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Tips for your start-up

Have you recently filed a start-up notification for registration in the Trade Register?

Remember this when going into business:

Information filed with the Trade Register is public

The Trade Register is a register for public use. Anyone is entitled to acquire information about the details recorded in the register. This principle of publicity also applies to all notifications and enclosures submitted to the Trade Register.

Your notification becomes public as soon as it has been filed, even before your business is registered.

Insurance companies and information service providers may contact you

The contact details of your company will be available on different information services as soon as your notification has become pending; therefore you may get offers from insurance companies and information service providers even before your business has been entered in the Trade Register. These services by other companies are generally not free.

Please note that the Trade Register never updates its entries by phone. The only way you can update the details of your business in the Trade Register is by filing a written notification to the Trade Register.

The Business Information System (BIS), which our office jointly maintains with the Tax Administration, shows certain pieces of information about companies even before they have been registered with us. Under the title “Registrations in force" it will state if your company has not yet been entered in the Trade Register.

Your company name is examined as part of the processing of your notification

Even if your pending company name can be viewed in public information services, at that point it has not been accepted for registration yet and you may be asked to change it once the name examination has been completed.

The actual company name examination is carried out by the Trade Register as part of the processing of your notification. Therefore we advise you to wait until your company's name is registered before you order advertising signs or company stationery. Company name instructionsOpen link in a new tab

A domain name does not guarantee the registration of your company name

A registered domain name does not guarantee that you may register it as your company name. The Trade Register will examine the company name irrespective of whether it has been registered as a domain name or not. Remember this if you are considering applying for a domain name.

Trade Register information from Virre and basic information from BIS

Companies’ registered details, such as a Trade Register extract, or organisation rules, are readily available on our Virre Information ServiceOpen link in a new tab. Basic details of businesses, such as the company name, Business ID, and contact details are free of charge; in addition, you can buy additional details and information products by using your Internet banking codes. A Notification Search lets you monitor how the processing of your notification is proceeding.

The Business Information System (BIS)Open link in a new tab offers information from the registers of the Trade Register and the Tax Administration free of charge. In BIS, you can view the basic details of companies, such as company form, place of registered office, main line of business and whether a business has been registered at the Trade Register or in any of the registers run by the Tax Administration.

You get a Trade Register extract after registration

Once your business is entered in the Trade Register, you or your agent will be sent a Trade Register extract and possible organisation rules by post. The extract is sent by 2nd class post which is normally delivered on the second working day from dispatch.

If you need the extract at once, you can buy it on the Virre Information Service. An electronic Trade Register extract from Virre costs 4 euros + VAT.

Printable version Latest update 02.03.2017