Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| ISO 3166-1 | AT / AUT |
| Registry | Firmenbuch |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Austria and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | UID-Nummer | BMF / Finanzamt Österreich |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Firmenbuchnummer (FN) | Firmenbuch |
Sector regulators
FMA · OeNB · WKO/BMWET
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung | GmbH | Limited liability company; the dominant SME vehicle with quota-based membership and min. share capital of €10,000 (since GesRÄG 2023). Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Flexible Kapitalgesellschaft | FlexKap / FlexCo | Hybrid closely-held company introduced by BGBl I 179/2023 (eff. 2024-01-01); min. capital €10,000; permits company-value shares (CVS) and flexible capital increases. Closest US equivalent: LLC. |
| Aktiengesellschaft | AG | Joint-stock corporation with freely transferable shares; min. capital €70,000; mandatory two-tier board (Vorstand + Aufsichtsrat). Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Societas Europaea | SE | EU supranational joint-stock company; min. capital €120,000; governed by EU Regulation 2157/2001 alongside Austrian AG rules. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Offene Gesellschaft | OG | General partnership; all partners jointly and unlimitedly liable; no minimum capital. Equivalent to a US General Partnership (GP). |
| Kommanditgesellschaft | KG | Limited partnership; Komplementär (general partner, unlimited liability) plus Kommanditisten (limited partners, capped at contribution). Equivalent to a US Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Einzelunternehmen | e.U. | Sole proprietorship operated by a single natural person; no separate legal entity; registration in Firmenbuch optional below €700,000 turnover, mandatory above. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Genossenschaft | — | Member-owned cooperative governed by the Genossenschaftsgesetz; members share liability per the chosen variant (unbeschränkt, beschränkt, or mit Nachschusspflicht). Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Privatstiftung | — | Private foundation under the Privatstiftungsgesetz 1993; no members or shareholders — assets dedicated to a defined purpose by a founder; commonly used as a wealth-holding vehicle. Closest US equivalent: Statutory/Business Trust. |
| Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts | GesbR | Civil-law non-commercial partnership under §1175 ABGB; no separate legal personality, not registered in Firmenbuch; used for informal joint ventures and joint asset ownership. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership (GP). |
| Zweigniederlassung | — | Branch of a foreign company registered in Austria’s Firmenbuch; not a separate legal entity — liability rests with the parent. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Firmenbuchauszug |
| Constitutive Documents | Any one of: Gesellschaftsvertrag · Satzung |
| Tax Registration | All required: UID-Nummer-Bescheid + Steuernummer-Bescheid |
| Operating Permit | Any one of: Gewerbeschein · GISA-Auszug |
| Ownership Records | Firmenbuchauszug |
| Governance Records | Firmenbuchauszug |
| Signing Authority | Any one of: Notarielle Vollmacht · Gesellschafterbeschluss · Vorstandsbeschluss |
| Address | Any one of: Mietvertrag · Versorgungsrechnung · Kontoauszug |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Firmenbuchauszug | Legal Registration, Ownership Records, Governance Records |
| Gesellschaftsvertrag (GmbH / OG / KG) | Constitutive Documents |
| Satzung (AG / FlexCo) | Constitutive Documents |
| UID-Nummer-Bescheid | Tax Registration |
| Steuernummer-Bescheid | Tax Registration |
| Gewerbeschein | Operating Permit |
| GISA-Auszug | Operating Permit |
| Notarielle Vollmacht (notarised power of attorney) | Signing Authority |
| Gesellschafterbeschluss (shareholder resolution) | Signing Authority |
| Vorstandsbeschluss | Signing Authority |
| Mietvertrag | Address |
| Versorgungsrechnung (≤90 Tage) | Address |
| Kontoauszug (≤90 Tage) | Address |
| Sector-Specific License | FMA Konzession, Behördliche Bewilligung (sector-specific authority permit) |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Official extract from Firmenbuch; available via JustizOnline. Confirms FN, legal form, registered seat, date of incorporation.
- Constitutive Documents: Notarized deed required for GmbH and AG. For AG: Satzung filed with Firmenbuch.
- Tax Registration: Collect both: UID for VAT (ATU-prefix), Steuernummer for direct taxes. Both issued by Finanzamt Österreich / BMF.
- Operating Permit: Trade license registered in GISA (Austrian Business Licence Information System).
- Sector-Specific License: FMA licenses for banking, payment institutions, insurance, investment firms, and VASPs (MiCA). Sector-specific; applies to regulated entities only.
- Ownership Records: Shareholders of GmbH and AG are listed in the Firmenbuch and appear on a Firmenbuchauszug extract.
- Governance Records: Geschäftsführer (GmbH/FlexCo), Vorstand members (AG), and Komplementäre (KG) are registered in Firmenbuch and shown on extract.
- Signing Authority: Notarized POA (Vollmacht) or certified board/shareholders’ resolution confirming signing authority. Prokura (commercial power of attorney under §49 UGB) is registered in Firmenbuch and visible on extract.
- Address: Conduit universal policy: lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Geschäftsführer (GmbH/FlexCo) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Managing director with day-to-day authority; legally represents company. |
| Vorstand (AG) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Management board member; executive authority in AG. |
| Komplementär (KG) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | General partner with unlimited liability and management rights. |
| Aufsichtsrat-Mitglied (AG; large GmbH) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Supervisory board member; oversight and Vorstand appointment only. |
| Prokurist | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of Prokura (§49 UGB); broad commercial POA registered in Firmenbuch. |
| Bevollmächtigter (POA holder) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Holder of notarized Vollmacht; binds company within scope of POA. |
Notes
- FlexCo / FlexKap is not a GmbH and not an AG — it is a distinct entity form (BGBl I 179/2023, eff. 2024-01-01) with different share mechanics (company-value shares, CVS). If Conduit’s enum only knows GmbH/AG/OG/KG, FlexCo customers will misclassify; update the codebase enum.
- GmbH min. capital is now €10,000 (not €35,000) since GesRÄG 2023 (BGBl I 179/2023, eff. 2024-01-01). Old screening rules referencing €35,000 are stale.
- Nominee arrangements mandatory as of 2025-10-01 — BGBl I Nr. 151/2024 (FM-GwG-Anpassungsgesetz) introduced §2a WiEReG requiring disclosure of all nominee arrangements involving legal entities even below the ownership threshold; relevant for trust/nominee structures.
- Prokura is registered in the Firmenbuch and appears on the extract — a Prokurist’s authority is publicly verifiable without a separate POA document; the Firmenbuchauszug is sufficient for Signing Authority in that scenario.