Germany - Topograph

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This guide contains public integration notes for Germany. Use it for identifier formats, search behavior, and country-specific caveats. The live source of truth for coverage, pricing, data sources, documents, legal forms, roles, and status values is the pricing page.

Germany coverage, pricing, and sources

Open the current catalog for supported datapoints, documents, sources, identifiers, and availability.

Country details below are preserved as integration notes. If a table or example conflicts with the live pricing page, use the pricing page as the source of truth and contact support.

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.

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), the Chronologischer Abdruck (chronological trade register extract / register history), 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. Provides the Aktueller Abdruck and Chronologischer Abdruck for VR companies, and is also used as a fallback source for Aktueller Abdruck retrieval for non-VR companies. Provides live search by partial ID or name.
Document extraction: Company profile data (legal name, registration date, activity description, registered address, share capital, legal representatives) is read directly from the text of the Aktueller Abdruck, so the same extract always yields the same values. Legal form is likewise read deterministically from the extract’s Rechtsform section, with hybrid forms (GmbH & Co. KG, UG & Co. KG) resolved from the company name and the general-partner entries; AI is used only as a fallback for rare wordings outside the standardized list. Activity codes remain AI-inferred from a standardized list.

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	`München 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	`München 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 Sections

German companies file in one of six register sections. The section abbreviation is part of every company’s registration identifier and is the exact value the federal portals (handelsregister.de, unternehmensregister.de) use.

Code	Local name	English	Scope
HRA	Handelsregister Abteilung A	Commercial Register, Section A	Sole proprietors and partnerships (e.K., OHG, KG, GmbH & Co. KG)
HRB	Handelsregister Abteilung B	Commercial Register, Section B	Limited-liability and stock companies (GmbH, UG, AG, KGaA, SE)
VR	Vereinsregister	Register of Associations	Registered non-profit associations (e.V.)
GnR	Genossenschaftsregister	Cooperative Register	Registered cooperatives (eG)
PR	Partnerschaftsregister	Partnership Register	Professional partnerships (PartG, PartG mbB)
GsR	Gesellschaftsregister	Civil-Law Partnership Register	Registered civil-law partnerships (eGbR)

Register Courts

Companies are registered at one of 129 Amtsgerichte (local courts). The court name is part of the registration identifier and matches the canonical form used on official register extracts, including parenthetical disambiguators (Berlin (Charlottenburg), Oldenburg (Oldenburg)) and abbreviated saint names (St. Ingbert, St. Wendel). Fuzzy matching is supported for common variations (for example Munchen for München, Berlin Charlottenburg for Berlin (Charlottenburg)). Search also accepts the abbreviated court code (Ortskennzeichen) that appears on certified register extracts, where the code trails the number instead of preceding it. For example, HRB 23591 KI (KI = Kiel) resolves to the same company as Kiel HRB 23591. The codes follow the official handelsregister.de scheme and cover the courts in Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, and Schleswig-Holstein (for example B = Berlin, HB = Bremen, HL = Lübeck, FL = Flensburg).

Full list of 129 supported register courts

Aachen, Amberg, Ansbach, Arnsberg, Aschaffenburg, Augsburg, Aurich, Bad Hersfeld, Bad Homburg v.d.H., Bad Kreuznach, Bad Oeynhausen, Bamberg, Bayreuth, Berlin (Charlottenburg), Bielefeld, Bochum, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Chemnitz, Coburg, Coesfeld, Cottbus, Darmstadt, Deggendorf, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Düren, Düsseldorf, Eschwege, Essen, Flensburg, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt/Oder, Freiburg, Friedberg, Fritzlar, Fulda, Fürth, Gelsenkirchen, Gießen, Göttingen, Gütersloh, Hagen, Hamburg, Hamm, Hanau, Hannover, Hildesheim, Hof, Homburg, Ingolstadt, Iserlohn, Jena, Kaiserslautern, Kassel, Kempten (Allgäu), Kerpen, Kiel, Kleve, Koblenz, Köln, Königstein, Korbach, Krefeld, Landau, Landshut, Langenfeld, Lebach, Leipzig, Lemgo, Limburg, Lübeck, Ludwigshafen a.Rhein (Ludwigshafen), Lüneburg, Mainz, Mannheim, Marburg, Memmingen, Merzig, Mönchengladbach, Montabaur, München, Münster, Neubrandenburg, Neunkirchen, Neuruppin, Neuss, Nürnberg, Offenbach am Main, Oldenburg (Oldenburg), Osnabrück, Ottweiler, Paderborn, Passau, Pinneberg, Potsdam, Recklinghausen, Regensburg, Rostock, Saarbrücken, Saarlouis, Schleiden, Schweinfurt, Schwerin, Siegburg, Siegen, Stadthagen, Steinfurt, Stendal, St. Ingbert (St Ingbert), Stralsund, Straubing, Stuttgart, St. Wendel (St Wendel), Tostedt, Traunstein, Ulm, Völklingen, Walsrode, Weiden i. d. OPf., Wetzlar, Wiesbaden, Wittlich, Wuppertal, Würzburg, Zweibrücken.

