Table of Contents
Data Sources
Austria uses three data sources, each covering a distinct entity type. Data always comes from a single source per entity - there is no cross-registry merging.Commercial companies
- Firmenbuch (Austrian Companies Register). Operated by the Federal Ministry of Justice via the Justiz Online platform. The Firmenbuch has been the central business register since 1991, replacing the former Handelsregister. It is the primary source for all entities registered with the commercial courts: GmbH, AG, KG, OG, cooperatives, foundations, and registered sole proprietors (e.U.). The Firmenbuch contains registration details, legal form, address, share capital, business purpose, key persons (officers, prokuristen, supervisory board), and filed documents (financial statements, articles of association, annual reports).
The Firmenbuch is accessed via official interfaces operated by the Austrian judiciary, providing company profile data, available documents, document content, and company name searches.
Sole proprietorships
- GISA (Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria). Austria’s trade information system, operated by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy (BMAW). GISA is the primary source for sole proprietorships (Einzelunternehmen), covering trade rights (Gewerbe), business locations, and trade managers. Each trade licence has a unique GISA-Zahl identifier.
GISA provides sole proprietorship data including the owner, trade rights with classification codes, business locations, and appointed trade managers. It does not provide financial statements or historical documents - only a digitally signed trade licence excerpt.
Associations (non-profits)
- Vereinsregister (ZVR - Zentrales Vereinsregister). The Central Association Register, operated by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI). The Vereinsregister is the primary source for registered associations (Vereine), which are a common legal form in Austria for non-profits, clubs, and civic organizations. It provides the association name, officers with their roles, mailing address, and supervising authority.
The Vereinsregister provides association profiles and a digitally signed register extract (Vereinsregisterauszug). It does not provide financial statements or other documents.
Supplementary sources
- VIES (VAT Information Exchange System). The EU-wide VAT validation service is used exclusively during VAT number searches to resolve a VAT number to a company name, which is then used to search the Firmenbuch. VIES is not a data source for company profile data.
Company Identifiers
Query Identifiers
| Company Type | Source | Format | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial companies | Firmenbuch | 6 digits + 1 letter (FNR) | 184018s | Firmenbuchnummer (FN), spaces are stripped |
| Sole proprietorships | GISA | 5–10 digits | 10118573 | GISA-Zahl (trade licence number) |
| Associations | Vereinsregister | 1–10 digits | 432857691 | ZVR number (Vereinsregisternummer) |
Identifiers in API Response
| Identifier Type | Format | Example | Found In |
|---|---|---|---|
firmenbuchnummer | 6 digits + letter | 184018s | Firmenbuch companies |
gisaZahl | 5–10 digits | 10118573 | GISA trade licences |
zvrNumber | 1–10 digits | 432857691 | Vereinsregister associations |
VAT | ATU + 8 digits | ATU63496924 | VAT-registered companies (when available) |
Search Capabilities
| Search Type | Pattern | Example | Source | Match Type | Expected Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By Firmenbuchnummer | 6 digits + letter | 184018s | Firmenbuch | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
| By GISA-Zahl | 5–10 digits | 10118573 | GISA | Exact | Single sole proprietorship (1 result) |
| By ZVR Number | 1–10 digits | 432857691 | Vereinsregister | Exact | Single association (1 result) |
| By VAT Number | ATU + 8 digits | ATU63496924 | VIES → Firmenbuch | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
| By VAT (no prefix) | U + 8 digits | U63496924 | VIES → Firmenbuch | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
| By Name | Text string | "Staatsoper GmbH" | All three | Fuzzy | Multiple results (up to 10) |
Name searches fan out to all three sources in parallel, returning aggregated results from the Firmenbuch, GISA, and Vereinsregister.
VAT Search Flow: VAT searches first validate the number via VIES to retrieve the official company name, then search the Firmenbuch by that name. This two-step process means VAT search results depend on the company name registered with VIES matching the Firmenbuch entry.
