeiger Verlag. Primary source for all companies in HRB, HRA, GnR (Genossenschaftsregister), PR (Partnerschaftsregister), and GsR (Gesellschaftsregister). Provides search, company status (active/deleted), the Aktueller Abdruck (current trade register extract), Dokumentenansicht documents (filed corporate documents), and publications (financial statements, announcements).
Handelsregister (Trade Register) — The federal register of all German companies, operated by the federal states. Used specifically for VR (Vereinsregister / associations) companies, which are not available via Unternehmensregister. Also used as a fallback source for Aktueller Abdruck retrieval for non-VR companies. Provides live search by partial ID or name.
AI Parsing — Company profile data (legal name, registration date, activity description, registered address, share capital, legal representatives) is extracted from the Aktueller Abdruck PDF using AI parsing. Legal form is AI-inferred from a standardized list of German legal forms, ensuring high accuracy across all forms including hybrid forms (GmbH & Co. KG, etc.).

Both Unternehmensregister and Handelsregister are third-party registers with variable availability. Automatic retries are used to maximize reliability. For Aktueller Abdruck retrieval, non-VR companies query both sources and use whichever returns first.

Company Identifiers

Query Identifiers

German companies are identified by a composite registration number in the format: {RegisterCourt} {RegisterType} {RegisterNumber}.

Company Type	Source	Format	Example	Notes
Corporations (GmbH, AG, etc.)	Unternehmensregister	Court + HRB + Number	`Munchen HRB 228960`	Registered at one of 129 Amtsgerichte
Partnerships & sole proprietors	Unternehmensregister	Court + HRA + Number	`Hamburg HRA 12345`	Includes KG, OHG, e.K., etc.
Associations (e.V.)	Handelsregister	Court + VR + Number	`Berlin (Charlottenburg) VR 38000`	Routed to Handelsregister
Cooperatives	Unternehmensregister	Court + GnR + Number	`Munchen GnR 1234`	Genossenschaftsregister
Professional partnerships	Unternehmensregister	Court + PR + Number	`Stuttgart PR 567`	Partnerschaftsregister
Civil law partnerships	Unternehmensregister	Court + GsR + Number	`Freiburg GsR 890`	Gesellschaftsregister (eGbR)

Register Type Abbreviations: HRA (Handelsregister A), HRB (Handelsregister B), VR (Vereinsregister), GnR (Genossenschaftsregister), PR (Partnerschaftsregister), GsR (Gesellschaftsregister). These are the canonical abbreviations matching Handelsregister form values.

Critical: 129 Register CourtsCompanies can be registered at any of 129 Amtsgerichte (local courts) across Germany. The court name is part of the unique identifier. Fuzzy matching is supported for variations (e.g., “Munchen” for “Munchen”, “Berlin Charlottenburg” for “Berlin (Charlottenburg)”). Court names are validated against the official court list.

Identifiers in API Response

Once you retrieve company data, the identifiers object contains the three parts of the German registration number:

Identifier Type	Format	Example	Found In
`registerCourt`	Court name string	`Munchen`	All companies
`registerType`	Register abbreviation	`HRB`	All companies
`registerNumber`	Number (may include suffix)	`228960`	All companies

Search Capabilities

Search Type	Pattern	Example	Match Type	Expected Results
By full ID	Court + Type + Number	`Munchen HRB 228960`	Exact	Single company (1 result)
By partial ID	Type + Number (no court)	`HRB 228960`	Fuzzy	Results from live search sources
By Name	Text string	`"Siemens AG"`	Fuzzy	Multiple results across all sources

Search Performance: Use full ID searches (court + type + number) for best performance and exact matching. Partial ID searches (type + number without court) fall back to live register lookups. Name searches query Unternehmensregister and Handelsregister VR.

How does intelligent ID parsing work?

Search queries are parsed to extract and validate ID components:

Full ID Match: If all three components (court, register type, number) are detected and yield an exact match, a single precise result is returned.
Partial ID: If 1-2 components are present (e.g., “HRB 228960” without court), results are found via live register lookups.
Name Search Fallback: If no valid ID parts are detected or the full ID lookup fails, a comprehensive name search is performed across all sources.

Court names are validated against the official list of 129 courts (with fuzzy matching for variations) and register types against the canonical set (HRA, HRB, VR, GsR, GnR, PR).