The list is stable. Changes occur only when a court is renamed or an Amtsgericht is dissolved by a federal-state administrative act.

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	`München`	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	`München HRB 228960`	Exact	Exact match returned first (matchType: id); other results may follow
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, the exact match is returned first (with matchReason.matchType = "id"); other results may follow.
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. The Local Status column below is the exact string returned in company.status.localName. It is a closed list: the API always returns exactly one of these values, including the German umlauts.

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

Local Status	English	Standardized Status	Notes
`Aktiv`	Active	Active	Company found in register without deletion flag
`Gelöscht`	Deleted	Closed	Company marked as deleted in Unternehmensregister
`Insolvenzverfahren`	Insolvency proceedings	Under Insolvency Proceeding	Insolvency proceedings noted in the trade register extract
`Aufgelöst`	Dissolved	Closed	Dissolution noted in the trade register extract
`In Liquidation`	In liquidation	Closed	Liquidation noted in the trade register extract

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”).

Legal Forms

Legal form is read deterministically from the trade register extract and resolved against a standardized list of recognized German legal forms; AI is used only as a fallback for rare wordings outside that list. 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. The Local Name column below is the exact string returned in company.legalForm.localName, character for character, including German umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and the abbreviation in parentheses where one exists. Forms without a common abbreviation (for example Stille Gesellschaft) are returned without parentheses. This is a closed list: the API always returns exactly one of these values, so you can map on localName directly.

Corporations (Kapitalgesellschaften)

Local Name	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
`Gesellschaft mit beschränkter 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
`Europäische Aktiengesellschaft (SE)`	European Company	Corporation	SGST
`Investmentaktiengesellschaft (InvAG)`	Investment Stock Corporation	Corporation	JMVF
`REIT-Aktiengesellschaft (REIT-AG)`	Real Estate Investment Trust Corporation	Corporation	AMKW
`Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (gGmbH)`	Non-Profit Limited Liability Company	Nonprofit Organization	SCE1
`Gemeinnützige Unternehmergesellschaft (gUG)`	Non-Profit Entrepreneurial Company	Nonprofit Organization	63KS
`Gemeinnützige Aktiengesellschaft (gAG)`	Non-Profit Public Limited Company	Nonprofit Organization	YA01

Partnerships (Personengesellschaften)

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

Sole Proprietorships

Local Name	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)

Hybrid forms are returned with the constituent forms written out in full, with the common short form in parentheses. For example a GmbH & Co. KG is returned as Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (GmbH & Co. KG), not as GmbH & Co. KG.

Local Name	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
`Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (GmbH & Co. KG)`	Limited Liability Company & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
`Unternehmergesellschaft & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (UG & Co. KG)`	Entrepreneurial Company & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
`Aktiengesellschaft & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (AG & Co. KG)`	Public Limited Company & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
`Stiftung & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (Stiftung & Co. KG)`	Foundation & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
`Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (KGaA & Co. KG)`	Partnership Limited by Shares & Co. Limited Partnership	Partnership	8Z6G
`Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung & Co. Offene Handelsgesellschaft (GmbH & Co. OHG)`	Limited Liability Company & Co. General Commercial Partnership	Partnership	40DB
`Aktiengesellschaft & Co. Offene Handelsgesellschaft (AG & Co. OHG)`	Public Limited Company & Co. General Commercial Partnership	Partnership	40DB
`Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (GmbH & Co. KGaA)`	Limited Liability Company & Co. Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ
`Aktiengesellschaft & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (AG & Co. KGaA)`	Public Limited Company & Co. Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ
`Stiftung & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien (Stiftung & Co. KGaA)`	Foundation & Co. Partnership Limited by Shares	Corporation	T0YJ