Quirks & Gotchas
| Quirk | Details |
|---|---|
| Three distinct sources | Identifier format determines which source is queried. A Firmenbuchnummer (digits + letter) routes to Firmenbuch, a GISA-Zahl (5–10 digits) routes to GISA, and a ZVR number (1–10 digits) routes to the Vereinsregister. Each source covers a distinct entity type with no overlap or fallback. |
| GISA indexes by person | GISA data is organised around the trade holder (natural person). A search returns trade licences associated with a person. The “company name” for a sole proprietor is the person’s full name. |
| Vereinsregister name search limitation | Name searches against the Vereinsregister only return a result when there is exactly one matching association. Ambiguous queries return no results. Use the ZVR number for reliable lookups. |
| AI-extracted company data | Company profile data from the Firmenbuch (status, legal form, legal representatives, activity codes) is AI-extracted from registry data. The isAIInferred flag is set on activity codes. |
| FNR formatting | Firmenbuchnummer may contain spaces in the registry format (e.g., 184018 s). These are always stripped to 184018s in API responses. |
| No shareholder data | The Firmenbuch does not expose ownership/shareholder information in its structured data. This data may exist in filed documents (e.g., Gesellschafterliste) but is not available as structured data. |
| No UBO data | Ultimate beneficial owner information is not available through any of the three sources. Austria maintains a separate UBO register (Wirtschaftliche Eigentumer Register) not currently integrated. |
| No official activity codes | The Firmenbuch does not store NACE or national activity codes. Activity information is AI-inferred from the business purpose text. GISA provides trade classification codes (Gewerbe-Schluessel) but these are not NACE codes. |
| Document format variety | Firmenbuch documents can be in various formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, TXT, XML, HTML. XML financial statements (XBRL) are common for recent filings. |
| Capital in EUR | Share capital is extracted from the Firmenbuch registry data. Always expressed in EUR. |
| Financial statements | Only available from the Firmenbuch. GISA and Vereinsregister do not provide financial documents. Period dates use the reporting date as the end date. |
| Register extract | The Firmenbuchauszug is retrieved from the official register and may take longer (up to 10 minutes). The GISA-Auszug and Vereinsregisterauszug are generally faster. |
| FlexKapG (new since 2024) | Austria introduced the Flexible Kapitalgesellschaft (FlexKapG/FlexCo) as a new legal form on January 1, 2024. It may appear in the Firmenbuch but does not yet have an ISO 20275 ELF code. |
| Deleted companies in search | The Firmenbuch search filters out deleted companies. Only active/current companies appear in search results. |
Mappings
Company Status
Firmenbuch
Company status is AI-inferred from the Firmenbuch registry data.| Local Status | English | Standardized Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aktiv | Active | Active | Company is operating normally |
| In Liquidation | In Liquidation | Under Insolvency Proceeding | Company is undergoing liquidation |
| Aufgeloest | Dissolved | Closed | Company has been dissolved |
| Konkurs | Bankruptcy | Closed | Company is in bankruptcy proceedings |
| Geloescht | Deleted | Closed | Company has been removed from registry |
GISA
Status is determined from the trade licence data (trade right dates and dormancy flag).| Local Status | English | Standardized Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aktiv | Active | Active | Trade licence is active |
| Ruhend | Dormant | Inactive | Trade licence is temporarily dormant |
| Beendet | Ended | Closed | Trade licence has been terminated |
Vereinsregister
| Local Status | English | Standardized Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aktiv | Active | Active | Only active associations appear in the register |
Legal Forms
Austria uses a variety of legal forms. Legal form mapping for Firmenbuch entities is AI-enriched - the legal form is AI-inferred from registry data and mapped to standardized categories and ISO 20275 codes. GISA entities are mapped deterministically based on the owner type. Vereinsregister entities are always mapped to “Verein”.Because legal form standardization and ISO 20275 assignment are AI-enriched for Firmenbuch entities, exact mappings may evolve. The local Austrian legal form name is always preserved verbatim.
Key Business Forms
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung | GmbH | Limited Liability Company | Limited Liability Company | AXSB |
| Aktiengesellschaft | AG | Joint-Stock Company | Corporation | EQOV |
| Kommanditgesellschaft | KG | Limited Partnership | Partnership | ONF1 |
| Offene Gesellschaft | OG | General Partnership | Partnership | JTAV |
Sole Proprietorships
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Einzelunternehmer | e.U. | Sole Proprietor | Sole Proprietorship | ECWU | Firmenbuch |
| Einzelkaufmann | - | Sole Trader | Sole Proprietorship | G3R6 | Firmenbuch |
| Einzelunternehmen | - | Sole Proprietorship | Sole Proprietorship | - | GISA |
GISA entities are always mapped to “Einzelunternehmen” (Sole Proprietorship). The legal name is the trade holder’s personal name.
