Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry)
Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry) — The Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry) is the official public registry in Spain where all commercial entities — companies (SL, SA), sole traders, branches of foreign companies — must be registered. It records incorporation details, company statutes, directors, accounts, and significant corporate changes, making this information publicly accessible.
Every province in Spain has its own Registro Mercantil, and companies must register in the province where their registered office (domicilio social) is located. The Registro Mercantil Central in Madrid handles company name reservations and the publication of corporate acts in the Boletín Oficial del Registro Mercantil (BORME). For due diligence purposes, the commercial registry is where you verify whether a company exists, who its directors are, and whether it has filed its accounts.
What Is Registered?
- Incorporation deeds and articles of association
- Appointment and removal of directors and administrators
- Share capital increases, reductions, and transfers
- Annual accounts (balance sheet, profit and loss, management report)
- Mergers, demergers, and dissolutions
- Powers of attorney granted by the company
- Insolvency proceedings
Key Facts About the Registro Mercantil
- Registration is mandatory for all SLs and SAs — without it, the company has no legal personality
- Annual accounts must be filed within one month of their approval by the shareholders
- Failure to file annual accounts for three consecutive years can lead to the company being struck off
- Company information is public — anyone can request a nota informativa to check a company’s details
- The BORME publishes all registered corporate acts daily
- Foreign companies operating in Spain through a branch must also register
- Online searches are available through registradores.org
Related Legal Terms
- Sociedad Limitada (SL — Limited Company)
- Sociedad Anónima (SA — Public Company)
- NIF (Tax Identification Number)
- Escritura Pública (Public Deed)
- Back to Legal Encyclopedia — A-Z Guide
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This entry is part of our Legal Encyclopedia for Expats in Spain. Browse the full A-Z guide for more terms.
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Insolvency proceedings are among the acts recorded here — what that process involves.
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This content has been prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by María Luisa de Castro, a lawyer specialising in Real Estate Law and founder of CostaLuz Lawyers.
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