Associations & Cooperatives

Local Name	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
`Europäische Genossenschaft (SCE)`	European Cooperative Society	Cooperative	SUA1
`Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG)`	Mutual Insurance Association	Cooperative	13AV

Public Law Entities & Foundations

Local Name	English	Standardized	ISO 20275
`Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts (KdöR)`	Public Law Corporation	Government-Owned Entity	SQKS
`Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts (AöR)`	Public Law Institution	Government-Owned Entity	XLWA
`Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts`	Public Law Foundation	Trust	FEBD
`Stiftung des privaten Rechts`	Private Foundation	Trust	V2YH
`Kirchliche Stiftung des öffentlichen 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 read deterministically from the trade register extract and resolved against this standardized list, with AI as a fallback for rare wordings outside it. The company name, the Rechtsform section, and the general-partner (persönlich haftender Gesellschafter) entries are used to correctly identify hybrid forms like a GmbH & Co. KG versus a plain Kommanditgesellschaft.

Legal Representatives

Legal representatives come from the Aktueller Abdruck (current trade register extract). Every representative carries the German title as the register writes it in role.localName, plus role.englishTranslation and role.standardized.

Legal Representative Roles

The table below is the full list of role labels Germany recognises. Build your mapping on role.standardized, which is a closed list, rather than on the German label. Managing bodies

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Geschäftsführer / Geschäftsführerin	Managing Director	Managing Director	GmbH, UG, gGmbH
Geschäftsleiter	Head of Management	Managing Director	GmbH, public-sector entities
Vorstand	Board Member	Board Member	AG, SE, eG, e.V.
Vorstandsmitglied	Board Member	Board Member	AG, SE
Vorstandsvorsitzender / Vorstandsvorsitzende	Chairman of the Board	Chairman of the Board	AG, SE
Mitglied des Leitungsorgans	Member of the Management Organ	Board Member	SE
Verwaltungsrat	Administrative Board	Board Member	SE (one-tier), eG
Verwaltungsratsmitglied	Administrative Board Member	Board Member	SE (one-tier), eG
Mitglied des Verwaltungsrats / Mitglied des Verwaltungsrates	Member of the Administrative Board	Board Member	SE (one-tier), eG
Präsident des Verwaltungsrats / Präsident des Verwaltungsrates	President of the Administrative Board	Chairman of the Board	SE (one-tier)
Geschäftsführender Direktor / Geschäftsführende Direktorin	Managing Director	Managing Director	SE (one-tier)
Direktor / Direktorin / Director	Director	Managing Director	Branches of foreign companies

Sole traders

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Inhaber / Inhaberin	Owner	Owner	e.K., e.Kfr., Einzelunternehmen

Partnerships

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Persönlich haftender Gesellschafter / Persönlich haftende Gesellschafterin	General Partner	General Partner	KG, OHG, GmbH & Co. KG
Komplementär / Komplementärin	General Partner	General Partner	KG, GmbH & Co. KG
Gesellschafter / Gesellschafterin	Partner	Partner	GbR, eGbR
Partner / Partnerin	Partner	Partner	PartG, PartG mbB

Prokura (§§ 48 ff. HGB)

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Prokurist / Prokuristin	Authorized Signatory	Authorized Signatory	All
Prokurist (Einzelprokura)	Authorized Signatory with sole Prokura	Authorized Signatory	All
Prokurist (Gesamtprokura)	Authorized Signatory with joint Prokura	Authorized Signatory	All

Winding-up

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Liquidator / Liquidatorin	Liquidator	Liquidator	All, when in liquidation
Abwickler / Abwicklerin	Liquidator	Liquidator	AG, SE, when in liquidation

Association boards (e.V.)

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Vorsitzender / Vorsitzende	Chairman / Chairwoman	Chairman of the Board	e.V.
Stellvertretender Vorsitzender / Stellvertretende Vorsitzende	Deputy Chairman / Deputy Chairwoman	Board Member	e.V.
Zweiter Vorsitzender / 2. Vorsitzender	Deputy Chairman	Board Member	e.V.
Präsident / Präsidentin	President	President	e.V.
Vizepräsident / Vizepräsidentin	Vice President	Vice President	e.V.
Schatzmeister / Schatzmeisterin	Treasurer	Treasurer	e.V.
Kassenwart / Kassierer	Treasurer	Treasurer	e.V.
Schriftführer / Schriftführerin	Secretary	Secretary	e.V.
Beisitzer / Beisitzerin	Board Member	Board Member	e.V.

