Cite by HRB number + Amtsgericht, “HRB 12345 / München”, disambiguates immediately for generic company names; faster than name search.
What you can pull
How Libra sources it
Libra reaches the register through OpenRegister, a structured API over the German commercial register. That gives Libra fast, queryable access by company name, HRB or HRA number, and lets it fetch the underlying PDFs and read them in full. Citations point at the register documents Libra actually retrieved, or at the entity’s OpenRegister record when no document was pulled.These are uncertified extracts, fine for due diligence, KYC, briefing, and target research. For certified register extracts (e.g. for filing in court), order via the relevant Amtsgericht.
Finding the right entity
Start with the company name — Libra matches it against the register and comes back with the candidates. When the name is generic or the group has many German entities, add constraints in the same question: legal form, register court, city, incorporation date, or size thresholds such as revenue, employees, or balance-sheet total. Those constraints narrow a name search rather than replacing it, so keep at least a partial name in the question. If name search comes up empty and you have the company’s website, give Libra the URL instead — it can resolve a hostname to the register entry.People, ownership and beneficial owners
Beyond the company record, Libra works the register from the person side, which is what most KYC and AML questions actually need. Ask for the ultimate beneficial owners of an entity and Libra resolves the ownership chain rather than stopping at the immediate shareholders. Ask for historical owners and it reconstructs how the shareholding changed over time, pulling the successive Gesellschafterlisten where it needs them. Ask about an individual and Libra searches the register for the person by name — narrowed by date of birth or city where several people share a name — then returns the management positions they hold and the companies they hold stakes in.What you can ask
- “Pull the management and share-capital information for [Company Name AG].”
- “Wer ist aktueller Geschäftsführer der XY GmbH und wie hoch ist das Stammkapital?”
- “Who are the ultimate beneficial owners of [Company Name GmbH]?”
- “How has the shareholding in [Company Name GmbH] changed since incorporation?”
- “Which German companies does [Person Name], born 1974, hold a stake in?”
- “What are the registered offices and HRB numbers for these three GmbHs?”
Setup
None. Handelsregister is Included with every Libra subscription and needs no connection, so it isn’t listed in Settings → Integrations. It appears directly in the Research picker for firms that have Germany among their jurisdictions.Tips
HRB / HRA number speeds it up
HRB / HRA number speeds it up
“HRB 12345 / Amtsgericht München” gets a faster, more precise answer than a name-only search, especially if the company name is generic.
Ask for the chronological printout for history questions
Ask for the chronological printout for history questions
The chronologischer Ausdruck carries every register change in one document, so it answers “when did this change” questions in a single step. A shareholder list is the better ask when you need ownership at one specific date.
Say UBO when you mean UBO
Say UBO when you mean UBO
Asking for “the owners” returns the shareholders on record. Asking for the beneficial owners makes Libra follow the chain through intermediate holding companies, which is what an AML file needs.
Combine with case-law search for litigation prep
Combine with case-law search for litigation prep
Pull the company details from Handelsregister, then run a Statutes & Case Law search for any decisions naming the entity.
Next steps
Wolters Kluwer Online
Add legal-research depth on top of company facts.
Research mode
Use Handelsregister in any chat.