Trade register

What it means

The trade register is the public list of trade authorisations held by individuals and companies. It shows the activities, when the authorisation arose and any suspension or termination.

It differs from the commercial register in content: the commercial register records the company and its bodies, the trade register what it may actually do.

The register confirms that a partner may carry on an activity, not that it actually does or that it meets its obligations. It will not show whether the company pays taxes, has staff or a real operation. Other sources cover that, such as the tax reliability index or lists of debtors, and a picture of the partner emerges only by combining them.

How it works in practice

In a supplier check it is the fast test: does the partner hold the authorisation for what it is invoicing, and since when. For a sole trader it is the main public source.

Changes are notified electronically and feed into the registered scope in the commercial register. When expanding, notify several related free trades at once.

Banks opening an account for a sole trader, leasing companies and public contracting authorities all ask for a trade register extract. It can be obtained electronically; some institutions accept an informative extract, others want a certified one. When onboarding a new client we file it together with the commercial register extract.

What to watch out for

A suspended trade means the partner was not entitled to operate in that period. An invoice from such a period is an audit problem for both sides, not only for the supplier.

The register lags behind reality when a trader fails to notify a change: a new place of business, opening or closing an establishment, a new responsible representative. An unreported change is an offence that can bring a fine at a trade office inspection. Official letters also keep going to the old address, which leads to missed deadlines.