CRB

Guide - Registers and identifiers

The Belgian Company Register: How to Check, Read and Verify a Company (KBO, BCE, Moniteur Belge, NBB)

Three separate official systems answer three separate questions about a Belgian company. This guide reads all three, field by field.

Prepared by Aurelie Lambert, Tax, Licensing and Compliance Lead. Reviewed by Maarten De Wilde, Formation and Corporate Structuring Lead. Last updated: 25 September 2026.

This page states Belgian law and how the public registers work. It is general information, not legal advice for your specific case; for a decision that turns on your own file, check with the relevant Belgian authority or a licensed professional.

Belgium only A professional reviewing paperwork intently at a workstation indoors.

In short. Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen (Dutch), Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (French) and Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (English) abbreviate to KBO, BCE and CBE. All three name the same federal register, run by the FPS Economy, which holds the identity and current status of every enterprise and establishment unit registered in Belgium. Anyone can search it free, without a login, at kbopub.economie.fgov.be.

What Is the Belgian Company Register? KBO, BCE, CBE, the Moniteur Belge and the NBB

Three separate official systems answer three separate questions, and almost no site lists all three together. KBO/BCE Public Search shows identity and current status. The Moniteur belge Annexes publish the constitutive deed and every later amending act. The NBB Central Balance Sheet Office holds the filed annual accounts. A reader who wants to register a company rather than check one should start with the company registration rules and deadlines on the home page instead; this guide covers verification only.

The three official Belgian systems a company check runs through, with their access route and cost.
Register What it holds Access Cost
KBO/BCE Public Search Identity, status, functions, branches, capacities (Qualités), authorisations, activity codes, financial data, external links Free, no login, kbopub.economie.fgov.be Free to search
Moniteur belge Annexes for legal persons The constitutive deed and every amending act, filed per enterprise ejustice.just.fgov.be, reached from a KBO record's external links Free to consult
NBB Central Balance Sheet Office Filed annual accounts consult.cbso.nbb.be, reached per enterprise number from a KBO record Consultation terms not published
Three Belgian registers and the question each one answers KBO/BCE Public Search answers who a company is: identity and current status, searched free without a login. The Moniteur belge Annexes answer what a company filed: the constitutive deed and every amending act, free to consult. The NBB Central Balance Sheet Office answers what a company reported: the filed annual accounts, reached per enterprise number. KBO/BCE Public Search Who a company is Identity, status, functions, branches, capacities, activity codes kbopub.economie.fgov.be Free, no login Search returns at most 200 rows Moniteur belge Annexes What a company filed The constitutive deed and every later amending act ejustice.just.fgov.be Free to consult Published within 10 days of filing NBB Central Balance Sheet What a company reported Filed annual accounts, per enterprise number consult.cbso.nbb.be Consultation terms not published Reached from the KBO record Each system is reached from the external links block of a KBO record.
Three registers, three questions: who a company is, what it filed, and what it earned.

Public Search offers five ways in, all free and all open without registration. All entities can be found whatever their state, active, published or stopped, and a search returns at most 200 rows.

  1. By number. Enter the ten-digit enterprise or establishment unit number directly for the fastest, most precise route to one record.
  2. By name, exact match. Search the registered name as filed; useful when the reader already has the legal name in full.
  3. By name, phonetic match. Catches spelling variants and transliterations of Dutch, French or German company names.
  4. By address. Finds every entity registered at a given Belgian address, useful for checking a registered-office claim.
  5. By activity or authorisation. Filters by NACE-BEL activity code or by a specific regulatory authorisation on file.

The "only active entities" box is ticked by default; untick it to surface companies in liquidation or already struck off. Data appears the day after a registration or a modification reaches the KBO, so a very recent change may not show yet. The English interface itself carries a disclaimer that it is an unofficial translation and confers no legal rights, a detail no ranking page mentions and one worth knowing before a non-resident reader relies on the English wording of a record.

Two adults working together on a laptop that shows an online form, indoors.

Reading a KBO Record Field by Field: What Each Block Proves

A returned record is not one paragraph; it is a set of distinct blocks, and each one answers a different question. No ranking page walks through them field by field, which is the single biggest gap in how this topic is currently covered.

