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KNOWLEDGE & GUIDES

Liechtenstein Commercial Register (Handelsregister): Registration, extract and what the LVC needs

Look up a Liechtenstein company: free partial extract in the official Firmenindex (handelsregister.li, formerly oera.li), certified extract and registratio

GUIDES · GEO

Liechtenstein Commercial Register (Handelsregister):
Registration, extract and what the LVC needs

The Office of Justice (Amt für Justiz) keeps the Liechtenstein commercial register (Handelsregister). Here is who must register, how registration runs, and how you get an extract — plus the LVC special case. “Seven days” at Digihub means filing-ready, not registered. Official source: Commercial register at the Office of Justice.
Not legal advice. Agents can pay and start. Humans stay in the loop for KYC, acceptance and filing. Prices and timelines may change; official fees are separate.

What is the commercial register in Liechtenstein?

The Liechtenstein commercial register (Handelsregister) is a public register with public faith. It shows who stands behind a firm, who may sign, and who is liable. The Office of Justice — Commercial Register Department keeps it. Not Digihub, not a chat, not an agent.
The Office’s task: legal certainty by disclosing liability and representation. That covers registrations, deletions, deposits, certifications, name checks and the statutory publications.
Older statutes still say Öffentlichkeitsregisteramt — so does the Commercial Register Ordinance (HRV). Today the office is the Office of Justice, Commercial Register Department.
The register, including applications and supporting documents, is public. Inspection and extracts are available for a fee. A first look at registered entities is online: the Firmenindex on handelsregister.li replaces the former address oera.li. The Office writes in its July 2026 newsletter that oera.li is being retired for good; the redirect is transitional only.
Legal bases to read: Persons and Companies Act (PGR) — Title 18, Commercial Register — the HRV and the Ordinance on Land Register and Commercial Register Fees. This page is orientation. The Office is binding.

Who must register, who may?

Duty and right to register sit in the PGR and on the LLV registration pages. This is how the Office writes it today:
Must. The public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft) must go on the commercial register. The GmbH must. The establishment (Anstalt) must. The cooperative must — “unless it is a small cooperative”.
Small cooperative / LVC. Art. 483 PGR says expressly: small cooperatives acquire legal personality without having to register. Paragraph 1a opens the same form for jointly working out and developing an innovation — the statutory hook for the Liechtenstein Venture Cooperative. You may still register. Digihub recommends it for name protection and visibility, but does not force it in the agent flow.
Association. Associations may register voluntarily. Duty under Art. 247 PGR if the association runs a commercial business, is subject to audit — or, since 1 January 2025, mainly collects or distributes assets intended for charitable purposes, unless an exception applies. The Office may exempt such associations on application.
Foundation. Charitable foundations must register. Private-benefit foundations may register voluntarily; they must if they run a commercial business on a special-statute basis. Where there is no duty to register, a founding notice is often deposited instead — that is not a commercial-register entry. Details: LLV page and PGR.
Other forms are listed in the HRV. Check duty or option on the matching LLV registration page.

Registration in six steps

Notarisation and filing also work without travelling, by video with eID.li: online notarisation in Liechtenstein.
The document list sits in the Office’s guidance notes. These six steps summarise what the AG guidance and the GmbH guidance set out for companies — and where the small cooperative differs.
  1. 1

    Check the firm name

    Clear the name first. The Office of Justice runs firm / name checks. See the existing stock in the Firmenindex. A registered firm enjoys exclusivity of the firm name under Art. 1016 PGR. Digihub sets the name check in the case to pending until evidence is in — the agent does not confirm “free”.
  2. 2

    Statutes and founding deed

    Which deed the Office wants depends on the legal form. For a new AG registration and a new GmbH registration the Office requires a publicly authenticated instrument of incorporation plus signed statutes. For a small cooperative, Art. 484 PGR is enough: written statutes accepted by all members — name, seat, purpose, membership, organisation, publications. Digihub delivers exactly those drafts on the founding path, not the public deed of an AG.
  3. 3

    Capital payment, where the law requires it

    AG and GmbH must prove liberation. The guidance notes require a bank certificate of payment at a bank in Liechtenstein, the EEA or Switzerland. Whether and how an LVC liberates is in your statutes and the concrete official path — we invent no duty here. Orientation: capital contribution account and stablecoin capital payment.
  4. 4

    Application to the Office of Justice

    The application goes to the Office of Justice, Commercial Register Department, Giessenstrasse 3, 9490 Vaduz. With it come the documents from the matching guidance note: statutes, acceptance and signing declarations, a bank certificate if required, auditor or waiver, certified signatures. The Office does not draft contracts for you — only assistance at the time of application.
  5. 5

    Review by the Office

    The Office checks whether the statutory conditions are met: completeness of documents, firm name, bodies, seat, purpose. It runs preliminary reviews and controls — see the department’s remit. Incomplete packs come back. That is the authority clock, not the Digihub clock.
  6. 6

    Registration and publication

    If the conditions are met, the Office registers the entity and arranges the statutory publications. From then the legal person is visible in the public register. ready_to_file at Digihub is not this step.