Name searches query both Unternehmensregister (for HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR) and Handelsregister (for VR associations) in parallel.

Company Status

Company status is determined deterministically from the Unternehmensregister or Handelsregister search results — no AI inference is involved.

Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

Local Status	English	Standardized Status	Notes
Aktiv	Active	Active	Company found in register without deletion flag
Geloscht	Deleted	Closed	Company marked as deleted in Unternehmensregister

VR Companies (Associations)

Local Status	English	Standardized Status	Notes
Aktiv	Active	Active	VR company found in Handelsregister search results

For VR companies (associations), deleted entries are not included in search results. Therefore, any VR company found in search results is by definition active. The Aktueller Abdruck (trade register extract) may contain additional status details (e.g., “in Liquidation”) extracted via AI parsing.

Legal Forms

Legal form is AI-inferred from a standardized list of recognized German legal forms. Each legal form is mapped to its full local name, English translation, standardized category, and ISO 20275 code. This ensures high accuracy, particularly for hybrid forms.

Corporations (Kapitalgesellschaften)

Local Name	Abbr.	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung	GmbH	Limited Liability Company	Limited Liability Company	2HBR
Unternehmergesellschaft	UG	Entrepreneurial Company with Limited Liability	Limited Liability Company	63KS
Aktiengesellschaft	AG	Public Limited Company	Corporation	6QQB
Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien	KGaA	Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ
Europaische Aktiengesellschaft	SE	European Company	Corporation	SGST
Investmentaktiengesellschaft	InvAG	Investment Stock Corporation	Corporation	JMVF
REIT-Aktiengesellschaft	REIT-AG	Real Estate Investment Trust Corporation	Corporation	AMKW
Gemeinnutzige Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung	gGmbH	Non-Profit Limited Liability Company	Nonprofit Organization	SCE1
Gemeinnutzige Unternehmergesellschaft	gUG	Non-Profit Entrepreneurial Company	Nonprofit Organization	63KS
Gemeinnutzige Aktiengesellschaft	gAG	Non-Profit Public Limited Company	Nonprofit Organization	YA01

Partnerships (Personengesellschaften)

Local Name	Abbr.	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
Gesellschaft burgerlichen Rechts	GbR	Civil Law Partnership	Partnership	FR3V
Eingetragene Gesellschaft burgerlichen Rechts	eGbR	Registered Civil Law Partnership	Partnership	FR3V
Offene Handelsgesellschaft	OHG	General Commercial Partnership	Partnership	40DB
Kommanditgesellschaft	KG	Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
Partnerschaftsgesellschaft	PartG	Professional Partnership	Partnership	8CM0
Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mit beschrankter Berufshaftung	PartG mbB	Professional Partnership with Limited Liability	Partnership	2YZO
Europaische wirtschaftliche Interessenvereinigung	EWIV	European Economic Interest Grouping	Partnership	JNDX
Partenreederei	—	Ship Partnership	Partnership	—
Stille Gesellschaft	—	Silent Partnership	Partnership	—

Sole Proprietorships

Local Name	Abbr.	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
Einzelunternehmen	—	Sole Proprietorship	Sole Proprietorship	OL20
Eingetragener Kaufmann	e.K.	Registered Merchant	Sole Proprietorship	OL20
Eingetragene Kauffrau	e.Kfr.	Registered Merchant (Female)	Sole Proprietorship	OL20
Freiberufler	—	Freelancer / Liberal Profession	Sole Proprietorship	—

Hybrid Forms (Mischformen)

Local Name	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
GmbH & Co. KG	LLC & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
UG & Co. KG	Entrepreneurial Company & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
AG & Co. KG	PLC & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
Stiftung & Co. KG	Foundation & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
KGaA & Co. KG	Partnership Limited by Shares & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
GmbH & Co. OHG	LLC & Co. General Partnership	Partnership	40DB
AG & Co. OHG	PLC & Co. General Partnership	Partnership	40DB
GmbH & Co. KGaA	LLC & Co. Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ
AG & Co. KGaA	PLC & Co. Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ
Stiftung & Co. KGaA	Foundation & Co. Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ

