Transmission of extract from the central trade register

The Central Register of Businesses (GZR) is maintained by the German Federal Office of Justice.

Put simply, an extract from the Central Trade Register (GZR) is a certificate of good standing under trade law.

The information contains all decisions relating to the applicant that are held in the Central Trade Register.

• Section 14 of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO)

Applying as a natural person:
Identity card or passport

Applying as a legal entity:
Identity card or passport
Extract from the commercial register to prove authorisation to act on behalf of the company

In addition, for written applications (exception):
Application bearing the applicant’s officially or publicly certified signature
Where applicable, an extract from the commercial register to prove authority to act on behalf of the company

The applicant must be the person concerned. This is only the person in respect of whom there may be entries in the Central Trade Register.

Whether you are a private individual, a legal entity or an association of persons, you can request information from the Central Trade Register by sending an informal letter to the relevant authority.

- Please enclose any necessary documents or supporting evidence in each case.

- As a general rule, the information is sent to the applicant by post by the Federal Office of Justice (Bonn).

- It is not possible to send the document to an authorised representative. For certain purposes, a request may be made for the document to be sent directly to a public authority. To do so, the address of the public authority must be provided when submitting the application.

Alternatively, the application can be submitted via the Federal Office of Justice’s online portal. To submit an application online via the portal, you will need the new electronic identity card or an electronic residence permit, as well as a card reader.

• Online portal

Please note that you only need to submit an application for an extract from the Central Trade Register to the relevant authority. This authority will then forward your application to the Federal Office of Justice in Bonn, from where you will receive the official information.

The application must be made in person or, in exceptional cases, in writing with a signature that has been officially or publicly certified.
The applicant may not be represented by an authorised representative (e.g. a solicitor or spouse). Similarly, it is not possible to submit an application directly to the Central Trade Register.
The applicant must prove their identity and, if acting as the legal representative of a legal entity, their authority to act by providing an extract from the commercial register.

Applications for the Central Trade Register may be submitted to the Federal Office of Justice or to the regulatory authorities of the administrative districts, municipalities not belonging to an administrative district, associations of municipalities, jointly administered municipalities, co-administering municipalities and independent cities.