Registered Seat, Business Address, Postal Address: What's the Difference?

The registered seat (Satzungssitz) is the city named in a German company's articles of association. The business address (Geschäftsanschrift) is the specific address in the commercial register. The postal address (Postanschrift) is wherever your mail actually goes. Often that's the same address, but not always. Knowing the difference means filling out forms correctly at the notary, the bank, and the tax office, and not having to fix them later.

In everyday speech, people just say "company address." Legally, there's a half-dozen distinct terms, and each means something slightly different. This glossary covers the key ones, organized by where you'll run into them.

A surprise to start: the "Firma" is the name

In German commercial law, the Firma isn't the company, it's its name (Section 17 HGB). "Musterwerk GmbH" is the Firma; the business behind it is the company (Gesellschaft). That's why the commercial register reads "Firma: …" and a notary talks about "Firmierung." It rarely matters in everyday conversation, but knowing the distinction helps with contracts and official forms.

The terms at a glance

| Term | What it means | Where it shows up | |---|---|---| | Registered seat (Satzungssitz) | The city named in the articles of association | Articles of association, commercial register | | Business address (Geschäftsanschrift) | The specific address for service | Commercial register, letterhead | | Place of administration (Verwaltungssitz) | Where the company is actually run | Tax law, company law | | Place of management (Ort der Geschäftsleitung) | Where the key decisions get made | Tax law (Section 10 AO) | | Permanent establishment (Betriebsstätte) | A fixed place of business | Trade tax (Section 12 AO) | | Postal address (Postanschrift) | Where your mail goes | Letterhead, invoices | | Serviceable address (ladungsfähige Anschrift) | An address where formal service is possible | Impressum, court proceedings | | Branch (Zweigniederlassung) | An independent additional location | Commercial register (Section 13 HGB) |

Registered seat and Satzungssitz

The Satzungssitz is a city, not an address. A GmbH's articles of association might read "the company's seat is Berlin." Among other things, it determines which registration court has jurisdiction, the Charlottenburg local court for Berlin.

The registered seat has to be in Germany but can be chosen freely (Section 4a GmbHG). When people casually say "company seat," this is usually what they mean.

Business address

The business address is the specific street-and-number address entered in the commercial register (Section 8(4) GmbHG). It has to be in Germany, and mail has to be deliverable there.

If your business address changes, you have to file that change with the commercial register. As long as the company stays in the same city, the registered seat itself doesn't change.

Place of administration and place of management

The place of administration is where the company is actually run day to day. It can differ from the registered seat, for example if a GmbH is registered in Berlin but its managing director works out of Leipzig.

For the tax office, the place of management matters (Section 10 AO): where do the important decisions get made? That can determine which tax office has jurisdiction and where taxes are owed.

Permanent establishment

A permanent establishment is a fixed place of business that serves your activity: an office, warehouse, or workshop (Section 12 AO). It matters mainly for trade tax, since the municipality where the permanent establishment sits collects that tax. A plain business address with no actual workspace usually doesn't count as one.

Postal address

Your postal address is simply wherever your mail goes. It can match your business address, or it can be a PO box. A PO box as a postal address is fine, just not as the only address listed in your Impressum or the commercial register.

Serviceable address

A serviceable address is an address where formal court documents can be delivered to you. An Impressum requires one. A PO box doesn't meet that bar. We cover this in detail in What is a serviceable address?

Other terms you might run into

Company address / business address (everyday usage): informal terms that usually just mean the business address.

Domiciliary address (Domiziladresse): common mainly in Switzerland and Austria. It means an address where a company has its seat without using office space there. In Germany, people tend to say "virtual office" or "business address" instead.

Virtual registered seat / virtual office: a rented business address with mail acceptance that you're allowed to register as your business address. More in What is a virtual office?

c/o: "care of." Shows you're reachable at someone else's address. Allowed, as long as it doesn't make delivery harder.

Registered office: the British term for a Limited company's official seat, comparable to the German business address. Clevver also uses this term for its virtual offices.

Branch (Zweigniederlassung): an additional, independently operating location that also gets entered in the commercial register. More in Branches in Germany.

An example: one founder, five forms

Picture a founder living in Leipzig who forms a GmbH with its seat in Berlin. Within two weeks, every office asks for something different:

• The notary needs the registered seat: "Berlin."
• The commercial register filing needs the business address: her rented address in Berlin-Mitte.
• The bank asks for both the business address and the managing director's home address: Berlin-Mitte and Leipzig.
• The tax office, on the tax registration questionnaire, asks where management sits. Since she works almost entirely from home, she honestly states Leipzig and checks with her tax advisor what that means for jurisdiction.
• The Impressum needs a serviceable address: Berlin-Mitte again.

Five forms, four terms, two addresses. With this glossary, she knows exactly what each form is actually asking for.

FAQ

Is a registered seat the same as a business address? No. The registered seat is a city; the business address is the specific address. For most companies, though, the business address sits in the same city as the registered seat.

Can my postal address differ from my business address? Yes. You can list a PO box or another postal address in addition. The commercial register and your Impressum, though, need a deliverable business address.

Can I register a virtual office as my business address? Yes, if it includes a rental agreement, mail gets accepted there, and the provider clears the address for the commercial register. If you want to see how registered seat and business address play out in practice, our article Shell company or virtual office? covers where the line sits.

What's a virtual registered seat? A rented business address used as both the registered seat and business address, without you having office space there.

This article is a general overview and isn't legal or tax advice. Still have questions? → Contact us