Public-sector operating entities

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Betriebsleiter / Betriebsleiterin	Operations Manager	Managing Director	Eigenbetrieb, Zweckverband
Werkleiter / Werkleiterin	Works Manager	Managing Director	Eigenbetrieb, Zweckverband
Bürgermeister	Mayor	Managing Director	Eigenbetrieb, Regiebetrieb
Stadtrat	City Councillor	Board Member	Eigenbetrieb, Regiebetrieb
Verbandsvorsteher	Association Director	Managing Director	Zweckverband, KdöR

Foreign branches (§ 13e HGB)

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Ständiger Vertreter / Ständige Vertreterin	Permanent Representative of the branch	Other	German branch of a foreign company
Hauptbevollmächtigter	General Representative	Authorized Signatory	German branch of a foreign insurer

Supervisory Board Roles (`otherKeyPersons`)

The Handelsregister lists the supervisory board in the same extract sections as the managing body, but an Aufsichtsrat oversees the Vorstand and has no power to bind the company. These people are returned on the separate otherKeyPersons datapoint, never in legalRepresentatives, so legalRepresentatives is safe to use directly for a signatory check.

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Aufsichtsrat	Supervisory Board	Supervisory Board Member	AG, SE, KGaA
Aufsichtsratsmitglied	Supervisory Board Member	Supervisory Board Member	AG, SE, KGaA
Mitglied des Aufsichtsrats / Mitglied des Aufsichtsrates	Member of the Supervisory Board	Supervisory Board Member	AG, SE, KGaA
Pächter	Leaseholder	Other	e.K., Einzelkaufmann

otherKeyPersons is part of the same data block as company and legalRepresentatives, so requesting it costs nothing extra. role.standardized on this datapoint comes from the other-key-person role list, which is separate from the legal-representative one.

Other register wordings

`role.localName`	`role.englishTranslation`	`role.standardized`	Typical legal forms
Geschäftsführung	Management	Managing Director	GmbH, UG
Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung	Member of the Management	Manager	AG
Manager	Manager	Manager	GmbH
Verwalter	Administrator	Administrator	AG, GmbH
Stellvertreter	Deputy	Board Member	eG
Besonders bevollmächtigt Zeichnungsberechtigter	Specially Authorized Signatory	Authorized Signatory	AG
Vertretungsberechtigter	Authorized Representative	Other	Any, when the extract states no office

Feminine forms. The register writes the gendered title and we return it as written, so Geschäftsführerin and Geschäftsführer are two distinct localName values with the same standardized value. Match on standardized and you never have to handle both.

Inhaber applies to sole traders. It is the role a registered sole trader carries in their own HRA entry: Eingetragener Kaufmann (e.K.), Eingetragene Kauffrau (e.Kfr.) and Einzelunternehmen account for more than 99% of the Inhaber representatives in the German register. A company registered as a GmbH, AG or KG has a Geschäftsführer, Vorstand or persönlich haftender Gesellschafter instead.

The German label in role.localName is not a closed list, but role.standardized is.The register writes the role as free text, so a company can carry a wording that is not in the tables above: a rare statutory title, a foreign-language rendering, a court typo. Under 0.1% of German legal representatives do. Those come back in role.localName exactly as the extract has them, and we match them onto the published list so role.standardized and role.englishTranslation are still filled with published values. A Geschäftsfüherin (missing an umlaut in the register) keeps that spelling in role.localName and gets Managing Director as its standardized role.role.standardized is guaranteed to be one of the values in the tables above. Map on it, and register spelling never reaches your data model.

Signing authority is not a role. Einzelvertretungsberechtigt and Gesamtvertretungsberechtigt are returned in the separate representationMode field described below, not in role.

