German company registration number: format, example and how to find it

A German company registration number consists of three parts: the register court, the register type and a number, for example "Amtsgericht München, HRB 12345". HRB stands for section B of the commercial register (corporations such as GmbH, UG and AG), HRA for section A (partnerships and registered sole traders). The number alone is not unique, because every register court assigns its own numbers. You can find it for free in the company’s website imprint, on its invoices and letters, or by searching the official portal handelsregister.de.

The format explained

Why the same number exists many times

Each register court numbers its companies independently. Our own search on the register portal (July 2026) found the number "HRB 12345" at more than twenty different local courts, each belonging to a different company. A German registration number is therefore only unique as the combination of court, register type and number. Always note all three when you check a company or order an extract.

Where to find it for free

1. Website imprint (Impressum): German websites run by registered companies must state the register and registration number (§ 5 DDG).
2. Invoices, letters and emails: a GmbH must state its register court and registration number on all business letters, including emails (§ 35a GmbHG; § 37a HGB for registered sole traders, § 80 AktG for the AG). Check the footer.
3. Official register portal: on handelsregister.de, choose "Normale Suche" (normal search), enter the company name and, for common names, the city. Each result line shows court and registration number. The search screens are also available in English, the documents themselves only in German. Searching and retrieving extracts is free of charge.

Registration number, VAT ID and tax number: not the same

• Registration number (HRB/HRA): identifies the entry in the commercial register.
• VAT ID (USt-IdNr.): starts with "DE" followed by nine digits, used for cross-border trade within the EU; issued by the Federal Central Tax Office, not the register court.
• Tax number (Steuernummer): assigned by the local tax office for tax returns; it does not appear in the commercial register.

What if a company has no registration number?

Not every business is in the commercial register. Freelancers and small traders who are not registered merchants are not entered at all, and a civil-law partnership (GbR) only if it registered in the partnership register (as an eGbR). A missing number in the imprint can therefore be entirely correct: there is simply no commercial register extract for that business.

Frequently asked questions