Associations & Cooperatives

Local Name	Abbr.	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
Eingetragener Verein	e.V.	Registered Association	Nonprofit Organization	QZ3L
Nicht eingetragener Verein	—	Unregistered Association	Nonprofit Organization	79H0
Wirtschaftlicher Verein	—	Economic Association	Nonprofit Organization	7J3S
Verein alten Rechts	—	Association under Old Law	Nonprofit Organization	D40E
Eingetragene Genossenschaft	eG	Registered Cooperative	Cooperative	AZFE
Genossenschaft	—	Cooperative	Cooperative	US8E
Europaische Genossenschaft	SCE	European Cooperative Society	Cooperative	SUA1
Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit	VVaG	Mutual Insurance Association	Cooperative	13AV

Public Law Entities & Foundations

Local Name	Abbr.	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
Korperschaft des offentlichen Rechts	KdoR	Public Law Corporation	Government-Owned Entity	SQKS
Anstalt des offentlichen Rechts	AoR	Public Law Institution	Government-Owned Entity	XLWA
Stiftung des offentlichen Rechts	—	Public Law Foundation	Trust	FEBD
Stiftung des privaten Rechts	—	Private Foundation	Trust	V2YH
Kirchliche Stiftung des offentlichen Rechts	—	Ecclesiastical Public Law Foundation	Trust	YJ4C
Landesinnungsverband	—	State Guild Association	Nonprofit Organization	9JGX
Innung	—	Guild	Nonprofit Organization	—
Zweckverband	—	Special Purpose Association	Government-Owned Entity	—

Legal form is AI-inferred from a standardized list. The company name and legal form details from the trade register extract are used to correctly identify hybrid forms like “GmbH & Co. KG” versus a plain “Kommanditgesellschaft”.

Legal Representatives

Legal representatives are extracted from the Aktueller Abdruck (current trade register extract) PDF using AI parsing. Roles are enriched with standardized English translations.

Common Legal Representative Roles

German Role	English Translation	Typical Legal Forms
Geschaftsfuhrer	Managing Director	GmbH, UG
Vorstandsvorsitzender	Chairman of the Board	AG, SE
Vorstandsmitglied	Board Member	AG, SE
Komplementar	General Partner	KG, GmbH & Co. KG
Personlich haftender Gesellschafter	Personally Liable Partner	KG, OHG
Prokurist	Authorized Officer (Prokura)	All
Liquidator	Liquidator	All (when in liquidation)
Vorstand	Executive Board Member	e.V. (associations)
Einzelvertretungsberechtigt	Sole power of representation	All
Gesamtvertretungsberechtigt	Joint power of representation	All

Legal representatives are AI-extracted from trade register extract documents. The classification of roles as legal representative vs. other key person is AI-determined based on the company’s legal form context. Signing authority details (Einzelvertretungsberechtigt, Gesamtvertretungsberechtigt) are captured when available.

Shareholders

German shareholder extraction uses a multi-source strategy that adapts based on the company’s legal form.

Extraction Logic

Legal Form Analysis — The company’s legal form determines:
- Whether it requires public shareholder disclosure (AG, SE, KGaA do not)
- Whether it is a partnership structure (KG, OHG, etc.) or corporate structure (GmbH, UG, etc.)
Primary Source: Gesellschafterliste (Shareholder List) — For companies with disclosure requirements:
- The “Liste der Gesellschafter” document is used when available among filed documents
- This is the most comprehensive and authoritative source
- If found with shareholders, it is used exclusively
Fallback Strategy — If no Gesellschafterliste is found or it returns empty: For Partnership Structures (KG, GmbH & Co. KG, OHG):
- First Priority: Trade register extract (Aktueller Abdruck) — Extracts Kommanditisten (limited partners) with capital contributions, identifies profit transfer agreements (100% control)
- Last Resort: Financial statements (only if trade register has no partners)
For Corporate Structures (GmbH, UG, AG, SE, KGaA):
- Both sources are checked: Trade register extract (for control statements) and Financial statements (for parent company identification)

Data Sources Explained

Source	When Used	Data Available
Gesellschafterliste	Companies with disclosure requirements (GmbH, UG, KG, OHG)	Complete shareholder list with percentages and capital contributions
Trade Register Extract	Partnerships (KG, OHG) and corporate control statements	Kommanditisten with capital, profit transfer agreements
Financial Statements	Fallback for parent company identification	Parent companies through control relationships