Cooperatives
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erwerbs- und Wirtschaftsgenossenschaft | - | Trade and Commercial Cooperative | Cooperative | NIJH |
| Genossenschaft | Gen | Cooperative | Cooperative | 8XDW |
Foundations & Non-Profits
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privatstiftung | PSt | Private Foundation | Other | 5WWO | Firmenbuch |
| Gemeinnutzige Stiftung | - | Charitable Foundation | Nonprofit Organization | E9OX | Firmenbuch |
| Verein | - | Registered Association | Nonprofit Organization | DX6Z | Vereinsregister |
Public Law & Financial Institutions
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Korperschaft offentlichen Rechts | - | Public Law Corporation | Government-Owned Entity | JJYT |
| Sparkasse | - | Savings Bank | Other | JQOI |
| Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit | - | Mutual Insurance Association | Other | CAQ1 |
European Forms
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europaische Gesellschaft (SE) | SE | European Company (SE) | Corporation | O65B |
| Europaische Genossenschaft (SCE) | SCE | European Cooperative Society | Cooperative | 69H1 |
| Europaische wirtschaftliche Interessenvereinigung | EWIV | European Economic Interest Grouping | Other | DM88 |
Historical & Special Forms
| Local Name | Abbr. | English Translation | Standardized | ISO 20275 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offene Handelsgesellschaft | OHG | General Commercial Partnership | Partnership | GVPD |
| Offene Erwerbsgesellschaft | OEG | General Trade Partnership | Partnership | JUHG |
| Kommandit-Erwerbsgesellschaft | KEG | Limited Trade Partnership | Partnership | AAL7 |
| Gesellschaft des burgerlichen Rechts | GesbR | Civil Law Partnership | Partnership | UI81 |
| stille Gesellschaft | stG | Silent Partnership | Partnership | NNLI |
| Sonstiger Rechtstrager | - | Other Legal Entity | Other | 1NOX |
The OHG (Offene Handelsgesellschaft) and OEG (Offene Erwerbsgesellschaft) are historical legal forms that were replaced by the OG (Offene Gesellschaft) under the 2007 Austrian company law reform (UGB). Existing OHG/OEG entities may still appear in the Firmenbuch. The GmbH & Co KG is not a separate legal form in the ELF code list - it is a Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) where the general partner is a GmbH.
Legal Representatives
Legal representatives are extracted from three sources, each with its own role vocabulary.Firmenbuch Roles
Legal representatives are extracted from the Firmenbuch registry data. The classification of roles as legal representative vs. other key person is AI-enriched.Executive & Management Roles
Executive & Management Roles
| German Role | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Geschaftsfuhrer/in | Managing Director |
| Geschaftsfuhrer/in (handelsrechtlich) | Managing Director (commercial law) |
| Vorstandsmitglied | Board Member |
| Vorstandsvorsitzender | Chairman of the Board |
| Einzelvertretungsbefugtes Vorstandsmitglied | Board Member with Sole Representation |
| Selbstandiger Vertreter | Independent Representative |
Prokura (Authorized Signatory) Roles
Prokura (Authorized Signatory) Roles
Partner Roles
Partner Roles
| German Role | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Personlich haftender Gesellschafter | Personally Liable Partner (General Partner) |
| Komplementar | General Partner |
| Kommanditist | Limited Partner |
| Gesellschafter | Partner / Shareholder |
Special & Administrative Roles
Special & Administrative Roles
| German Role | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Liquidator | Liquidator |
| Masseverwalter | Insolvency Administrator |
| Stiftungsvorstand | Foundation Board Member |
| Obmann / Obfrau | Chairman / Chairwoman (Association) |
| Stellvertretender Obmann | Deputy Chairman (Association) |
The classification of each role as legal representative or other key person is AI-enriched and depends on the company’s legal form context. For example, a Prokurist is typically classified as a legal representative, while a Kommanditist is classified as an other key person. The local German role name is always preserved from the Firmenbuch. Both individuals and corporate entities can hold roles.
GISA Roles
| German Role | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| Gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer | Trade Law Manager | Managing Director |
GISA only exposes one role type: the appointed trade manager (Gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer). The trade holder (Inhaber) is represented as the company entity itself, not as a legal representative.
Vereinsregister Roles
| German Role | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| Präsident | President | President |
| Vizepräsident | Vice President | Vice President |
| Obmann | Chairman | Chairman |
| Obfrau | Chairwoman | Chairman |
| Obmann-Stellvertreter | Deputy Chairman | Vice President |
| Obfrau-Stellvertreterin | Deputy Chairwoman | Vice President |
| Schriftführer | Secretary | Secretary |
| Kassier | Treasurer | Treasurer |
| Generalsekretär | Secretary General | Secretary |
| Generalsekretär-Stv. | Deputy Secretary General | Secretary |
Both individuals and corporate entities (juridical persons) can serve as association officers in the Vereinsregister.
Other Key Persons
Supervisory & Control Roles (Firmenbuch)
Supervisory & Control Roles (Firmenbuch)
| German Role | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender | Chairman of Supervisory Board |
| Stellvertreter des Vorsitzenden | Deputy Chairman of Supervisory Board |
| Aufsichtsratsmitglied | Supervisory Board Member |
| Abschlussprufer | Auditor |
Shareholders
Shareholder data is not available from any of the three sources. The Firmenbuch provides information about company officers rather than ownership structures.For GmbH companies, shareholder information may appear in filed documents (e.g., Gesellschafterliste or articles of association). However, this data is not available as a structured data point. Austria maintains a separate Economic Owners Register (Wirtschaftliche Eigentumer Register / WiEReG) that is not currently integrated.
