Companies register – registering companies – general
The following companies must be registered in the companies register:
- general partnership
- limited partnership
- public limited company
- private limited company
- European company
A civil law partnership must be registered in the companies register as a general partnership or limited partnership if it has a turnover of more than 700,000 Euro in two consecutive financial years or 1 million Euro in a single financial year. This obligation does not apply to members of the liberal professions, farmers and foresters.
Caution
In general, these rules also apply to entrepreneurs from EU Member States in Austria.
The company generally acquires legal personality when it is registered in the companies register. Registration in the companies register is not a substitute for obtaining a licence to trade.
Please note
The Federal Ministry of Justice provides an electronic submission system for many submissions to the companies register. The system can be used to submit simplified applications in the companies register procedure under section 11 of the Firmenbuchgesetz ( FBG), which do not have to be certified and can therefore be submitted by the companies themselves.
Although these are called 'applications' they are applications to make changes including changes to the business address, the business sector and the personal data of natural persons or Austrian or foreign legal entities, and also the registration or removal of shareholders in a private limited company, the capital contribution or the registration or removal of a member of the supervisory board.
Authentication with the citizen's card is required to use the companies register – general submission (→ BMJ).
Legal basis
Section 11 of the Firmenbuchgesetz (FBG)
- Federal Ministry of Justice
- USP Editorial Staff