  • General information and status

    Name, legal form, seat address, enterprise number, and whether the entity is active, in liquidation or stopped.

  • Fonctions (who may act)

    The legal functions on file: directors, the daily manager, and anyone else registered with power to bind the company.

  • Branches

    Any branch offices linked to the same enterprise number, each with its own establishment unit number.

  • Qualités (capacities)

    Shows VAT status with its start date, employer status with the National Social Security Office, and other registered capacities. This is the single field a counterparty most needs, and the record literally reads "Subject to VAT since [start date]."

  • Authorisations

    Sector permits and licences on file for the entity. A financial-sector authorisation such as a MiCA licence is verified separately from this field: see crypto license belgium for what a CASP licence itself involves, beyond what a KBO record shows.

  • Three NACE-BEL activity blocks

    Separate activity codes for VAT, for social security and for other declared purposes, since 1 January 2025 on the 2025 nomenclature; a record converted from the 2008 codes may read as incomplete where one old code maps to several new ones.

  • Financial data and links between entities

    Declared financial figures where filed, and any registered links to related entities.

  • External links

    The record's own gateway to the Moniteur belge Annexes, the NBB Central Balance Sheet Office, the notarial statutes database, and JustBan, so a reader never has to search each system separately.

Anatomy of a KBO Public Search record: eight blocks and what each proves A KBO record is made of eight blocks. General information and status proves the entity exists and in what state. Fonctions proves who may bind the company. Branches proves which establishment units belong to it. Qualites proves VAT and employer status with their start dates. Authorisations proves which sector permits are on file. Three NACE-BEL blocks prove the declared activities. Financial data proves the declared figures and links between entities. External links route to the Moniteur belge, the NBB, the notarial statutes database and JustBan. One KBO record, eight blocks, eight separate questions 1. General info and status Name, legal form, seat, enterprise number Proves: it exists, and its state 2. Fonctions Directors, daily manager, anyone with power to bind Proves: who may sign 3. Branches Establishment units on the same enterprise number Proves: where it operates 4. Qualités VAT status and start date, employer status at the NSSO Proves: VAT, since when 5. Authorisations Sector permits and licences held on file Proves: what it may do 6. Three NACE-BEL blocks VAT, social security and other declared purposes Proves: declared activities 7. Financial data and links Declared figures where filed, registered links to entities Proves: the declared numbers 8. External links Moniteur belge, NBB, statutes database, JustBan Proves: where to look next
Anatomy of a KBO record: eight blocks, eight separate questions answered.

The Format of a Belgian Company Number: Enterprise Number vs Establishment Unit Number

Every Belgian enterprise number and establishment unit number has the same length and structure, set out in the Royal Decree of 24 June 2003 (numac 2003011352), Art. 3, and allocated by the KBO/BCE itself under Art. 1 of the same decree. The two are easy to tell apart from the first digit alone.

The format fixed by the Royal Decree of 24 June 2003, Art. 3 (numac 2003011352).
Attribute Value
Digit count10 digits, both number types
Enterprise number, leading digit0 or 1 (a leading 0 may be omitted)
Establishment unit number, leading digit2 to 8
Check digitthe 9th and 10th digits

The decree fixes only the position of the check digit, not the arithmetic behind it, so this page states the position and stops rather than guessing a modulo-97 rule that no official text confirms.

Company Number vs VAT Number: What's the Difference?

A Belgian company does not receive a separate VAT number. Its enterprise number is activated as a VAT capacity before operations begin, through form 604A with the FPS Finance, and the record shows this activation inside the Qualités field: "Subject to VAT since [start date]." The number itself does not change; only the capacity attached to it does. For the exact composition of the VAT number as it is written and quoted, see how to read and check a Belgian VAT number, which develops that question on its own page rather than here.

How Much Does an Extract Cost, and Who Must Issue One?

Public Search itself carries no downloadable extract, only a print stylesheet and the external-links block, so a reader who needs a document rather than a screen has to go to an accredited business counter (guichet d'entreprises agréé / ondernemingsloket). The counter's obligation and the tariff are both fixed by law, not by the counter's own pricing.

