A company register is a register of business organizations such as
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
in the jurisdiction they operate under.
Registration is normally mandated by the government of that jurisdiction.
A company register serves a purpose of protection, accountability and control. In contrast many countries also operate a
statistical business register which has a different purpose and plays a central part in a system of official economic statistics at a
national statistics office.
Company registers by country
Each country's company register has different registrar types, contents, purpose, and public availability. They typically contain the name, the owners and key personal of an organisation as well as regular updates as mandated by the government of that jurisdiction, to provide information to stakeholders and the general public. Information has to be maintained by the organization that is registered through regular filings which are typically done when changes occur and at least annually.
Openness
According to ratings published in 2016 by the website
OpenCorporates,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
are the leaders with regard to openness of information available in a company's register.
Registries/registrars in these countries are named, correspondingly,
Central Business Register and
Companies House
Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...
.
See also
*
List of official business registers
*
Corporate Registers Forum
References
{{Authority control
Corporate law
Public records