Bundesanzeiger
The Bundesanzeiger: where German company accounts became public
The Bundesanzeiger (Federal Gazette) is the platform most people associate with German company accounts becoming public. This page explains what it is, why filings no longer go there directly, and how anyone can look up a German company's published statements today.
What the Bundesanzeiger is
The Bundesanzeiger is Germany's official federal gazette, run by a private publisher (Bundesanzeiger Verlag) under public mandate. For years it was the central place where German corporations published their annual financial statements — the Bilanz, and depending on size class the notes (Anhang), income statement (GuV) and management report (Lagebericht). Once published, any member of the public could read them for free.
This is the mechanism behind Germany's strong disclosure culture: unlike some countries where small-company accounts are hard to obtain, in Germany the annual accounts of a GmbH, UG, AG or GmbH & Co. KG have long been openly searchable. The legal duty to disclose sits in § 325 HGB; the Bundesanzeiger was simply the channel.
What changed in 2022
Filings no longer go to the Bundesanzeiger — they go to the Company Register.
Since August 2022, disclosure documents are filed with the Unternehmensregister (German Company Register, www.unternehmensregister.de), which is now the single submission and access point for company disclosures. This followed the DiRUG digitalisation reform and applies to fiscal years beginning after 31 December 2021. The twelve-month deadline of § 325 HGB is unchanged; only the destination moved.
In practice the operational upload still runs through the register's electronic publication platform, but the legal filing target and the place the public retrieves accounts is the Unternehmensregister. Older filings — anything published before the switch — remain findable through the Bundesanzeiger archive, which is why both names still circulate.
Bundesanzeiger vs. Unternehmensregister vs. Handelsregister
Bundesanzeiger
The federal gazette that historically published annual accounts and still hosts older filings and various statutory announcements. It is no longer the direct filing target for new financial statements.
Unternehmensregister
The central company register and, since 2022, the submission point for disclosure documents (§ 8b HGB). This is where you file your annual accounts and where the public retrieves them.
Handelsregister
The trade register kept by the local courts — it records the company's existence, directors and share capital. It is not where annual financial statements are disclosed.
How to retrieve a German company's accounts
- Go to the Unternehmensregister and search by company name or registered seat; published statements are viewable without a fee.
- What you see depends on the company's size class: large companies publish the full package, small companies only a balance sheet with reduced notes and no income statement.
- Micro companies (Kleinstkapitalgesellschaften) often do not appear at all: they may deposit (hinterlegen) a shortened balance sheet under § 326 Abs. 2 HGB, which is released only on paid request rather than published openly.
- For a foreign parent doing due diligence on a German subsidiary, this public retrieval is the fastest way to obtain a competitor's or counterparty's official numbers.
Where the software fits
jahresabschluss.io prepares the legally binding German documents you disclose — Bilanz, GuV, Anhang and, where required, the Lagebericht — and produces the filing-ready dataset for the Company Register. You upload a trial balance, our AI maps it to the § 266 / § 275 HGB structure, and you review the statements before they go out. The English early-access interface gives you convenience translations while the filed original stays German, as § 244 HGB requires.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still file with the Bundesanzeiger?
No. Since August 2022 disclosure documents are filed with the Unternehmensregister (German Company Register), which is now the central submission point. The Bundesanzeiger still hosts older filings, so it remains relevant for historical lookups.
Is the Bundesanzeiger the same as the Handelsregister?
No. The Handelsregister is the trade register at the local courts that records a company's existence, directors and share capital. The Bundesanzeiger was the publication platform for annual accounts; disclosures now run through the Unternehmensregister.
Can anyone read a German company's accounts for free?
Generally yes. Published statements are retrievable free of charge at the Unternehmensregister. The exception is micro companies that deposit a shortened balance sheet under § 326 Abs. 2 HGB — those are released only on paid individual request.
Why do people still say 'Bundesanzeiger filing'?
Because for over a decade it was the correct term. The 2022 switch to the Unternehmensregister is recent, and older filings still live in the Bundesanzeiger archive, so the old name persists in everyday use.
What happens if I never publish?
The Federal Office of Justice (Bundesamt für Justiz) runs automatic penalty proceedings under § 335 HGB, imposing fines from EUR 2,500 that repeat until you comply. The duty applies even to dormant companies.