Representation Mode

Legal representatives include a representationMode field extracted from signing authority clauses in the Aktueller Abdruck (trade register extract). This field indicates how the representative can sign for the company:

{ mode: "sole" }: Can sign alone (“Einzelvertretungsberechtigt” or “Einzelprokura”)
{ mode: "joint" }: Must sign jointly with others (“Gesamtvertretungsberechtigt” or “Gesamtprokura”)
{ mode: "joint", minimumSignatories: N }: Must sign jointly with a specified number of other representatives
{ mode: "joint", namedCoSigners: ["Name"] }: Must sign jointly with specific named individuals (“gemeinsam mit [Name]”)
null: No signing authority explicitly stated

The extraction logic combines both role type (Prokurist → Prokura authority) and explicit representation clauses in the document text.

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 — Included as 5.1% shareholder (5,100 / 100,000)
VREF Germany Real Estate Acquico — 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

Ultimate Beneficial Owners

UBOs are sourced from the Transparenzregister, which by law only grants access to obliged entities (Verpflichtete) carrying out their own AML check. Your account reaches it by one of two paths, and they differ in how long the data point takes to settle.

Two delivery paths

	Your own credentials	Partner-sourced
Applies to	Accounts with Transparenzregister credentials configured	Accounts without them
How	We query the register under your account’s own obliged-entity access	A local partner obtains the official Transparenzregisterauszug under their own access, and we extract the owners from it
Time to settle	Seconds to minutes, within the same request	1 to 3 business days
Setup	Configure credentials on your workspace (see Register Credentials)	None
Response	`ultimateBeneficialOwners`, shape below	`ultimateBeneficialOwners`, same shape, plus the extract as a document
Request modes	Verification and onboarding	Verification only

The path is chosen for you from your account configuration. No request parameter selects it, and the response shape does not change. Two consequences of the partner path being verification-only. Onboarding mode needs your own credentials, and fails with account_configuration_required without them, because no partner order can settle inside an onboarding window. Scheduled monitoring rechecks use the credentialed path for the same reason, so monitoring a German company’s beneficial owners requires your own access.

The partner-sourced wait

On the partner-sourced path ultimateBeneficialOwners stays in_progress for several business days. A request in that state is progressing normally. It is not a stalled or failed request.

Other data points in the same request are unaffected. companyProfile reaching succeeded while ultimateBeneficialOwners is still in_progress is the ordinary shape of a German UBO request, not a partial failure.
The requestId stays valid throughout. Keep polling it, or wait for the webhook. Re-issuing the same request does not make it faster: a second call for the same company attaches to the extract already in flight rather than ordering another one.
On delivery, ultimateBeneficialOwners moves to succeeded and the webhook fires.
If the company has no beneficial ownership entry to give, the data point fails with no_document_available.
The wait is capped at 7 days. Past that the data point fails with source_unavailable, which is retryable.
Billing follows the outcome. The charge is reserved when the request is made and settles only on delivery. A data point that ends in failure is refunded automatically.

Plan for this on the partner-sourced path: treat a German UBO fetch as an asynchronous order with a multi-day horizon rather than a call you can block on, and drive it from the webhook.

Registered owners and the German fallback

German law defines a beneficial owner as a natural person holding more than 25% of the capital, controlling more than 25% of the voting rights, or exercising control in a comparable way. Where no such person exists, the German AML act (§ 3 Abs. 2 S. 5 GwG) treats the company’s legal representatives, managing partners and partners as the beneficial owners instead. The register calls these fiktive wirtschaftlich Berechtigte and records them in place of a real owner. Both kinds are returned on ultimateBeneficialOwners. Read control to tell them apart:

	Registered owner	Fallback (fiktiv)
`control.description`	The register’s own German wording for the interest held	Starts with `Fictitious UBO (§ 3 Abs. 2 S. 5 GwG)`
`control.details`	The percentage, where the register states one	No percentage. The register states none for the fallback
`control.types`	`ownership-of-shares` or `voting-rights`	`significant-influence-or-control`

control.types alone does not separate the two. significant-influence-or-control also covers a registered owner who controls the company through dominant influence rather than through shares. Match on the control.description prefix.

The fallback is applied by the German register under German law, so the set of people is the one the German act names: legal representatives, managing partners and partners. It follows the same principle as the senior managing official fallback in EU AML rules, but it is not defined by them. We return what the register recorded. Whether that set satisfies your own obligation is your determination.

