Private address in the Business Register

The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce KVK Business Register (Handelsregister) contains both business and private addresses. The business address is in principle always public. This is the place where a company conducts its business activities. The private address is where you live and this is not public. However, the private address can be the same as the business address: for instance, a baker who lives above the bakery, or a hairdresser who works from home. In those cases, these private addresses are visible under the caption business address.

Who has access to private addresses?

The private addresses of directors of legal personalities (for example, the director of a private limited company) have not been public since 2008. For sole proprietorships, general partnerships (vof), limited partnerships (cv), and partnerships (maatschap), the private addresses of the owner, partners, and associates have not been public since 1 January 2022. Only civil servants, lawyers, notaries, and court bailiffs can view the data, provided they are authorised to do so.

The private addresses of a business’s UBOs are also not public. Only employees of certain competent authorities can view this information.

What if my private address is also my business address?

Legally, the private address and the business address are 2 different addresses. But if your business is located at your home address, that often means the same front door. To the general public, there is no difference. You may find that inconvenient. The business address is normally public. It appears on the KVK extract from the Business Register, and is also provided through various KVK products, such as address files and the KVK Dataservice. Publishers of (digital) address guides, data brokers, and internet services such as Google (Maps), for example, also use this data. You can ask these companies to remove your data.

If you have a sole proprietorship, or if there is a threat or probable threat, you have the option to shield your visiting address.

Viewing private addresses for officials

Are you an official with an administrative body, a lawyer, a bailiff or a notary? You can request authorisation to view private addresses (in Dutch).

More information

Find more information on privacy, open data and the Business Register on our 'Actueel' page (in Dutch).