Partnership Structures (KG) — Important Notes

German KG (Kommanditgesellschaft) and GmbH & Co. KG have two types of partners:

Komplementar (General Partner):
- Manages the company with unlimited personal liability
- NOT included in shareholder results — they are managers, not economic owners
- Example: In “ABC GmbH & Co. KG”, the “ABC GmbH” is the Komplementar
Kommanditisten (Limited Partners):
- Provide capital and own the economic value
- Have limited liability (only lose their capital contribution)
- These ARE included as shareholders with calculated percentages

How are ownership percentages calculated for KG structures?

When multiple Kommanditisten are listed with capital contribution amounts (Kommanditeinlage/Haftsumme), ownership percentages are automatically calculated from the capital amounts:Example: VREF Germany ACB GmbH & Co. KG

ACB Verwaltungs GmbH (Komplementar) — Excluded (manager, not owner)
Swiss Life AG (EUR 5,100) — Included as 5.1% shareholder (5,100 / 100,000)
VREF Germany Real Estate Acquico (EUR 94,900) — Included as 94.9% shareholder (94,900 / 100,000)

Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place. If a single shareholder holds 100%, only that shareholder is returned.

Key Features

Smart prioritization: Partnership structures prioritize the trade register over financial statements
Economic ownership focus: Only returns actual shareholders/owners, excludes Komplementare
Automatic percentage calculation: For KG structures, calculates ownership percentages from capital contributions
Deduplication: Multiple sources are combined and deduplicated by shareholder identity
Company ID enrichment: Company-type shareholders are enriched with full German registration IDs via search
Source attribution: Each shareholder record includes the source document and extraction method

Data Availability Matrix

Data Type	HRB/HRA/GnR/PR/GsR	VR (Associations)	Notes
Company Profile	✅ Async	✅ Async	AI-parsed from Aktueller Abdruck
Legal Representatives	✅ AI-parsed	✅ AI-parsed	From trade register extract
Shareholders	✅ Multi-source	❌	Gesellschafterliste, trade register, financial statements
Ultimate Beneficial Owners	❌	❌	Not publicly accessible in Germany
Establishments	❌	❌	Not available from German registers
Activity Codes	⚠️ AI-inferred	⚠️ AI-inferred	Derived from Gegenstand des Unternehmens
Documents	✅	⚠️ Limited	VR: only Aktueller Abdruck; Others: full document set

Legend: ✅ Available | ❌ Not Available | ⚠️ Conditionally Available | Async = Asynchronous processing

Activity Code Mapping

Germany does not use a structured national activity code in the Handelsregister. Activity codes are AI-inferred from the company’s Gegenstand des Unternehmens (company purpose) field, which is a free-text description extracted from the Aktueller Abdruck document.

Gegenstand des Unternehmens (free text) → NACE Rev. 2 (AI-inferred) → ISIC Rev. 4 (AI-inferred)

Classification	Source	Example	AI Inferred?
NACE	Derived from activity description via AI	`62.01`	Yes (always)
ISIC	Derived from activity description via AI	`6201`	Yes (always)

Both NACE and ISIC codes are always AI-inferred for German companies because the trade register provides only a free-text business purpose description, not structured activity codes. The isAIInferred flag is always true for German activity codes.

Documents by Company Type

Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

Document Type	API Category	Format	SKU	Availability	Notes
Aktueller Abdruck	`tradeRegisterExtract`	PDF	`DEU_REGISTER_EXTRACT`	✅ All companies	Official trade register extract
Dokumentenansicht Documents	`articlesOfAssociation[]`	PDF	`DEU_STATUS`	✅ When filed	Gesellschafterliste, Satzung, etc. (AI-classified)
Financial Statements	`financialStatements[]`	PDF	`DEU_STATUS`	✅ When published	Free for regular companies, paid for micro-companies
Publications	`officialPublications[]`	PDF	`DEU_STATUS`	✅ When available	Handelsregister announcements

VR Companies (Associations)

Document Type	API Category	Format	SKU	Availability	Notes
Aktueller Abdruck	`tradeRegisterExtract`	PDF	`DEU_REGISTER_EXTRACT`	✅ All associations	Trade register extract via Handelsregister

VR companies have limited document availability. Associations in the Vereinsregister (VR) only have access to the Aktueller Abdruck document. Dokumentenansicht documents, publications, and financial statements are not available for VR companies.

