Getting a commercial register extract (Handelsregisterauszug) online

You retrieve the commercial register extract in the Joint Register Portal of the federal states, free of charge since 1 August 2022. Part of the company name is enough to search, and the current print arrives immediately as a PDF. A certified extract is issued by the register court. We retrieve the extract for 19 euros and send it to you.

Commercial register extract: the essentials

Costs
retrieval free since 1 August 2022As of: 26.10.2026 · Bundestag
Responsible office
Joint Register Portal of the federal statesAs of: 26.10.2026 · Registerportal
Search
part of the company name is enoughAs of: 26.10.2026 · Justizportal
Extract types
AD, CD, HD as PDF; documents; SI as XMLAs of: 26.10.2026 · Registerportal
All details (5)
Certified copy
register court: printout €20, file €10
Paper documents
online on request: €2 per page, min. €25
Annual accounts
not in the register portal, only in the company register
Retrieval limit
at most 60 retrievals per hour
Behördenfix fixed price
€19 all-inclusive; we retrieve and send the PDF

Which print is the right one?

AD – current printonly the entries valid today
CD – chronological printall entries in time order, including obsolete ones
HD – historical printearlier paper register sheets
More rows (2)
DK – documentsfiled documents since 2007, such as articles of association or list of shareholders
SI – structured contentXML file, non-binding service, may differ from the current print

How we retrieve the extract for you

  1. 1Name the companyName or register number is enough.
  2. 2Choose the printCurrent, chronological or historical.
  3. 3Pay the fixed price19 euros, no authority fee.
  4. 4Receive the PDFWe retrieve it and send it to you.

Retrieving the extract yourself in the register portal

The way without us, step by step

You can retrieve the extract without us. The federal states' register portal describes the process like this:

  • Search: on handelsregister.de you find all registered companies. You do not need to know the register number or seat; part of the company name is enough.
  • Retrieve: choose the print you want for the company found. The portal provides it as a PDF to save and print.
  • Anyone may make individual retrievals for information purposes, as § 9(1) HGB states. No power of attorney from the company is needed.
  • The portal's terms of use allow at most 60 searches or views per hour. Under high load, retrieval for individual federal states may be unavailable at times.
  • Costs compared: retrieval in the portal costs nothing. With us you pay 19 euros for finding the right print, retrieving it and sending it to you as a PDF.
  • We are not an authority. The local court that keeps the register is responsible for the content of the entries.

Open the official page

The details we need

  • The company name, as exactly as possible, or its register number.
  • If known: seat or register court, to tell companies with the same name apart.
More documents (2)
  • Which print you need: current, chronological or historical.
  • Your email address for the PDF.

Good to know

Register portal, company register and private providers

Only the print from the register portal or from the register court is official.

All details (4)

The Joint Register Portal of the federal states at handelsregister.de is the official access to the commercial, cooperative, partnership and association registers. North Rhine-Westphalia runs it on behalf of the state justice administrations. Older documents that exist only on paper and are less than ten years old are put online by the register court on request, for 2 euros per page, at least 25 euros.

The company register (Unternehmensregister) is kept by the Federal Ministry of Justice under § 8b HGB. Commercial register entries are also available there, plus annual financial statements. According to the register portal, the company register is the only route for annual statements; filed statements there are subject to a fee.

North Data and similar websites are private providers and not official registers.

Beware of post that looks like an invoice from an authority: the state justice administrations and the Federal Ministry of Justice warn against payment requests that do not come from judicial authorities. Such letters alone create no obligation to pay.

When does our help make sense?

You do not need it if you know the company name and can search the register portal yourself. Retrieval there costs nothing, and the PDF is ready immediately.

It can help if you do not want to use the German portal, if there are several companies with similar names or if you are unsure which print is required. We retrieve the official print and send it as a PDF, the same or next working day. We do not need a power of attorney for this.

What we do not do: we certify nothing, we do not translate the extract and we do not assess what the register says about a company.

Questions about the commercial register extract

Is the commercial register extract free?

Yes, in the Joint Register Portal of the federal states. With the act implementing the Digitalisation Directive (DiRUG), in force since 1 August 2022, the legislator abolished retrieval fees for data and documents from the commercial register. Fees still apply to certified printouts from the register court and to older paper documents that first have to be put online.

How do I get the commercial register extract online?

On handelsregister.de you search for the company with the normal search; part of the company name is enough. For the company found, you choose the print, such as AD for the current status. The portal delivers it as a PDF that you save or print. You do not need a power of attorney from the company, because § 9 HGB allows anyone individual retrievals.

Is the commercial register extract available in English?

The register portal has English information pages, but it only names the prints themselves in the German forms AD, CD, HD, DK and SI. If an office abroad requires the extract in English, a translation is needed. The office requesting the extract will tell you whether a certification or apostille is also needed.

Where can I get a certified extract?

From the register court, i.e. the local court that keeps the company's register. Under § 9 HGB the court certifies on request that the printout matches the register. According to the GNotKG schedule of costs, an official printout costs 20 euros and a certified file 10 euros. The apostille for abroad is issued by another office.

Current or chronological print: what is the difference?

The current print (AD) shows only the entries valid today, usually as continuous text. The chronological print (CD) shows all entries in time order since the switch to electronic register keeping, including obsolete ones, and follows the register's columns. Older paper sheets are contained in the historical print (HD).

How long is a commercial register extract valid?

Neither § 9 HGB nor the register portal states a fixed expiry date. The print shows the status of the register at the time of retrieval; according to the register portal, it accesses the actual data directly. How recent the extract must be is set by the office requesting it, such as a bank, a notary or an authority.

Official sources

Sources (7)

Reviewed by M. Gabal on 27.10.2026

Provided by Behördenfix (M. Gabal). Behördenfix retrieves the official print from the federal states' register portal for you and sends it to you as a PDF. We are not an authority, certify nothing, give no legal advice and do not assess entries.

Related services (6)
What we do and what we don't
  • We fill in applications based on your details, file them and follow them up.
  • We give no legal or tax advice and do not assess chances of success.
  • We are a private service, not a public authority.
Have the commercial register extract retrieved· 19 €