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 topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

The Federal Statistical Office should be a central Register on basic company data. The regulation, which came into force on 15 July 2021, Basic Business Data Register Act (UBRegG) should clearly support companies and administration relieve. By introducing a nationwide and cross-agency Identification Number Companies will have to store their master data just once more to the administration ("once-only" principle). The register is being set up 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 contain master data such as Name, registered office, business address, legal form and economic sector and identifiers of all companies managed by the German administration are compiled, quality-assured, and centrally stored. Each company receives a nationwide business number, which allows other administrative registers to access this company data. Connected registers are directly informed about new companies and changes to the master data of existing companies informedThe aim is to further relieve companies of reporting obligations by avoiding multiple reports of master data to different registers. This requires high standards for Privacy Policy and data security, which must always be taken into account when setting up and operating the register.

Why is a basic register necessary?

In Germany there are around 120 individual Registers with a business connection that operate largely independently of each other and usually do not exchangeMany companies are listed in multiple registers—some 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." 

Source: Federal Statistical Office

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