Activity Code Mapping
Austria does not use a formal national industry classification code in the Firmenbuch. Instead, activity information is derived from the business purpose text stored in the registry.| Classification | Source | Example | AI Inferred? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NACE | Derived from business purpose by AI | 9004 | Yes |
| ISIC | Derived from NACE by AI | 9000 | Yes |
AI Enrichment: Both NACE and ISIC codes are AI-inferred from the business purpose text in the Firmenbuch. Every activity item includes an
isAIInferred flag set to true. There is no official Austrian activity code in the Firmenbuch data. GISA provides trade classification codes (Gewerbe-Schluessel) but these are used as trade descriptions, not mapped to NACE.Data Availability
Data Availability Matrix
| Data Type | Firmenbuch | GISA | Vereinsregister |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Profile | ✅ Async | ✅ Async | ✅ Async |
| Legal Representatives | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Shareholders | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Ultimate Beneficial Owners | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Establishments | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Activity Codes | ⚠️ AI-inferred | ❌ | ❌ |
Documents by Source
Firmenbuch
| Document Type | API Category | Format | SKU | Price | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firmenbuchauszug | tradeRegisterExtract | AUT_REGISTER_EXTRACT | EUR 7.00 | ✅ Always available | Official trade register extract | |
| Jahresabschluss | financialStatements[] | PDF/XML | AUT_FINANCIAL_STATEMENTS | EUR 2.50 | ✅ When filed | Annual financial statements |
| Bestatigungsvermerk | financialStatements[] | PDF/XML | AUT_FINANCIAL_STATEMENTS | EUR 2.50 | ✅ When filed | Auditor’s confirmation report |
| Lagebericht | otherDocuments[] | PDF/XML | AUT_OTHER_DOCUMENTS | EUR 2.50 | ✅ When filed | Management report |
| Sonstiges Dokument | otherDocuments[] | PDF/various | AUT_OTHER_DOCUMENTS | EUR 2.50 | ✅ When filed | Articles of association, decisions, etc. |
GISA
| Document Type | API Category | Format | SKU | Price | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GISA-Auszug | tradeRegisterExtract | AUT_GISA_EXCERPT | EUR 0.50 | ✅ Always available | Digitally signed trade licence excerpt |
Vereinsregister
| Document Type | API Category | Format | SKU | Price | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vereinsregisterauszug | tradeRegisterExtract | AUT_ASSOCIATION_REGISTER_EXTRACT | EUR 0.50 | ✅ Always available | Official register extract with digital signature (Amtssignatur) |
Document Formats: Most Firmenbuch documents are available in PDF format. Recent financial filings (from approximately 2023 onward) are often available in both PDF and XML (XBRL) format. GISA and Vereinsregister documents are always PDF.
Example API Responses
All examples use placeholder data. Query:POST /company with { "id": "<id>", "countryCode": "AT", "dataPoints": ["companyProfile"] }
Active GmbH (Source: Firmenbuch)
Active GmbH (Source: Firmenbuch)
Active Aktiengesellschaft (AG)
Active Aktiengesellschaft (AG)
Sole Proprietorship (Source: GISA)
Sole Proprietorship (Source: GISA)
legalName is the trade holder’s personal name. The activityDescription contains the trade right description (Wortlaut). No birth dates or capital information are provided.Association (Source: Vereinsregister)
Association (Source: Vereinsregister)
Closed GmbH (Dissolved)
Closed GmbH (Dissolved)
active: false and a local status indicating the reason (Aufgeloest = Dissolved, Konkurs = Bankruptcy, Geloescht = Deleted from register).Available Documents (company example)
Available Documents (company example)
Documents are returned when
"dataPoints": ["availableDocuments"] is requested.| API Category | Document | Format | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
tradeRegisterExtract | Firmenbuchauszug | Firmenbuch | Always available (FNR entities) | |
tradeRegisterExtract | GISA-Auszug | GISA | Always available (GISA-Zahl entities) | |
tradeRegisterExtract | Vereinsregisterauszug | Vereinsregister | Always available (ZVR entities) | |
financialStatements[] | Jahresabschluss | PDF/XML | Firmenbuch | When filed, with period.endDate |
financialStatements[] | Bestatigungsvermerk | PDF/XML | Firmenbuch | When filed |
otherDocuments[] | Lagebericht | PDF/XML | Firmenbuch | When filed |
otherDocuments[] | Sonstiges Dokument | PDF/various | Firmenbuch | Articles, decisions, etc. |