If you have a legitimate interest as a public or non-public body, you can request information from the trade register.
In general, you can be informed about the name, business name, business address and reported activity of the trader.
You have no legal right to receive the information.
You have a legitimate interest in providing information.
You may only process the data collected to monitor the conduct of your business and for statistical surveys.
There is no reason to assume that the trader's legitimate interest outweighs this.
you need
- Your identity card or passport with your last registration certificate and
- proof of your legitimate interest in the information.
If you as a public body or company do not take part in the competition, data subject to purpose limitation may be transmitted to you if
1.
regular data transmission is permitted,
2.
knowledge of the data is necessary to avert a current threat to public safety or significant disadvantages to the common good or
3.
You could only collect the data from the trader with disproportionate effort or such data collection must be refrained from due to the nature of the task for which knowledge of the data is required to be fulfilled and there is no reason to assume that the trader's legitimate interest outweighs this .
This also applies if you belong to an administrative unit that is responsible for receiving the notification or for monitoring the conduct of your business.
If you participate in the competition as a public company or are a non-public body, data subject to purpose limitation may be transmitted to you if you can credibly demonstrate a legal interest in knowing the data to be transmitted and there is no reason to assume that this is worthy of protection The trader's interest prevails.
In addition, you may only receive data if knowledge of the data is necessary for the prosecution of criminal offenses or if a special legal regulation provides for this.
No
You can request an extract from the business register personally or in writing.
The responsible authority will examine your application and, if necessary, request further information from you regarding your request for information.
The responsible authority will ask you to pay the fees incurred.
Once you have paid the fees, you will receive the relevant information from the business register.
If you apply in person, you have the option of paying the fees in cash or by debit card. If the application is submitted in writing, the information provided will only be sent cash on delivery. This causes additional costs (cash on delivery fee) that you must bear. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide information against an invoice or direct debit due to the large number of requests for information. For technical reasons, checks are not accepted as a method of payment.
If the necessary documents are available, you will usually receive information from the responsible office within two weeks. The processing time varies depending on the district and the current situation. Significant delays can occur, particularly in districts with a high volume of commercial activity.
20 to 75 EUR
No
§ 14 Trade Code (GewO)
No. 1.1.3 Schedule of fees for economic administration
Keywords: Trade register information Information from the trade register Company trade register information Commercial register Trade register extract
Last updated: 21.01.2026