Business registers and BRIS: reliable company data for public-sector services
Every EU country keeps an official business register: the authoritative record of companies and other legal entities, their registration numbers, registered addresses, officers and filed documents. In Ireland the register is kept by the Companies Registration Office (CRO), with the Companies Act 2014 and related legislation as the statutory basis for filing company information. The CRO also maintains the Irish register of business names, and access to basic company information is free of charge. In Malta the Malta Business Registry (MBR), a government agency with the powers and duties of the Registrar of Companies, registers companies, partnerships, foundations and associations, keeps the Register of Beneficial Owners and accepts filings online through its BAROS system.
The Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS) links these national registers. It was set up under Directive 2012/17/EU, and its rules are now in Article 22 of Directive (EU) 2017/1132: a European central platform, the registers of the Member States and a portal that serves as the European electronic access point. Since June 2017 the business registers of all EU countries have been interconnected and searchable, and the service covers companies registered in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Searches are made on the European e-Justice Portal by company number and/or registration number.
How business register data helps public bodies
Municipalities, schools, libraries, museums and other public bodies regularly deal with companies: suppliers in public tenders, grant recipients, partners in cultural or education projects. Checking official register data reduces manual work and errors and makes services smoother for residents and businesses. Well-planned processes also support the “once-only” principle, under which people should not have to provide the same data to different authorities again and again.
Free public data is often enough for routine checks. The MBR, for example, provides company names, registration numbers, registered addresses, incorporation dates, company type, share capital and company officials free of charge, while other documentation, such as annual accounts and annual returns, is available for a minimal charge. Through BRIS, information that a national register provides free of charge can be requested on the e-Justice Portal; paid documents are ordered on the national register’s own website.
Main benefits of using official register data
- More accurate data. Data comes from the official register, so the risk of errors falls. This matters for public bodies, which must work with reliable, up-to-date information.
- Less administrative work. When company data is looked up or checked in one step, staff spend less time retyping and verifying it and more time on service quality.
- Better online services. Forms can ask for a company number and check it, instead of asking applicants to type every detail by hand. That improves the user experience and reduces errors in applications and registrations.
- Cross-border consistency. Each company in BRIS has a unique identifier that shows the Member State, the register of origin and the company number, which helps when a supplier or partner is registered in another EU country.
Data protection, GDPR and compliance
Register data is mostly about companies, but it also includes natural persons such as directors, shareholders and beneficial owners. When a public body uses this data in its systems, it must follow the GDPR: define the purpose and legal basis, control who has access and process only the data that a specific service actually needs.
Information security matters just as much. Public-sector websites and self-service tools must transfer data securely, manage user actions properly and log them. In practice that means careful integration design, access control, clear user authentication and regular maintenance.
Accessibility and user experience
Solutions that use register data must also be accessible. Public-sector websites and online services have to be understandable and usable by people with different needs: clear forms, logical structure, sufficient contrast, keyboard navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies (see WCAG accessibility).
A good data lookup should never make things harder for the user. It should help a resident or business submit an application faster, find what they need and avoid unnecessary steps. That is why technical features must go together with clear content, plain field descriptions and a consistent user journey.
When should you plan to use business register data?
It is worth planning when your organisation regularly works with official company data, for example in procurement, grants, partnership agreements or business-facing services. If staff keep checking details by hand, enter the same data twice or run into inaccuracies, a structured lookup can make processes noticeably more efficient. Each register sets its own terms for data services and documents, so check what your national register offers before you design the solution.
Business registers and BRIS are a key part of Europe’s digital public infrastructure. Used well, they help public bodies work more efficiently, offer better services and keep data accurate, which also requires a responsible approach to security, GDPR, accessibility and legal compliance. They are one of the building blocks of eGovernment.