Financial Statement Pricing: Regular companies are required to publish annual financial statements, which are available free of charge. Micro-companies may publish voluntarily; because publication is optional, retrieval of these documents is paid.

Data Source Priority & Routing

Requests are routed based on register type, detected from the company’s registration number:

Routing Logic by Register Type:

VR (Vereinsregister) — Always routed to Handelsregister:
- Search: Handelsregister VR search
- Company status: Handelsregister VR status check
- Aktueller Abdruck: Retrieved from the official register
- Documents: Only Aktueller Abdruck available
HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR — Routed to Unternehmensregister (with Handelsregister fallback):
- Search: Unternehmensregister search API
- Company status: Unternehmensregister search result
- Aktueller Abdruck: Retrieved from Unternehmensregister or Handelsregister
- Documents: Dokumentenansicht + Publications from Unternehmensregister

Onboarding Profile

The Onboarding Profile endpoint provides fast, cost-effective access to company profile data for Germany, optimized for onboarding workflows.

Coverage: HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, and GsR registers
VR Register: VR companies are always fetched live from the official register

Example API Responses

All examples use placeholder data. Query: POST /company with { "id": "<id>", "countryCode": "DE", "dataPoints": ["companyProfile"] }

Active GmbH (Source: Unternehmensregister)

{
  "company": {
    "id": "Munchen HRB 228960",
    "countryCode": "DE",
    "identifiers": { "registerCourt": "Munchen", "registerType": "HRB", "registerNumber": "228960" },
    "legalName": "Beispiel Software GmbH",
    "registrationDate": "2019-05-15",
    "activityDescription": "Gegenstand des Unternehmens ist die Entwicklung und der Vertrieb von Software.",
    "status": { "localName": "Active", "active": true, "statusDetails": { "status": "ACTIVE" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung (GmbH)", "englishTranslation": "Limited Liability Company", "standardized": "Limited Liability Company", "iso20275Code": "2HBR" },
    "capital": { "amount": 25000, "currency": "EUR" },
    "activities": {
      "NACE": [{ "code": "62.01", "description": "Computer programming activities", "isAIInferred": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "6201", "description": "Computer programming activities", "isAIInferred": true }]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Maximilianstrasse 35", "city": "Munchen", "postalCode": "80539", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Geschaftsfuhrer", "standardized": "Managing Director" }, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Max SCHMIDT" } } }
  ],
  "shareholders": [
    { "type": "individual", "sharePercentage": 60, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Max SCHMIDT" } } },
    { "type": "company", "sharePercentage": 40, "company": { "legalName": "Investment Holdings GmbH" } }
  ]
}

GmbH & Co. KG (Partnership with Kommanditisten)

{
  "company": {
    "id": "Hamburg HRA 12345",
    "countryCode": "DE",
    "identifiers": { "registerCourt": "Hamburg", "registerType": "HRA", "registerNumber": "12345" },
    "legalName": "Norddeutsche Handel GmbH & Co. KG",
    "registrationDate": "2010-08-20",
    "activityDescription": "Gegenstand des Unternehmens ist der Grosshandel mit Waren aller Art.",
    "status": { "localName": "Active", "active": true, "statusDetails": { "status": "ACTIVE" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "GmbH & Co. KG", "englishTranslation": "LLC & Co. Limited Partnership", "standardized": "Partnership", "iso20275Code": "8Z6G" },
    "activities": {
      "NACE": [{ "code": "46.90", "description": "Non-specialised wholesale trade", "isAIInferred": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "4690", "description": "Non-specialised wholesale trade", "isAIInferred": true }]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Jungfernstieg 22", "city": "Hamburg", "postalCode": "20354", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "company", "role": { "localName": "Personlich haftender Gesellschafter", "standardized": "General Partner" }, "company": { "legalName": "Norddeutsche Verwaltungs GmbH" } }
  ],
  "shareholders": [
    { "type": "company", "sharePercentage": 51, "company": { "legalName": "Holding Nord AG" }, "nominalCapitalHeld": { "amount": 510000, "currency": "EUR" } },
    { "type": "individual", "sharePercentage": 49, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Friedrich MEYER" } }, "nominalCapitalHeld": { "amount": 490000, "currency": "EUR" } }
  ]
}

Note: The Komplementar (Norddeutsche Verwaltungs GmbH) appears as a legal representative but is excluded from shareholders. Only Kommanditisten (limited partners) are included as shareholders with calculated ownership percentages.