The statutory extract tariff and who must issue one (RD 4 July 2004, Art. 5 and Art. 6; cahier des charges for accredited business counters).
Item Detail
Statutory base tariffEUR 10 including VAT (RD 4 July 2004, Art. 5)
First extractfree to the enterprise itself, on a registration, modification or de-registration (Art. 5)
Indexationadjusted every 1 January to the consumer price index, once the difference reaches at least EUR 0.50, rounded down in EUR 0.50 steps (Art. 6)
Who must issue oneany accredited business counter, to the enterprise on first request and to any third party on request (cahier des charges, §4.7.4, §5.1.1)

The FPS Economy page publishing the currently applied 2026 indexed figure is not reachable from this project at the time of writing, so this page states the statutory base and the indexation rule rather than a guessed current amount.

Ready to register a company in Belgium instead of checking one?

See how the process works

The Moniteur Belge: Where the Deed and Every Amendment Are Published

The Moniteur belge / Belgisch Staatsblad is Belgium's Official Gazette, a service of the FPS Justice. Its Annexes for legal persons publish the constitutive deed and every act that follows it, and consultation is free. Acts of legal persons have appeared together in this annex since 1 July 2003. Every filing after the original constitution counts as an amending deed, including a director's resignation or a new appointment, which is why a company with a long history can carry dozens of separate filings.

Three dates decide when an act actually protects the company and binds outsiders:

  1. Filing, within 30 days of the final deed (CSA Art. 2:8 §1). This is the date legal personality starts.
  2. Publication, within 10 days of filing (CSA Art. 2:13). Filing at the enterprise court and publication in the Annexes are two separate steps, ten days apart at most.
  3. Opposability from filing or publication, developed on its own further down this page, since it is the practical consequence of these two dates rather than a third deadline.

The 2026 tariffs for a filing (electronic incorporation EUR 236.50 excluding VAT, an amending deed EUR 171.70 excluding VAT) are third-party statutory costs the notary or the reader pays the state directly; they are not a fee of ours and appear here only so the reader is not surprised by them.

Annual Accounts and the NBB Central Balance Sheet Office

A Belgian company's filed annual accounts sit at the NBB Central Balance Sheet Office, reached per enterprise number from a KBO record's external links. The filing deadline is 30 days from the accounts' approval and at the latest 7 months after the financial year end (CSA Art. 3:10). A company that files late pays a surcharge of EUR 151 to EUR 1,510, scaled to the month of delay, under CSA Art. 3:13 at its 2026 indexed level.

The accompanying documents that go with every filed set of accounts must state the amounts the company owes to the tax administrations and to the National Social Security Office (CSA Art. 3:12). That single disclosure is a free due-diligence signal built into every filing, ahead of the company's declared tax rate: see belgium income tax rate for what the corporate rate itself is. Whether consultation at consult.cbso.nbb.be is free, and which years and formats are available there, is not established from a primary source reached in this project; the live KBO record links to it, and that is what can be confirmed today.

"Struck Off Ex Officio": What It Means on a Counterparty's Record

A KBO record can carry the words "struck off ex officio since [start date]," and it means one of two different things, not one. No ranking page names either mechanism.

  • Entity-level striking-off

    Applied for non-filing of annual accounts or non-compliance with UBO obligations (Code of Economic Law, Art. III.42 §1, 5°), shown on the record with its start date. It is one of the grounds that lets the chamber for enterprises in difficulty refer the company for judicial dissolution. Since late April 2026, lifting a UBO-related striking-off is no longer automatic: the company has to regularise its UBO register first, then e-mail the administration, and the mention clears within a maximum of 10 days once the file is compliant.

  • Function-level striking-off

    A separate, narrower mechanism under Art. III.40 Code of Economic Law: an administrative deletion of one individual's director mandate or entrepreneurial-skill entry by the CBE management service. It does not release the entity itself from its own obligations, and it may also appear in the Belgian Official Gazette.

What to do when a counterparty's record shows either mention

  • Read the start date and work out how long the mention has stood.
  • Check whether it is entity-level (a real red flag) or function-level (check who else on the Fonctions list still has full authority).
  • Check whether the company's annual accounts are current, since non-filing is the most common trigger.
  • Treat an unexplained entity-level striking-off as a reason to ask questions before signing anything, not as proof of fraud on its own.
Two professionals discussing documents across a red desk in a modern office.

