Austria (AT)
Overview of Austrian company data coverage, registers, and legal forms
Overview
Austria maintains a centralized commercial register system called the Firmenbuch, administered by the Austrian courts. It provides comprehensive information on all registered companies, partnerships, and other legal entities in the country.
Data Sources
Identifiers
Austrian companies are uniquely identified by their Firmenbuchnummer (FN), which is unique across all courts:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
register_number | FN number with check digit (lowercase) | 569240v |
Legal Forms
Corporations
| Legal Form | Full Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GmbH | Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung | Limited liability company |
| AG | Aktiengesellschaft | Stock corporation |
| SE | Societas Europaea | European company |
Partnerships
| Legal Form | Full Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| OG | Offene Gesellschaft | General partnership |
| KG | Kommanditgesellschaft | Limited partnership |
| GmbH & Co KG | - | Limited partnership with GmbH as general partner |
Other
| Legal Form | Full Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| e.U. | eingetragener Unternehmer | Registered sole proprietor |
| GesbR | Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts | Civil law partnership |
| Verein | - | Association |
| Genossenschaft | - | Cooperative |
Legal representative roles
Every person on an Austrian company report carries a Firmenbuch function code. The register publishes the role in German only, so each role is returned three ways:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
role.original | The register's own German text, verbatim |
role.englishTranslation | English rendering of that text |
role.normalized | Cross-jurisdiction role title, shared with every other jurisdiction we cover |
Filter on role.normalized when you need the same rule to work across
countries — an Austrian VORSTAND and a German Vorstand both normalize to
Executive Director. role.englishTranslation stays available for the
lifetime of the current major API version and can only be removed in a future
major version, so it is safe to build on in the meantime.
relationships.legalRepresentatives carries every person the Firmenbuch
lists against the company — not only its representatives. Supervisory board
members (AUFSICHTSRATSMITGLIED), insolvency office holders and shareholders
appear there too, each with its own role. Codes GF, GD, GL, GV, VM,
VR, VO and KP are the ones that denote management or representation
authority, so filter on the role rather than taking the whole list.
| Code | original (German) | englishTranslation | normalized |
|---|---|---|---|
AB | ABWICKLER/IN, LIQUIDATOR/IN | Liquidator | Liquidator |
AK | ALLEINAKTIONÄR/IN | Sole Shareholder | Owner |
AM | AUFSICHTSRATSMITGLIED | Supervisory Board Member | Supervisory Board Member |
AU | AUFSICHTSPERSON | Supervisory Person | Other |
AW | AUSGLEICHSVERWALTER/IN | Composition Administrator | Administrator |
BW | BESONDERE/R VERWALTER/IN | Special Administrator | Administrator |
EH | EHEMANN/EHEFRAU | Spouse | Other |
EV | GERICHTLICHE/R ERWACHSENENVERTRETER/IN | Court-Appointed Adult Representative | Representative |
EW | EINSTWEILIGE/R VERWALTER/IN | Interim Administrator | Administrator |
GD | GESCHÄFTSFÜHRENDE/R DIREKTOR/IN | Managing Director | Managing Director |
GF | GESCHÄFTSFÜHRER/IN (handelsrechtlich) | Managing Director | Managing Director |
GL | GESCHÄFTSLEITER/IN | General Manager | Managing Director |
GS | GESELLSCHAFTER/IN | Shareholder | Partner |
GV | GESETZLICHE/R VERTRETER/IN | Legal Representative | Representative |
HB | HAUPTBEVOLLMÄCHTIGTE/R | Chief Authorized Representative | Authorized Signatory |
IN | INHABER/IN | Owner | Owner |
IV | INLÄNDISCHE/R VERTRETER/IN | Domestic Representative | Representative |
IW | INSOLVENZVERWALTER/IN | Insolvency Administrator | Administrator |
KK | KAMMERKOMMISSÄR/IN | Chamber Commissioner | Other |
KO | KOMMANDITIST/IN | Limited Partner | Limited Partner |
KP | UNBESCHRÄNKT HAFTENDE/R GESELLSCHAFTER/IN | General Partner | General Partner |
MI | MITGLIEDER | Member | Other |
MS | MITTLERWEILIGE/R STELLVERTRETER/IN (lt. RAO) | Interim Deputy | Representative |
MW | MASSEVERWALTER/IN | Receiver | Receiver |
PA | PÄCHTER/IN | Lessee | Other |
PR | PROKURIST/IN | Authorized Signatory | Authorized Signatory |
RK | REGIERUNGSKOMMISSÄR/IN | Government Commissioner | Other |
RV | REVISIONSVERBAND | Audit Association | Auditor |
SA | SACHWALTER/IN (lt. ABGB) | Court-Appointed Guardian | Representative |
SR | SANIERUNGSVERWALTER/IN | Restructuring Administrator | Administrator |
SV | STÄNDIGE/R VERTRETER/IN | Permanent Representative | Representative |
SW | SACHWALTER/IN (nach AO, KO) | Insolvency Trustee | Administrator |
TR | TREUHÄNDER/IN | Trustee | Other |
VM | VORSTAND | Executive Board Member | Executive Director |
VN | VERTRETER/IN DES RUHENDEN NACHLASSES | Representative of Dormant Estate | Representative |
VO | VERTRETUNGSBEFUGTES ORGAN | Authorized Representative Body | Representative |
VR | VERWALTUNGSRATSMITGLIED | Administrative Board Member | Board Member |
VW | VORLÄUFIGE/R VERWALTER/IN | Provisional Administrator | Administrator |
ZW | ZWANGSVERWALTER/IN | Compulsory Administrator | Administrator |
Trade-licence roles (GISA)
A report sourced from GISA, the trade-licence register, carries one further role that has no Firmenbuch code:
original (German) | englishTranslation | normalized |
|---|---|---|
| Gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer | Managing Director (Trade Law) | Managing Director |
A gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer answers for the trade licence, not for
the company. It is a different office from the commercial-law managing
director a Firmenbuch GF entry denotes, so the English wording keeps the two
apart.
Coverage
- All 9 federal states (Bundesländer) covered
- All company types registered in the Firmenbuch
- Historical data available
For detailed API integration instructions, see the Firmenbuch API guide.
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