Closed Company (Source: Unternehmensregister)

{
  "company": {
    "id": "Koln HRB 98765",
    "countryCode": "DE",
    "identifiers": { "registerCourt": "Koln", "registerType": "HRB", "registerNumber": "98765" },
    "legalName": "Alte Handels GmbH",
    "registrationDate": "2005-03-01",
    "activityDescription": "Gegenstand des Unternehmens war der Handel mit Konsumgutern.",
    "status": { "localName": "Closed", "active": false, "statusDetails": { "status": "CLOSED" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung (GmbH)", "englishTranslation": "Limited Liability Company", "standardized": "Limited Liability Company", "iso20275Code": "2HBR" },
    "capital": { "amount": 25000, "currency": "EUR" },
    "activities": {
      "NACE": [{ "code": "47.19", "description": "Other retail sale in non-specialised stores", "isAIInferred": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "4719", "description": "Other retail sale in non-specialised stores", "isAIInferred": true }]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Hohenzollernring 50", "city": "Koln", "postalCode": "50672", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Liquidator", "standardized": "Liquidator" }, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Hans WEBER" } } }
  ]
}

Note: Closed companies have active: false and status Closed, based on deletion information from the Unternehmensregister.

Registered Association (e.V.) -- Source: Handelsregister

{
  "company": {
    "id": "Berlin (Charlottenburg) VR 38000",
    "countryCode": "DE",
    "identifiers": { "registerCourt": "Berlin (Charlottenburg)", "registerType": "VR", "registerNumber": "38000" },
    "legalName": "Berliner Kulturverein e.V.",
    "registrationDate": "2018-02-10",
    "activityDescription": "Zweck des Vereins ist die Forderung von Kunst und Kultur.",
    "status": { "localName": "Active", "active": true, "statusDetails": { "status": "ACTIVE" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "Eingetragener Verein (e.V.)", "englishTranslation": "Registered Association", "standardized": "Nonprofit Organization", "iso20275Code": "QZ3L" },
    "activities": {
      "NACE": [{ "code": "90.04", "description": "Operation of arts facilities", "isAIInferred": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "9000", "description": "Creative, arts and entertainment activities", "isAIInferred": true }]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Unter den Linden 10", "city": "Berlin", "postalCode": "10117", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Vorstandsvorsitzender", "standardized": "Chairman" }, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Petra WAGNER" } } }
  ]
}

Note: VR companies (associations) are sourced from Handelsregister. No shareholder data is available for associations. Only the Aktueller Abdruck document is available.

Available Documents (company example)

Documents are returned when "dataPoints": ["documents"] is requested.Non-VR companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR):

API Category	Document	Notes
`tradeRegisterExtract`	Aktueller Abdruck (current register extract) PDF	All companies
`financialStatements[]`	Annual accounts PDF	When published (free for regular companies, paid for micro-companies)
`articlesOfAssociation[]`	Gesellschafterliste, Satzung, etc.	When filed (AI-classified)
`officialPublications[]`	Handelsregister publications	When available

VR companies (Associations):

API Category	Document	Notes
`tradeRegisterExtract`	Aktueller Abdruck (current register extract) PDF	Only available document for VR

