Glossary · Registers and obligations

Partnership register (Gesellschaftsregister)

Also: Gesellschaftsregister, register of civil law partnerships

In short

The partnership register is the public register for registered civil law partnerships (eGbR) and is kept at the local court. It has existed since 1 January 2024.

Partnership register (Gesellschaftsregister) explained

It was introduced by the MoPeG. The partners register the GbR with the court in whose district it has its registered office (Sec. 707 (1) BGB). The application includes, among other things, the partnership's name, registered office and address, details of each partner and the power of representation. After registration, the partnership carries the suffix "eGbR" (Sec. 707a (2) BGB). It must be distinguished from the commercial register, which lists merchants and commercial companies such as the OHG, KG and GmbH; the GbR, by contrast, does not carry on a commercial business. Partnership companies (PartG) have the Partnerschaftsregister, and associations the register of associations.

Legal basisSec. 707, 707a BGB

Matching service

Form a GbR

from €259net plus VAT, IHK and trade registration costs, for the eGbR plus notary and register fees

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Related terms

Commercial register (Handelsregister)The commercial register is a public, electronically kept register of merchants and commercial companies, maintained by the register courts. Division A (HRA) lists, for example, sole traders, OHGs and KGs; division B (HRB) lists, for example, GmbHs, UGs and AGs.eGbRThe eGbR is a GbR that is entered in the partnership register at the local court and carries the suffix "eGbR". Registration has been possible since 1 January 2024 and is voluntary, but it is a prerequisite for acquiring real estate or GmbH shares.GbR (civil law partnership)A GbR comes into existence as soon as at least two persons contractually undertake to pursue a common purpose, without a notary, register or minimum capital. All partners are personally liable for its debts, without limit and jointly and severally.GmbH (limited liability company)The GmbH is a corporation and legal entity formed by one or more persons with at least €25,000 share capital. As soon as it is entered in the commercial register, in principle only the company's assets are liable for its debts.KG (limited partnership)The KG is a commercial partnership with at least one partner with unlimited liability (general partner) and at least one limited partner whose liability is limited to a liability amount. It is entered in division A of the commercial register.MoPeGThe MoPeG, the Act on the Modernisation of Partnership Law, has applied to all partnerships since 1 January 2024, including existing ones. It expressly recognised the GbR as having legal capacity and introduced the partnership register for the eGbR.

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