Why the Publication Date, Not the Deed Date, Binds Third Parties (Opposability)

A signed deed does not, by itself, bind anyone outside the company. Documents become opposable to third parties only from the day they are filed or, where publication is required, from the day they are published; a transaction dated before the 16th day after publication is not opposable to a third party who can prove they had no way of knowing about it (CSA Art. 2:18, al. 1). Where the filed text and the published text differ, the published version is not opposable to third parties, though a third party may still choose to rely on it (Art. 2:18, al. 2).

The same logic protects a company from its own paperwork gaps. Once the publicity formalities are complete, an irregularity in how a representative was appointed is not opposable to third parties unless the company proves they actually knew of it (CSA Art. 2:19). In practice: a signature from a director whose appointment was never published can still bind the company, because the third party had no way to know otherwise. A deed nobody filed, on the other hand, does not bind a third party who genuinely could not have known of it. This is the practical payoff behind "the register is public," and it is the part that decides whether a signature on a contract actually counts.

What the Belgian Company Register Does Not Show

Public Search answers who a company is and what state it is in. It does not answer everything a buyer, a bank or a counterparty might want to know, and a single honest list of the gaps beats every competitor page that implies the register is a complete company check.

  • Shareholders and beneficial owners. Not part of Public Search at all. The UBO register is a separate FPS Finance system, and public access to it ended with the Royal Decree of 8 February 2023: consultation now needs a demonstrated legitimate interest. See the UBO register guide for how that access actually works.
  • Solvency, litigation and day-to-day tax debt. None of these appear in a KBO record, though the accompanying documents filed with the annual accounts must disclose amounts overdue to the tax authorities and the NSSO.
  • The articles of association. Held at the enterprise court's file and in the notarial statutes database (statuts.notaire.be), reachable from a KBO record's external links but not shown inside Public Search itself.
  • Director disqualifications. Recorded in JustBan, a separate register that needs a login.
  • A downloadable extract. The live record offers a print stylesheet and the external-links block, nothing more; a formal extract has to come from an accredited business counter (see above).
  • The company's tax identification number, spelled out as such. The register shows an enterprise number, not a labelled "TIN" field. For that distinction, see tax id belgium.

Can You Download or Scrape the Register? Bulk Data and the Re-Use Ban

Systematic re-use of Public Search data is against the law, not just against the terms of use. Under Art. XV.79 of the Code of Economic Law, the fine runs from EUR 26 to EUR 50,000, or 6 percent of annual turnover if that is higher, and the source page states plainly that "a systematic and uninterrupted download is not permitted." Public Search itself is built for entity-by-entity consultation after a targeted search, capped at 200 results, which is not a technical accident but the same rule expressed as a design limit.

A lawful route to bulk data does exist, and it is a different channel entirely:

  • CBE open data, published through data.gov.be and data.europa.eu, is the official route for anyone who genuinely needs a dataset rather than a single lookup.
  • Public Search itself stays the right tool for checking one company, one record at a time.
  • A commercial API reseller is neither of the above; it is a third party repackaging the same public data, and it is not the state's own channel.

From Our Practice

Aurelie Lambert, Tax, licensing and compliance lead, prepared this guide. Maarten De Wilde, Formation and corporate structuring lead, reviewed it. Updated 25 September 2026.

A Qualités line that shows "Subject to VAT since [start date]" is one of the first things the firm's own file review checks before a share transfer or a ready-made-company handover, because it settles a question that otherwise takes a phone call. An ex officio striking-off, either mechanism, is a standard flag in that same review: it does not stop a transaction on its own, but it is never treated as background noise. The same due-diligence habit applies before a founder takes on their own right to run a Belgian company: see belgium entrepreneur visa for what that step involves once the company side is settled.

Sources

External sources cited in this guide, each opening in a new tab.

  • The Belgian VAT Number

    The same ten digits, prefixed BE, once FPS Finance activates them: how to read and check a Belgian VAT number.

  • Tax Identification Number

    The register shows an enterprise number, never a labelled TIN field. See tax id belgium.