Ordering a commercial register extract

Two official routes. Online: in the Firmenindex on handelsregister.li you can view a free partial extract of every legal entity entered in the commercial register. The same service is described on the LLV Firmenindex page. Order a certified full extract there for a fee.
At the counter: Office of Justice, Giessenstrasse 3, 9490 Vaduz. Extracts are generally issued only in certified form and are not sent by fax. Opening hours and contact are on the Firmenindex page — read them there, do not quote them from memory.
What is on it is what was registered: typically firm name, legal form, seat, purpose, bodies, signing authority. The issued extract is binding. Tighter inspection rules apply to unregistered foundations and trusts — see publicity of the register.
Fees for extract and registration are set by the fee ordinance (LGBl. 2003.067). We quote no franc amounts here — rates change, the ordinance stays the source. Digihub does not bill official fees through the pack price.

How long does registration take?

The Office checks completeness and decides. Duration depends on documents, queries and capacity — not on Digihub’s seven days. The 7-day timeline ends with a draft pack and ready_to_file. Anyone promising “on the register in a week” confuses SLA and authority time.

Special case LVC: register or not?

The LVC is not a separate statutory form. It uses the small cooperative under Art. 483 et seq. PGR for innovation. That is why commercial-register entry is voluntary. Digihub recommends it for name protection and clearer visibility (banks, partners, tax pickup), but does not force it in the agent flow.
TopicWith registerWithout
Name protectionStrongerWeaker
External signalClearerMore explaining
TaxOften picked up more automaticallySeparate filing often needed
Digihub agentRecommended, not forcedPossible
ready_to_file is not registered. Digihub starts LVC formations like this: agents read the manifest and quote, pay via x402 in USDC, deliver intake and drafts. Humans stay mandatory in the loop for KYC, acceptance / firm signing and filing with the Office of Justice. There is no automatic AfJ or commercial-register filing.
The Digihub service (GmbH CHF 1,000 one-time, AG and LVC on request) does not cover official fees, bank or TVTG. Mind DEMO vs PRODUCTION_DRAFT. Off the register you are not tax-free — orientation compliant taxes; rates come from the LLV.
Seat truth: Digihub works at In der Specki 3, 9494 Schaan — not the blind default for your statutes. One address, one spelling. Art. 1016 stays pending until evidenced.

FAQ

Is registration mandatory?
It depends on the legal form. The public limited company (Aktiengesellschaft), GmbH, establishment (Anstalt) and the ordinary cooperative must go on the commercial register. Small cooperatives — including the LVC — do not have to; registration is voluntary. Associations are voluntary unless they run a commercial business, are subject to audit, or mainly collect or distribute assets for charitable purposes. Charitable foundations must register; private-benefit foundations often need not. Binding: Office of Justice and PGR.
Where do I get a Liechtenstein commercial register extract?
You can view a free partial extract of every registered legal entity in the Firmenindex on handelsregister.li. Order a certified full extract there for a fee, or through the LLV online service — or at the Office of Justice counter in Vaduz. The former address oera.li is being retired, according to the Office of Justice newsletter.
Where can I find the commercial register extract online?
In the Firmenindex on handelsregister.li you can view a free partial extract of every registered legal entity. Order a certified full extract online for a fee through the LLV online service. The former address oera.li is being retired.
What does registration cost?
Official fees are set by the Ordinance on Land Register and Commercial Register Fees — not by Digihub. Current rates are there and in the Office of Justice guidance notes. The Digihub service (GmbH CHF 1,000 one-time, AG and LVC on request) does not cover official fees.
How long does it take?
The Office reviews the file and decides. We do not promise a fixed calendar week. Digihub’s seven days end at ready_to_file — not at “registered”. More: How long the register really takes and Myth: on the register in a week.
Can digihub register us?
No. Digihub delivers drafts and the ready_to_file status. A human files with the Office of Justice. There is no automatic commercial-register filing.

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Content from digihub.li · reviewed 9 October 2026.

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