Glossary · Registers and obligations

Transparency register (Transparenzregister)

Also: Transparenzregister, register of beneficial owners

In short

The transparency register is an electronic register to which legal entities under private law and registered partnerships must report their beneficial owners. This affects, for example, the GmbH, UG, OHG, KG and eGbR.

Transparency register (Transparenzregister) explained

Companies must obtain the information, keep it, keep it up to date and report it for entry without delay (Sec. 20 (1) GwG). Since 1 August 2021, the transparency register has been a full register: entry in the commercial register no longer replaces notification. After formation, notification is therefore one of the first obligations, as it is after every change, for example after a sale of shares. Missing notifications are subject to fines (Sec. 56 GwG). The unregistered GbR and the sole proprietorship are not obliged to report. Recht 24/7 determines the beneficial owners, including across several levels of shareholding, and takes care of the notification.

Legal basisSec. 3, 20, 56 GwG

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Related terms

Beneficial owner (wirtschaftlich Berechtigter)A beneficial owner is any natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company, in particular with more than 25% of the capital shares or voting rights. If no one can be identified, the legal representative is deemed to be the beneficial owner.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.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.Sole proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen)A sole proprietorship is run by a single natural person, without minimum capital, without a partnership agreement and without a notary. The owner is liable for all debts with their entire private assets.UG (haftungsbeschränkt)The UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is not a separate legal form, but a GmbH with less than €25,000 share capital, mathematically from €1, which must be paid in full in cash before the application. In return, it must put a quarter of its annual net profit into a reserve every year.Change of company name (Umfirmierung)A change of company name (Umfirmierung) is a change to the "Firma", i.e. the name of a business entered in the commercial register. For a GmbH and UG, this requires a notarised amendment to the articles of association and registration.

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