Quirks & Gotchas

Quirk	Details
Composite registration number	German company IDs consist of three parts: Register Court + Register Type + Number (e.g., “Munchen HRB 228960”). All three are needed for exact identification.
129 register courts	Companies can be registered at any of 129 Amtsgerichte across Germany. Fuzzy matching supports variations (e.g., “Munchen” for “Munchen”, “Berlin Charlottenburg” for “Berlin (Charlottenburg)”).
VR companies use different source	VR (Vereinsregister) companies are routed to Handelsregister. All other register types use Unternehmensregister. Never mix the sources. VR companies only have Aktueller Abdruck — no Dokumentenansicht or Publications.
Variable register availability	Both Unternehmensregister and Handelsregister have variable availability. Automatic retries are used to maximize reliability. For Aktueller Abdruck, non-VR companies query both sources.
All activity codes are AI-inferred	The Handelsregister provides only free-text business purpose (Gegenstand des Unternehmens). NACE and ISIC codes are always AI-inferred. The `isAIInferred` flag is always `true`.
All legal representatives are AI-parsed	Extracted from Aktueller Abdruck PDF text using AI. Accuracy depends on document format and clarity. Roles are enriched with standardized English translations.
Komplementare excluded from shareholders	In KG/GmbH & Co. KG structures, general partners (Komplementare) are legal representatives, not shareholders. Only Kommanditisten (limited partners) are returned as shareholders.
Legal form AI-inferred from standardized list	German legal form is AI-inferred from a standardized list of recognized forms. This ensures high accuracy for German hybrid forms (GmbH & Co. KG, UG & Co. KG, etc.).
Onboarding profile coverage	Onboarding data covers HRB/HRA/GnR/PR/GsR registers. VR companies are always fetched live.
Micro-company financial documents are paid	Regular companies must publish financials (free). Micro-companies publish voluntarily, making their documents paid.
Aktueller Abdruck freshness	Trade register extracts are kept up to date based on the register’s latest update information.
UBOs not available	Ultimate Beneficial Owners are not publicly accessible in Germany, unlike some other EU countries.
Shareholder extraction is multi-source	Shareholders come from up to three sources (Gesellschafterliste, trade register extract, financial statements) with AI-driven legal form analysis determining the extraction path.

Western Europe

Northern Europe

Southern Europe

Central & Eastern Europe

Crown Dependencies & Offshore

Asia & Indian Ocean

Data Sources

Company Identifiers

Query Identifiers

Identifiers in API Response

Search Capabilities

Company Status

Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

VR Companies (Associations)

Legal Forms

Corporations (Kapitalgesellschaften)

Partnerships (Personengesellschaften)

Sole Proprietorships

Hybrid Forms (Mischformen)

Associations & Cooperatives

Public Law Entities & Foundations

Legal Representatives

Common Legal Representative Roles

Shareholders

Extraction Logic

Data Sources Explained

Partnership Structures (KG) — Important Notes

Key Features

Data Availability Matrix

Activity Code Mapping

Documents by Company Type

Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

VR Companies (Associations)

Data Source Priority & Routing

Onboarding Profile

Example API Responses

Quirks & Gotchas

Western Europe

Northern Europe

Southern Europe

Central & Eastern Europe

Crown Dependencies & Offshore

Asia & Indian Ocean

​Data Sources

​Company Identifiers

​Query Identifiers

​Identifiers in API Response

​Search Capabilities

​Company Status

​Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

​VR Companies (Associations)

​Legal Forms

​Corporations (Kapitalgesellschaften)

​Partnerships (Personengesellschaften)

​Sole Proprietorships

​Hybrid Forms (Mischformen)

​Associations & Cooperatives

​Public Law Entities & Foundations

​Legal Representatives

​Common Legal Representative Roles

​Shareholders

​Extraction Logic

​Data Sources Explained

​Partnership Structures (KG) — Important Notes

​Key Features

​Data Availability Matrix

​Activity Code Mapping

​Documents by Company Type

​Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

​VR Companies (Associations)

​Data Source Priority & Routing

​Onboarding Profile

​Example API Responses

​Quirks & Gotchas

Data Sources

Company Identifiers

Query Identifiers

Identifiers in API Response

Search Capabilities

Company Status

Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

VR Companies (Associations)

Legal Forms

Corporations (Kapitalgesellschaften)

Partnerships (Personengesellschaften)

Sole Proprietorships

Hybrid Forms (Mischformen)

Associations & Cooperatives

Public Law Entities & Foundations

Legal Representatives

Common Legal Representative Roles

Shareholders

Extraction Logic

Data Sources Explained

Partnership Structures (KG) — Important Notes

Key Features

Data Availability Matrix

Activity Code Mapping

Documents by Company Type

Non-VR Companies (HRB, HRA, GnR, PR, GsR)

VR Companies (Associations)

Data Source Priority & Routing

Onboarding Profile

Example API Responses

Quirks & Gotchas