Subsidiaries

subsidiaries is available for Germany. It returns the equity participations the queried company holds in other entities, taken from the shareholdings list (Anteilsbesitzliste, §285 Nr. 11 HGB) in the notes of the company’s annual financial statement, or from the subsidiaries list (§313 HGB) in a published consolidated group statement. Values are AI-extracted, so verify them against the filing before relying on them for compliance. Availability follows German disclosure law, not our coverage:

A company that has published no annual or consolidated accounts returns no subsidiaries.
Small and micro companies are exempt from disclosing the shareholdings list, so they return none even when they hold participations.
Micro-company balance-sheet deposits carry no notes, so they never contain a shareholdings list.

subsidiaries is a separate data block from company, and it is available in verification mode only. See the Subsidiaries guide for the response shape.

Data Availability Matrix

Data Type	HRB/HRA/GnR/PR/GsR	VR (Associations)	Notes
Company Profile	✅ Async	✅ Async	Extracted from the Aktueller Abdruck
Legal Representatives	✅ Async	✅ Async	Extracted from the Aktueller Abdruck
Other Key Persons	✅ Async	✅ Async	Supervisory board and other non-binding roles, from the same extract. See Supervisory Board Roles
Shareholders	✅ Multi-source	❌	Gesellschafterliste, trade register, financial statements
Subsidiaries	⚠️ Depends on published accounts	⚠️ Depends on published accounts	From the shareholdings list (Anteilsbesitzliste, §285 Nr. 11 HGB) in the annual accounts, or the subsidiaries list (§313 HGB) in consolidated group accounts. See Subsidiaries
Ultimate Beneficial Owners	✅ Async	✅ Async	From the Transparenzregister. Same-request with your own credentials; otherwise partner-sourced over 1 to 3 business days, verification mode only. See Ultimate Beneficial Owners
Establishments	❌	❌	Not available from German registers
Activity Codes	⚠️ AI-inferred	⚠️ AI-inferred	Derived from Gegenstand des Unternehmens
Documents	✅	⚠️ Limited	VR: Aktueller Abdruck and Chronologischer Abdruck; Others: full document set

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

Register Documents

Two register extracts are available for every company (all entity types, including VR associations) and delivered as PDF. Retrieve them by listing availableDocuments and ordering the returned document id through /v2/company.

Document	Local name	Response field	Contents
Trade Register Extract	Aktueller Abdruck	`documents.tradeRegisterExtract`	The currently valid register entries only — current name, legal form, registered seat, management and representation, share capital or partners, and current status.
Trade Register History	Chronologischer Abdruck	`documents.tradeRegisterHistory`	The full chronological record of register entries since the register moved to electronic record-keeping (around 2002/2003) — former and current names, legal forms, registered seats, managing directors and authorised signatories, capital changes, and incorporation and dissolution dates.

The Trade Register History (Chronologischer Abdruck) covers the chronological record from the register’s switch to electronic record-keeping onward. For entities registered before then, entries predating that switch are held in a separate historical extract (Historischer Abdruck), which is not currently offered.

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)
                                         → WZ 2008 (AI-inferred) → WZ 2025 (derived)

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)
WZ2008	German national classification, derived from activity description via AI	`62.01.9`	Yes (always)
WZ2025	German national classification (current edition), up-converted from the WZ 2008 code	`62.10.9`	Yes (always)

All German activity codes are AI-inferred because the trade register provides only a free-text business purpose description, not structured activity codes. The isAIInferred flag is always true.WZ2025 is the current edition of the German Klassifikation der Wirtschaftszweige (the national implementation of NACE Rev. 2.1). It is returned alongside WZ2008 and up-converted from it using the official Destatis correspondence table. A WZ 2008 code that splits into several WZ 2025 codes returns all of them, so company.activities.WZ2025 can contain more than one entry.Main activity. Each classification returns a single best-match code for the company purpose, so that code carries isMainActivity: true (always together with isAIInferred: true, since the judgment is the model’s, not the register’s). A WZ 2008 code with exactly one WZ 2025 successor passes the flag on; when it splits into several WZ 2025 codes, none of them is flagged because the main successor cannot be determined.

