The foundation register will come into effect on 1 January 2026

Update (as of 18 September 2025):

A current government draft stipulates that the foundation register will now only be put into operation on 1 January 2028, as the necessary technology is not expected to be ready by 1 January 2026. It remains to be seen whether this draft will become law. (Source: Stiftungen.org – Start of the foundation register not until 2028.)

To date, there has been no central register for foundations in Germany. This is set to change in 2026 with the introduction of a nationwide foundation register. The aim is to create transparency and replace the existing foundation registers maintained by the federal states. This will affect foundations with legal capacity under civil law, regardless of whether they pursue private or charitable purposes.

Current situation: Foundation registers of the federal states 

Legal foundations under civil law are subject to the supervision of the federal state in which the foundation is based. As part of this supervision, each federal state has previously maintained its own register of recognised foundations. These public foundation registers, such as the Bavarian Foundation Register, serve as a publicly accessible source of information about the foundations in the respective federal state. There is no nationwide foundation register, and the depth of content in the registers of the federal states varies greatly.

In some federal states, it is currently only possible to find out whether a foundation exists by making an enquiry to the competent authority – aspects that do not make the foundation system particularly transparent nationwide. Furthermore, the existing registers of the federal states do not have any register effect (unlike, for example, the commercial register or the register of associations).

Nationwide register for greater transparency

In order to create greater transparency in the foundation sector in future, the 2021 reform of foundation law in the ‘Act on the Standardisation of Foundation Law’ stipulates, among other things, that a nationwide foundation register will be introduced for all foundations with legal capacity from 2026, replacing the registers of the federal states.

This will be based on Section 82b of the German Civil Code (BGB) and provisions from the Foundation Register Act (StiftRG), which will come into force on 1 January 2026.

In future, the foundation register will be maintained by the Federal Office of Justice in accordance with Section 1 StiftRG and will have a publicity effect similar to that of the commercial register (in future Section 82 d BGB): The information stored in the register with regard to representation relationships and master data will be authoritative for legal transactions. In future, for example, the power of representation can be easily proven via the register; an extract from the register is sufficient for this purpose.

The foundation register should not be confused with the existing transparency register, in which the beneficial owners of foundations must be registered for the purposes of money laundering prevention.

Which foundations must be entered in the foundation register and when?

Registration in the foundation register is mandatory for foundations with legal capacity. Trust foundations without legal capacity (so-called dependent foundations) cannot be entered in the register.

The registration requirement applies immediately to new foundations established after 1 January 2026. Existing foundations, on the other hand, have a one-year grace period: they must register on their own initiative by 31 December 2026 at the latest.

In the event of violations, the registration authority may impose a penalty of up to EUR 1,000. Those responsible should therefore ensure that the registration is carried out correctly and in a timely manner.

What is entered in the foundation register?

The foundation register primarily contains basic information about the foundation, such as its name, registered office and date of recognition. In the case of consumptive foundations, their duration is also entered.

In addition, information about the members of the executive board is included: in future, the surname and first name, date of birth and place of residence of the members of a foundation’s executive board will be available for inspection, as will the scope of their power of representation.

Tip: If any of this information changes after registration, the changes must be reported to the foundation register.

Whether or not a foundation is charitable cannot be determined with certainty from the foundation register. To do so, it is still necessary to consult the register of grant recipients.

Too much transparency for private family foundations?

The new regulations coming into force in 2026 will create legal certainty in dealing with foundations. This is because the foundation register will be freely accessible to everyone; proof of a special interest, as is the case with the land registry, will not be required.

However, this transparency can be a problem, especially for private family foundations, because it is also possible to view the documents on file (e.g. the foundation’s statutes). The statutes in particular often reveal details that the founding families do not want to be made public, such as which individuals receive what amounts from the foundation.

Tip: Newly established private family foundations should ideally take this circumstance into account when drafting their statutes and, where possible, remove sensitive information from the statutes. Existing foundations can submit a corresponding application when submitting their documents to the foundation register to request that highly personal information (beneficiaries, etc.) be redacted. In addition, an amendment to the statutes may be considered.

Advantages, disadvantages, need for action?

The foundation register makes it easier for foundations to participate in legal transactions. It makes foundations and the entire foundation system more transparent. However, private family foundations in particular must prepare for this ‘new transparency’ in order to avoid the disadvantages of too much publicity.

All foundations with legal capacity must prepare for the sooner or later inevitable entry in the foundation register, compile the relevant documents and, if necessary, ensure that documents may be partially anonymised if there is a legitimate interest.

Note: As things stand (18 September 2025), the launch date is scheduled to be postponed to 1 January 2028. (Source: Stiftungen.org – Launch of the foundation register not until 2028.) We will keep you informed.