  • The UBO Register

    Ownership sits outside Public Search entirely: the UBO register guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Belgian company register called, and why are there three abbreviations (KBO, BCE, CBE)?

Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen (Dutch), Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (French) and Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (English) name the same federal register, run by the FPS Economy. All three abbreviations appear across search demand and official pages depending on the language, so a reader can safely treat KBO, BCE and CBE as the same system.

How do I check a company in Belgium?

Search KBO Public Search free, without a login, at kbopub.economie.fgov.be. You can search by number, by name (exact or phonetic), by address, or by activity or authorisation. A search returns up to 200 results, and each entity opens as its own full record with status, functions and capacities.

Is KBO Public Search free to use?

Yes. Consultation needs no login and costs nothing. The only charge in the whole system is a formal extract from an accredited business counter, priced at a statutory tariff that is indexed once a year; the search itself is always free.

What is a CBE number in Belgium?

A CBE number is the enterprise number: a 10-digit identifier allocated by the KBO/BCE itself, with a leading digit of 0 or 1. The same number is used across tax, VAT and social-security registrations, not a separate identifier issued by a different body.

What is the format of a Belgian company number?

Ten digits. The first digit is 0 or 1 for an enterprise number, or 2 to 8 for an establishment unit number. The last two digits form a check digit, whose exact arithmetic is not published in the decree that fixes the format.

What is the difference between a company number and a VAT number in Belgium?

Belgium issues no separate VAT number. A company's enterprise number is activated as a VAT capacity before it begins operating, through form 604A, and the record then shows "Subject to VAT since [start date]" in the Qualités field rather than a new number.

How do I tell an enterprise number from an establishment unit number?

Both have 10 digits, so the leading digit is what matters: 0 or 1 marks an enterprise number, and 2 through 8 marks an establishment unit number. An establishment unit always sits beneath an enterprise on the record, never registered on its own, so the two numbers are always linked.

What does "Qualites" / "Characteristics" mean on a KBO record?

Qualités is the capacity field: it lists VAT status with its start date, employer status with the National Social Security Office, and any other registered capacity the entity carries. For a counterparty check, this is usually the single most useful field on the whole record.

How do I get an extract from the Belgian company register, and what does it cost?

The statutory base tariff is EUR 10 including VAT, indexed every 1 January. The first extract is free to the enterprise itself in connection with a registration, modification or de-registration. Any accredited business counter must issue one to any third party who asks, not only to the company.

What is the Moniteur belge, and how is it different from the KBO?

The Moniteur belge is Belgium's Official Gazette, run by the FPS Justice, where the constitutive deed and every later amending act are published. The KBO shows a company's current status at a glance; the Moniteur holds the underlying acts themselves, filing by filing.

What does "struck off ex officio" mean on a Belgian company's record?

Two different mechanisms use that phrase. An entity-level striking-off follows non-filing of accounts or UBO non-compliance and can lead toward judicial dissolution. A separate, function-level striking-off only removes one person's director mandate or skill entry and does not affect the company itself.

Can I download the whole register or scrape it?

No. Systematically re-using Public Search data is prohibited by law, with a fine of EUR 26 to 50,000, or 6 percent of turnover if that is higher. Anyone who needs bulk data lawfully should use the official CBE open data on data.gov.be or data.europa.eu instead.

What does the Belgian company register not show?

Shareholders and beneficial owners, which sit in a separate, access-restricted UBO register; solvency, litigation and day-to-day tax or social-security debt; and the articles of association, which are held at the enterprise court and in the notarial statutes database, not inside Public Search.

Can you get a list of all companies in Belgium?

Not from Public Search, which works one entity at a time and caps every search at 200 results by design. The official CBE open data on data.gov.be and data.europa.eu is the lawful channel for a dataset rather than a single lookup.

How do I register a company in Belgium, and what does it cost?

That is a different question from looking one up. The home page sets out the company registration rules and deadlines, and a separate step-by-step guide develops the full process; this page stays focused on checking and verifying a company that already exists.

Looking to register a company instead of checking one?

The home page sets out what Belgium charges, what the deadlines are, and what a non-resident founder has to provide.

See how Belgian company registration works