2025 Guide to the Luxembourg Business Register (RCS & RBE)
Luxembourg’s business register has no shortage of information. But accessing reliable, up-to-date data quickly is a different story.
The Luxembourg Business Register (LBR) manages two registries: the Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) provides basic company information, and the Registre des Bénéficiaires Effectifs (RBE) provides information on beneficial owners.
While there has been much progress over the years, with the introduction of unique identifiers for individuals connected with entities and address verification, the registries remain manual, neither providing API access nor structured data.
This is why many firms turn to live aggregation services like Kyckr, which connects you to over 300+ official company registers worldwide, including Luxembourg’s.
This guide breaks down what’s in the Luxembourg registers, how to access them, and what blind spots you’ll still need to cover in your due diligence.
The Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS)
The RCS is the official database for all legal entities operating in Luxembourg. It contains a wide range of information, from commercial companies like SARLs and SAs to non-profit associations and cooperatives.
Basic searches and downloading general company information from the RCS are free of charge. However, fees apply for specialised services.
What Data is Available?
The RCS offers free foundational data points:
Company’s legal name
Unique RCS registration number
Legal form
Date of incorporation
Registered address
Current legal status (e.g., active, in liquidation, or dissolved).
This register also provides access to key documents, such as the company’s articles of association and information on legal representatives and directors. Most are available for free once you’ve created an account and signed up, but certified company documents are available for a fee.
How Has the RCS Changed?
The RCS introduced new filing formalities on March 31, 202, to enhance the transparency and accuracy of information within the RCS.
National Identification Number Requirement: All natural persons associated with registered entities must provide a Luxembourg national identification number (CNS number). It makes it easier to identify and track individuals.
New Filing Category: The LBR introduced a new filing category, ‘Update of the Luxembourg national identification of natural persons registered with the RCS’. It makes it easier to identify and update the missing information.
Transitional Period and Consequences: If the natural persons involved in the legal entity haven’t submitted their national identification numbers within the specified timeframe, they will be blocked from using the filing system.
Address Verification: All submitted Luxembourg addresses will be automatically cross-referenced against the National Register of Towns and Streets, ensuring only the most up-to-date and accurate address records are kept.
The Registre des Bénéficiaires Effectifs (RBE)
The RBE is a central registry for information on beneficial owners (UBOs).
What Information is Available?
It holds the following information:
Names and surnames of beneficial owners.
Their date of birth.
Nationality.
Residence.
Shareholding percentage.
Degree of control: for example, voting rights.
Remember: Sensitive information, such as the UBO's full private or professional address and their national/foreign identification number, is not accessible to professionals.
Who Can Access It?
Only certain “authorised persons” with a “legitimate interest” can access the Register of Beneficial Owners, following the 2022 ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
National Authorities: These entities have full, unrestricted access to all data in the RBE for their work.
AML/CFT Professionals: Access is granted via a secure electronic platform and requires a Luxtrust certificate and a signed agreement with the LBR. Every consultation is logged and retained for five years.
Persons with a Legitimate Interest: Includes professional journalists and non-profit organisations whose purpose is to fight money laundering.
What Companies Must Register in Luxembourg?
All newly incorporated companies, except for temporary commercial companies and joint ventures, have to register with RCS.
Natural Persons Acting as Traders: Individuals running businesses with unlimited personal liability and minimal disclosure requirements.
Sociétés Anonymes (SAs): Corporations with limited shareholder liability, public trading potential, and extensive disclosure.
Sociétés à Responsabilité Limitée (SARLs): Private companies with limited liability, moderate disclosure, and restricted trading.
Commercial Companies: Entities engaging in trade, with varying liability, governance, and disclosure based on structure.
Economic Interest Groups (EIGs): Collaborative entities with shared liability, moderate disclosure, and collective management.
European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs): EU-regulated versions of EIGs, focusing on cross-border collaboration.
Subsidiaries: Entities in Luxembourg owned by other companies are subject to local laws with liability limited to parent investment.
Civil Companies (Sociétés civiles): Non-commercial entities with unlimited partner liability and minimal governance.
Non-Profit Associations (ASBLs): Organisations promoting causes with limited liability, moderate disclosure, and specific governance.
Other legal entities must register too:
Agricultural associations
EIGs and EEIGs incorporated under the law of another State
State- and Municipal-run public-sector enterprises
Mutual insurance associations
Special limited partnerships
Mutual investment funds.
