Reducing bureaucracy: New basic register for companies

In the future, every company will receive a uniform federal business number in a new register containing all master data. This will facilitate cooperation with all German authorities.

This article is part of the special feature on bureaucratic madness in the skilled trades.

The Federal Statistical Office is to establish a central register of basic business data. The Basic Business Data Register Act (UBRegG), which came into force on July 15, 2021 , is intended to significantly reduce the burden on businesses and public authorities . Through the introduction of a uniform, nationwide, and inter-agency identification number, companies will only have to provide their master data to the authorities once in the future (the "once-only" principle). The register will be located in Bonn. It makes an important contribution to the implementation of the Online Access Act.

Data protection is guaranteed

In the future, the basic register will consolidate, quality-assured, and centrally store master data such as name, registered office, business address, legal form, and industry sector, as well as identifiers, for all companies registered with the German administration. Each company will receive a standardized federal business identification number , which other administrative registers will use to access this company data. Connected registers will be directly informed about new companies and changes to the master data of existing companies . The aim is to further reduce companies' reporting obligations by avoiding duplicate submissions of master data to different registers. This involves stringent data protection and data security requirements, which must be consistently considered during the establishment and operation of the register.

Why is a basic register necessary?

In Germany, there are approximately 120 separate business registers that operate largely independently and do not typically exchange information . Many companies are listed in multiple registers – sometimes with overlapping data and different identification numbers. This system is error-prone, time-consuming, and highly bureaucratic.

Dr. Georg Thiel, President of the Federal Statistical Office, welcomes the law: "The potential for relief for everyone who works with company data is enormous. Therefore, we will do everything we can to ensure that we can begin filling the register in 2023." 

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Source: Federal Statistical Office

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