Commercial Register

The Commercial Register is a public register listing registered companies along with their company name, registered office, legal form, management and registration number, and anyone can view it online free of charge. For applicants, it is one of the simplest tools for checking whether a production company or agency actually exists.

Who is registered

Companies required to register include corporations such as GmbH and UG, commercial partnerships such as OHG and KG, as well as merchants operating a commercially organized business. Small business operators, freelancers and civil-law partnerships are generally not registered unless they choose to register voluntarily. A missing entry is therefore not proof of fraud, but it does require other ways of checking.

What you can find in the register

• exact company name and legal form
• registered office and business address
• managing directors or authorized representatives
• purpose of the company
• date of formation, changes, and, where applicable, dissolution or insolvency

The register can be accessed through the joint register portal of the German federal states. Search by company name or registration number, which must appear in the legal notice of a company website.

How to use the register when someone contacts you

Compare the name, address and management listed in the register with the information in the legal notice, email signature and contract. If they match and the company’s stated purpose is consistent with photo or film production, that is a good sign. Different names, a company founded only a few weeks ago making big promises, or a business address belonging to a mail-forwarding service are reasons to ask questions.

A register entry says nothing about how seriously the company treats performers. It only confirms that the company exists and who is responsible for it. This is important if fees, deletion or rights later have to be enforced.

If there is no entry

For small productions without a register entry, other indications can help: a complete legal notice with an address where legal documents can be served, a VAT identification number, verifiable references and reviews. Anyone unwilling to provide their name and address is ruled out.

Other public sources

In addition to the Commercial Register, there is the Company Register, where many companies publish their annual financial statements, as well as the insolvency notices issued by the German federal states. Checking these sources can show whether a company is economically active or already in difficulty. Comparable registers exist in most EU countries for foreign productions. It is also worth searching for the company name together with terms such as experiences or warning to find reports from other performers.

Check before making first contact

• Check every production before handing over identification data, pictures or signatures.
• Make sure that the contracting party is named in the contract exactly as it is in the register.
• Be suspicious of inquiries that demand money for placement or payment in advance for a casting, no matter how good the entry looks.

More warning signs can be found under fake casting and in the article How to recognize dubious offers.