How to Conduct a RESA Search
The RCS stores information on the Recueil électronique des sociétés et associations (RESA) platform. To access it, follow these steps:
1. Visit the Official Website
Go to the Luxembourg Business Register's website, which hosts the RESA platform. The direct link is found here.
2. Search for a Specific Company
Search for a company by name or RCS number.
3. View Findings
You will be presented with basic information: trade name, registered office, legal form, and registration date. You will also see a list of submitted filings.
4. Log In to Download Documents
If you want to download company filings, you must create an account to view the company filings and obtain a ‘luxtrust’ or eIDAS certificate.
5. View Documents
Click on the relevant publication or document link to view it. RESA provides PDF documents which you can download or print.
What Company Documents Are Available?
The Trade Registry Extract: Offers a good overview of a company’s management structure, registration details and legal form. Available in French and German (as of 2024).
Articles of Association: Detail a company’s founding rules — its name, purpose, share capital and governance structure. Available in French and German too.
Financial Statements and Annual Accounts: Show a company’s financial health. You’ll find balance sheets, income statements, and cash flows. Available in French and German as well.
Limitations of the Luxembourg Business Register
Despite the regulatory framework designed to ensure data quality, financial crime professionals face several significant limitations when using the registers for complex due diligence.
1. Threshold Exploitation
The 25% threshold used to define beneficial ownership is a well-known vulnerability. While a standard metric in global AML frameworks, this threshold can be exploited by structuring ownership just below the reporting level to obscure the true controlling party.
2. Pseudo Beneficial Ownership
Another major limitation is the "senior managing official" fallback. In situations where no natural person can be identified using the ownership threshold, Luxembourg law permits the listing of the senior manager as the UBO. This substitution can be highly problematic, as it legally satisfies the filing requirement while concealing the identity of the true economic or controlling party.
3. Overseas Entities
The CSSF has acknowledged that a key challenge is that many UBOs of Luxembourg entities are not based in the country. The use of complex legal entity structures, while sometimes legitimate, can trigger a higher ML/TF risk due to the inherent difficulty in tracing the full ownership chain.
4. No API Access
The LBR is a comparably antiquated register; only (very) basic information is available in machine-readable text. Generally, it supports a manual, web-based search and document download. In short, there is no available API for data retrieval.
5. Stale Data
Even after the registrar deletes an entity’s file, the information is retained for 20 years, leading to the retention of (potentially) inaccurate data.
Remember: A robust KYB program must treat the registers as a mandatory starting point, not a final destination, by cross-referencing information with other sources, private databases, and sanctions lists to build a more complete and reliable risk profile.
Access Structured Luxembourg KYB Data Instantly
Luxembourg’s RCS and RBE are essential resources for anyone conducting KYC, KYB, or financial crime investigations. But they also come with clear limitations, from threshold manipulation to patchy access and the lack of APIs.
In practice, that means these registers are a mandatory starting point, not the finish line. For compliance teams under pressure to move faster and reduce false positives, relying on static, manual searches can only go so far.
That’s where solutions like Kyckr help: by giving you real-time access to 300+ official company registers worldwide, including Luxembourg’s, and delivering registry data directly into your workflows. The result? Faster onboarding, stronger due diligence, and fewer blind spots.
Book a demo to find out more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Luxembourg business register free?
Yes, basic searches on the RCS are free of charge. You can view a company’s legal name, registration number, legal form, incorporation date, address, and current legal status. Downloading official documents (e.g., articles of association, annual accounts) usually comes with a fee.
What’s the difference between the RCS and the RBE?
The RCS (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés) is the primary register of companies and other legal entities in Luxembourg. The RBE (Registre des Bénéficiaires Effectifs) is dedicated to recording beneficial ownership information.
Who can access the Luxembourg RBE?
Access is restricted. National authorities and AML/CFT professionals have full access via secure login (Luxtrust certificate required). Certain third parties with a “legitimate interest”, such as journalists and NGOs fighting money laundering, may also request access.
What documents can I get from the Luxembourg RCS?
You can access trade registry extracts, articles of association, and financial statements. Most documents are available in French or German.
Does the Luxembourg Business Register provide an API?
No. The Luxembourg register does not currently offer API access. Searches and downloads must be carried out manually through the official website.
How reliable is beneficial ownership data in Luxembourg?
The RBE is useful but not foolproof. The 25% threshold for beneficial ownership and the “senior manager fallback” both create loopholes that can obscure true control. Cross-checking with other sources is essential.
