What you need to know about the details in the Dutch Business Register

The Business Register contains details of businesses and organisations, such as the business name, contact details, and information about officials. Every business and organisation is assigned a unique KVK number.

The Business Register also contains details of businesses that have stopped. This is useful, for example, if you want to know who is responsible for repaying past debts.

Which details in the Business Register are open to the public?

Most details relating to businesses and organisations can be seen by the public. This means that anyone can check that a business or organisation exists, who is responsible for it, and where it is located.

Public details include:

• The name, trade name, registered name (statutaire naam), and the ‘also known as' name.
• KVK number.
• Dates, including the start date, date of the deed of incorporation, and date of registration.
• Visiting address, postal address, email address, and website address.
• The establishment number, postal and visiting address of an establishment, its trade name, its start date, and, if applicable, the closure of an establishment.
• Number of persons working in each establishment.
• Business activities.
• Legal structure and registered office (statutaire zetel).
• Issued and paid-in capital.
• The name and date of birth of a sole shareholder and the date on which that person became the sole shareholder.
• The name, date of birth, title, authorisation, and date of appointment of an official or authorised representative.
• The name and function of a trustee in the event of bankruptcy.
• The name and address of the custodian of books and documents.

Which details in the Business Register are not open to the public?

The Business Register also contains details of businesses, organisations, and officials that are not publicly available.

Details that are not public:

• The telephone number of an official, business, organisation, or establishment.
• A citizen service number (BSN).
• The gender, country of birth, and place of birth of officials.
• Home addresses of officials.
• Shielded visiting addresses.

Which public details can be hidden?

Do you have an eenmanszaak (sole proprietorship)? Then you can have the visiting address removed from the Business Register. This is also known as 'shielding'. Do you have a different legal structure than an eenmanszaak? In that case, you can only shield the visiting address if there is a threat.

Some businesses and organisations use public details for advertising and marketing. This can be annoying. Find out how to prevent unwanted mail or emails, and sales over the phone or at the door.

Who can view public details?

Anyone can search for businesses and organisations in the Business Register. This can be done by name, address, or KVK number. This information is free.

If you want a document with more information, such as a KVK Business Register Extract or financial statements, this costs money. Such a document sets out, for example, who the officials are or how much profit has been made.

Who can view details that are not public?

Details that are not public are only available to people who have permission to view them. Think of lawyers, civil-law notaries, or bailiffs. They will only receive this authorisation from KVK if they can prove that they need the data to carry out their statutory duties.

The agreements on this are explained in the Business Register Act (Handelsregisterwet). Employees of, for example, the police or the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service FIOD (which investigates tax fraud) also have access if they are investigating suspicious cases.