Europe • ISO DE
Verify Germany companies via API
Know Your Customer Limited verifies Germany companies live from the Register portal, returning company data, controlling parties, shareholders and beneficial owners, and registry documents, with AML screening and ongoing monitoring. Free sandbox available.
What the API returns for Germany
When you create a KYB case for a Germany company, Know Your Customer Limited retrieves data live from the Register portal. A single integration returns the company record, the controlling parties and individuals, the shareholders and beneficial owners, and the registry documents, with AML screening on the entity and its associated individuals built into the same case.
Germany data and document availability
What the API makes available for Germany companies:
| Category | Available |
|---|---|
| Company data | Entity Name, Entity Type, Registration Number, Entity Status, Address, Creation Date, Other Names, Total Share Capital |
| Controlling entities & individuals | Name, Address, Birth Date (if individual), Registration Number (if entity), Role |
| Shareholders & beneficial owners | Name, Address, Share count, Birth Date (if individual), Registration Number (if entity), Role |
| Documents | Retrieved by default: Official Registry Extract, List of Shareholders, Memorandum & Articles of Association, Registration Certificate, Articles of Association Available on demand: Application, List of supervisory board members, List of entrepreneurs, Report/decision/record, Further document/file, Notification after registration, Notification after receipt |
AML, sanctions, and PEP screening on the entity and its associated individuals, and ongoing live monitoring with change alerts, are available for Germany as part of the same case.
How to verify a Germany company via API
The following example shows the complete flow: authenticate, search the Germany registry, create a KYB case, and retrieve company data and the ownership org-chart. All calls go to the sandbox base URL for testing.
The sandbox at https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev is free. Request access to get your client credentials.
# 1. Authenticate (OAuth2 client credentials)
curl -X POST https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/connect/token \
-d "grant_type=client_credentials" \
-d "client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID" \
-d "client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" \
-d "scope=PublicApi"
# 2. Search the Germany registry
curl -X POST https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies/search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name":"Deutsche Bank AG","codeiso31662":"DE"}'
# 3. Create a KYB case
curl -X POST https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"rawname":"Deutsche Bank AG","codeiso31662":"DE"}'
# 4. Retrieve company data and status
curl https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies/CASE_ID \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
# 5. Get the beneficial ownership org-chart
curl https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev/v2/Companies/CASE_ID/org-chart \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"
Replace YOUR_CLIENT_ID and YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET with your sandbox credentials, and CASE_ID with the caseCommonId returned in step 3.
Frequently asked questions about the Germany KYB API
What company data can I verify in Germany?
For a Germany company, the API returns the company record read live from the Register portal: the entity name, type, status, registration number, address, and registration date, along with the controlling parties, the shareholders and beneficial owners, and the available registry documents. See the table above for the full Germany availability.
Does the API return beneficial ownership (UBO) data for Germany companies?
The API resolves the controlling parties, shareholders, and beneficial owners for Germany companies and exposes them as a recursive ownership org-chart (GET /v2/Companies/{caseCommonId}/org-chart), tracing control through holding companies to the individual beneficial owners. The depth available depends on what the Register portal discloses. See the UBO API.
Can I retrieve official registry documents for Germany companies?
Yes. The default document set for Germany includes Official Registry Extract, List of Shareholders, Memorandum & Articles of Association, Registration Certificate, Articles of Association, retrieved by default, with additional documents available on demand (Application, List of supervisory board members, List of entrepreneurs, Report/decision/record, Further document/file, Notification after registration, and more). List and download them with the documents endpoint (GET /v2/Companies/{caseCommonId}/documents).
Is there a free sandbox for testing Germany company verification?
Yes. The Know Your Customer sandbox at https://api.knowyourcustomer.dev is a free, high-fidelity test environment. Request free sandbox access to start testing.
The Know Your Customer Limited API covers 147 jurisdictions worldwide, including Germany. One integration, one set of credentials, one response schema across all markets. Browse all covered jurisdictions.
Related coverage: United Kingdom • Aaland Islands • Albania • Austria • Belarus • Belgium.
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