Documents by Company Type

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

Document Type	API Category	Format	Catalog item	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`	✅ Almost all companies	A listed issuer’s ESEF-tagged consolidated statement is the one exception (see note); deposited micro-company accounts are paid
Publications	`officialPublications[]`	PDF	`DEU_STATUS`	✅ When available	Handelsregister announcements

VR Companies (Associations)

Document Type	API Category	Format	Catalog item	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 statements are moving to structured data. Since the 2022 disclosure reform, companies file their published annual statements to the register as structured data rather than plain PDF. We retrieve these directly, so financialStatements[] still returns a statement for almost every company. The one exception is a listed issuer’s ESEF-tagged consolidated statement (required under the EU Transparency Directive), which the register does not make available in any form. Deposited micro-company accounts (voluntary publication) remain available as a paid document.

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 mode (fast retrieval)

POST /v2/company with mode: "onboarding" provides fast, cost-effective access to company profile data for Germany, optimized for onboarding requests.

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 /v2/company with { "id": "<id>", "countryCode": "DE", "dataPoints": ["company", "legalRepresentatives"] }

Active GmbH (Source: Unternehmensregister)

{
  "company": {
    "id": "München HRB 228960",
    "countryCode": "DE",
    "identifiers": { "registerCourt": "München", "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": "Aktiv", "active": true, "statusDetails": { "status": "ACTIVE" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter 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, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "6201", "description": "Computer programming activities", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2008": [{ "code": "62.01.9", "description": "Sonstige Softwareentwicklung", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2025": [
        { "code": "62.10.2", "description": "Entwicklung und Programmierung von Computerspielen", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "62.10.3", "description": "Entwicklung und Programmierung von Anwendungssoftware", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "62.10.4", "description": "Entwicklung und Programmierung von künstlicher Intelligenz und maschinellem Lernen", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "62.10.9", "description": "Programmierungstätigkeiten a. n. g.", "isAIInferred": true }
      ]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Maximilianstrasse 35", "city": "München", "postalCode": "80539", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Geschäftsführer", "standardized": "Managing Director" }, "representationMode": { "mode": "sole" }, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Max SCHMIDT" } } },
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Prokurist", "standardized": "Authorized Signatory" }, "representationMode": { "mode": "joint", "namedCoSigners": ["Max SCHMIDT"] }, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Anna WEBER" } } }
  ],
  "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": "Aktiv", "active": true, "statusDetails": { "status": "ACTIVE" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft (GmbH & Co. KG)", "englishTranslation": "Limited Liability Company & Co. Limited Partnership", "standardized": "Partnership", "iso20275Code": "8Z6G" },
    "activities": {
      "NACE": [{ "code": "46.90", "description": "Non-specialised wholesale trade", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "4690", "description": "Non-specialised wholesale trade", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2008": [{ "code": "46.90.1", "description": "Großhandel mit Rohstoffen, Halb- und Fertigware, ohne ausgeprägten Schwerpunkt", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2025": [{ "code": "46.90.3", "description": "Großhandel mit Rohstoffen, Halb- und Fertigwaren, ohne ausgeprägten Schwerpunkt", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Jungfernstieg 22", "city": "Hamburg", "postalCode": "20354", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "company", "role": { "localName": "Persönlich haftender Gesellschafter", "standardized": "General Partner" }, "representationMode": { "mode": "sole" }, "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": "Köln HRB 98765",
    "countryCode": "DE",
    "identifiers": { "registerCourt": "Köln", "registerType": "HRB", "registerNumber": "98765" },
    "legalName": "Alte Handels GmbH",
    "registrationDate": "2005-03-01",
    "activityDescription": "Gegenstand des Unternehmens war der Handel mit Konsumgutern.",
    "status": { "localName": "Gelöscht", "active": false, "statusDetails": { "status": "CLOSED" } },
    "legalForm": { "localName": "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter 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, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "4719", "description": "Other retail sale in non-specialised stores", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2008": [{ "code": "47.19.1", "description": "Einzelhandel mit Waren verschiedener Art (ohne Nahrungsmittel)", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2025": [
        { "code": "47.12.1", "description": "Einzelhandel mit Waren verschiedener Art, ohne Nahrungsmittel", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "47.91.1", "description": "Versteigerungsgewerbe im Einzelhandel ohne ausgeprägten Schwerpunkt", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "47.91.2", "description": "Sonstige Vermittlungstätigkeiten für den Einzelhandel ohne ausgeprägten Schwerpunkt", "isAIInferred": true }
      ]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Hohenzollernring 50", "city": "Köln", "postalCode": "50672", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Liquidator", "standardized": "Liquidator" }, "representationMode": { "mode": "sole" }, "individual": { "name": { "fullName": "Hans WEBER" } } }
  ]
}

