German Commercial Register

A German Commercial Register (German: Handelsregister, pronounced [ˈhandl̩sʁeˌɡɪstɐ] ^ⓘ) is a public company register that contains details of all tradespeople and legal entities in the district of the registrar, which is generally the Amtsgericht (local district court) of the place where the Landgericht (superior court) is also situated.

Each German Commercial Register contains two branches. Branch A deals with partnerships, sole traders and registered associations (Vereine) without share capital. Branch B contains all incorporated companies with share capital. Applications (for new entries, changes and liquidations) must be made in notarized form in the presence of a public notary.