A commercial register (also known as a company register or business register) is a public, officially maintained database in which companies and other legal entities are required to register their basic identifying information upon incorporation and to keep that information up to date. The information typically recorded includes the company’s name, registered address, legal form, date of incorporation, registered capital, directors and officers, and shareholders. In most EU Member States, registration in the commercial register is a precondition for a company to have legal existence and the capacity to enter into contracts. The register is maintained by a public authority — for example, the National Court Register (KRS) in Poland, the Handelsregister in Germany, or Companies House in the United Kingdom.
From an AML compliance perspective, commercial registers are an important tool for verifying the legal existence and basic structure of corporate customers. Under the EU’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, commercial registers were also linked to the new central beneficial ownership registers, which record information about the natural persons who ultimately own or control registered companies. Obliged entities are expected to consult commercial register information as part of their Customer Due Diligence process when onboarding corporate clients — verifying that the company exists, is in good standing, and that the information provided by the customer matches the public record.
Visit the Links page for a list of links to the most commonly used comercial registers.
