Official information about a German GmbH and the documents filed for the company can be accessed through the German Commercial Register (Handelsregister). The register is maintained by the competent register courts, and company records can be searched online through the common Registerportal of the German federal states.
You do not normally need to know the responsible register court in advance. A GmbH can usually be found by searching for its company name. Once you have identified the correct company, you can view the available register information and documents filed for it.
Which document shows the shareholders of a GmbH?
For a German GmbH, the relevant document is the Gesellschafterliste, or shareholder list. The term is also used when the company has only one shareholder. A new shareholder list must be submitted to the Commercial Register after a change in the shareholders or their ownership interests. If no changes have occurred, an older shareholder list may still be the current one. Other forms of partnerships are subject to different registration rules, and information about their partners may be recorded directly in the Commercial Register.
When checking a GmbH, it is therefore important to identify the most recent shareholder list filed with the register. The fact that an older document is an official or certified copy does not make it the current shareholder list. If several lists are available, the filing dates and the company’s register history should be checked.
How much does a GmbH shareholder list cost?
Shareholder lists filed electronically with the Commercial Register can be accessed through the official German Registerportal. If you require an official or certified copy for submission to a bank, authority, court or another organisation, a different document form and additional processing may be required.
What is the fastest way to obtain a GmbH shareholder list?
If you do not want to search the German Commercial Register yourself, we can obtain the available shareholder list for you. Electronic documents can usually be provided by email shortly after the correct company and document have been identified.
For older companies, the required shareholder information may be contained in earlier register files rather than in a recently filed electronic shareholder list. In such cases, obtaining and checking the relevant documents may require additional processing time.
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