Note: Closed companies have active: false and local status Gelöscht, 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": "Aktiv", "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, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "ISIC": [{ "code": "9000", "description": "Creative, arts and entertainment activities", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2008": [{ "code": "90.04.2", "description": "Opern- und Schauspielhäuser, Konzerthallen und ähnliche Einrichtungen", "isAIInferred": true, "isMainActivity": true }],
      "WZ2025": [
        { "code": "90.31.1", "description": "Spielstätten für Schauspiel und Musiktheater", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "90.31.3", "description": "Live-Musikspielstätten, Musikclubs und ähnliche soziokulturelle Zentren", "isAIInferred": true },
        { "code": "90.31.9", "description": "Betrieb von Einrichtungen für kunstschaffende Tätigkeiten und darstellende Künste a. n. g.", "isAIInferred": true }
      ]
    },
    "legalAddress": { "addressLine1": "Unter den Linden 10", "city": "Berlin", "postalCode": "10117", "countryCode": "DE" }
  },
  "legalRepresentatives": [
    { "type": "individual", "role": { "localName": "Vorstandsvorsitzender", "standardized": "Chairman" }, "representationMode": { "mode": "sole" }, "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": ["availableDocuments"] 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., “München HRB 228960”). All three together give an exact, unique match. Search also accepts partial inputs (court + number, register type + number, or just the number) in any order, and the abbreviated court code (e.g. “HRB 23591 KI”); partial inputs may return more than one candidate, so pass the full ID to `/v2/company`.
129 register courts	Companies can be registered at any of 129 Amtsgerichte across Germany. Fuzzy matching supports variations (e.g., “Munchen” for “München”, “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, ISIC, WZ 2008 and WZ 2025 codes are always AI-inferred. The `isAIInferred` flag is always `true`. WZ 2025 is up-converted from the WZ 2008 code and may contain several entries when a WZ 2008 code splits.
Legal representatives follow the register wording	Names, roles and signing authority are read straight from the Aktueller Abdruck text, so the same extract always returns the same representatives. The German role is returned as written and enriched with an English translation and a standardized role.
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 take days without your own Transparenzregister access	Ultimate Beneficial Owners are not publicly accessible in Germany — they’re sourced from the Transparenzregister, which by law only grants access to obliged entities (Verpflichtete) making their own AML/KYC check. An account with its own credentials configured on its workspace (see Register Credentials) gets them within the request, in seconds to minutes, in either request mode. An account without them is served through a local partner instead, so `ultimateBeneficialOwners` stays `in_progress` for 1 to 3 business days before settling. That partner path covers verification only: onboarding mode and scheduled monitoring rechecks still return `account_configuration_required` without your own credentials. See Ultimate Beneficial Owners for the full behaviour, and contact support@topograph.co for help getting set up as an obliged entity.
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.

​Start here

Germany coverage, pricing, and sources

​Data Sources

​Company Identifiers

​Query Identifiers

​Register Sections

​Register Courts

​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

​Legal Representative Roles

​Supervisory Board Roles (otherKeyPersons)

​Representation Mode

​Shareholders

​Extraction Logic

​Data Sources Explained

​Partnership Structures (KG) — Important Notes

​Key Features

​Ultimate Beneficial Owners

​Two delivery paths

​The partner-sourced wait

​Registered owners and the German fallback

​Subsidiaries

​Data Availability Matrix

​Register Documents

​Activity Code Mapping

​Documents by Company Type

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

​VR Companies (Associations)

​Data Source Priority & Routing

​Onboarding mode (fast retrieval)

​Example API Responses

​Quirks & Gotchas

Start here

Data Sources

Company Identifiers

Query Identifiers

Register Sections

Register Courts

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

Legal Representative Roles

Supervisory Board Roles (`otherKeyPersons`)

Representation Mode

Shareholders

Extraction Logic

Data Sources Explained

Partnership Structures (KG) — Important Notes

Key Features

Ultimate Beneficial Owners

Two delivery paths

The partner-sourced wait

Registered owners and the German fallback

Subsidiaries

Data Availability Matrix

Register Documents

Activity Code Mapping

Documents by Company Type

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

VR Companies (Associations)

Data Source Priority & Routing

Onboarding mode (fast retrieval)

Example API Responses

Quirks & Gotchas