Handelsregister
Trade Register
The Trade Register is the official public register in which enterprises and legal entities in the Netherlands are required to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce.
The Trade Register contains information on all enterprises active in the Netherlands, including their name, legal form, registered address, directors and shareholders. It is maintained by the Chamber of Commerce and is publicly accessible via an online extract.
Registration in the Trade Register is a statutory requirement and confers legal personality on companies. Without such registration, an enterprise cannot perform legally valid acts, and directors risk personal liability.
In practice, the Trade Register is consulted in connection with due diligence, contracts and financings to verify an enterprise’s identity and authority to represent it.
“Before the loan was granted, the bank examined the extract from the Trade Register to confirm the authority of the director.”
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