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Trade register extract; application

The trade register is a list kept by the municipal authorities of the commercial businesses registered in the municipality. Public and non-public bodies as well as private individuals can obtain an extract from the trade register on request.

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Procedure details

According to § 14 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO), tradespeople must report certain processes to the municipality. These include the registration, re-registration and de-registration

  • of a trade,
  • a branch office or
  • a dependent branch office.

The trade register lists all commercial businesses in the respective municipality with the data they have reported. Public and non-public bodies as well as private individuals can obtain information from the trade register on request if they have a corresponding interest. The basic data of the trader (name, business name, business address, reported activity) is generally accessible, for further data information a legal interest is required. The consent of the person concerned is not required for the forwarding of the data.

The trade register is not a public register such as the commercial register, register of cooperatives or register of associations. You therefore have no legal claim to the disclosure of data. It is at the discretion of the competent authority whether it provides you with the information.

The information corresponds to what was reported to the trade registration office at the time the information was provided. The authority accepts no liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information. No information is provided on businesses that have been deregistered.

The trade register with the basic data of tradespeople is also made available on the Internet by some municipalities. In some cases, this basic data is also published in a business directory or business directory, a list of companies organized by sector.

You will receive information on the trader's basic data without any special justification. This includes

  • Name of the trader,
  • name of the business (business name)
  • business address and
  • reported activity.

If you wish to receive further data, you must prove that you have a legal interest.

You have a legal interest, for example, if you

  • want to assert legal claims or
  • refer to services provided by the trader or grant loans to the trader.
  • A further requirement is that there is no reason to assume that the trader's legitimate interest outweighs your legal interest.

  • in the case of information going beyond the basic data: Proof of legal interest such as debt instruments, copies of contracts or invoices

You can apply for information from the trade register in person, in writing or electronically. In addition to your personal details, you should provide the data you know about the business you are looking for, e.g:

  • Name of the business
  • Name of the trader
  • the last known address

The responsible office will check your application for completeness and whether you have a legal interest in obtaining information from the trade register.

If your application is approved, you will be sent the extract from the trade register and a notification of fees.

15.00 euros in accordance with the schedule of costs under the Costs Act (Tariff No. 5.III.5/1)

The trade register should not be confused with the central trade register kept by the Federal Office of Justice, which records trade law violations for the whole of Germany.

Status: 20.01.2026
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Landesentwicklung und Energie
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