🇮🇹 Business register in Italy

General Overview

Italy operates a centralized but commercially managed system for accessing company data and corporate documents. Unlike countries where public authorities directly manage and distribute business data, Italy delegates this responsibility to Infocamere, a private entity acting on behalf of the regional Chambers of Commerce (Camere di Commercio).

The main source of information is the Registro delle Imprese (Business Register), which provides access to certified extracts, legal representative data, shareholder information, and financial statements. While access is relatively efficient, it is rarely free—most official documents must be purchased individually.

UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Ownership) data are notably absent from the public register, and there is currently no central public UBO register available in Italy. This can present obstacles for teams performing anti-money laundering (AML) or Know Your Business (KYB) due diligence workflows.

Official registers

Registro delle Imprese

The Registro is the national trade register. It is available in two versions:

• One in Italian, called Registro Imprese, which requires Italian citizenship to download certain documents;
• The other in English, called Italian Business Register, where anyone can register — unfortunately, some information and documents are not available through this version.

Another major issue: the register does not display the company’s unique identifier, which is the 11-digit tax code (codice fiscale). While the name of the city of registration is provided, accurately identifying a company with a fairly generic name (such as Semaforo, for instance) and registered in a large city can present serious identification challenges.

Fortunately, there is one more way to access this information: an API provided by Infocamere — the entity responsible for maintaining the Registro delle Imprese — to which Semaphore has access. Be aware, however, that flat access fees can exceed €10,000.

Beyond these access challenges, Italy offers a large amount of high-quality information through the Visura Ordinaria (one of the most comprehensive register extracts in Europe). The trade-off: both the data and the document are paid.

Registro dei titolari effettivi (UBO)

This is the Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO) register. The situation is rather delicate in Italy. The register does exist, and the declaration obligations for companies are still in force, with penalties for non-compliance. However, the register is simply closed to everyone — including regulated entities subject to anti-money laundering obligations — and, as a result, it is no longer possible to access the information. This situation has been stated on the registry’s official website since May 17, 2024.

The only way to identify UBOs automatically is by tracing the ownership structure. Fortunately, shareholder identity information — whether individuals or legal entities — is accessible through the Visura Ordinaria generated by the Registro delle Imprese.

Registration requirements

For sole proprietors

All sole proprietors (ditta individuale) engaged in commercial, artisanal, or agricultural activities are required to register. This means that those practicing a liberal profession are not subject to this obligation. As a result, a significant portion of sole proprietors cannot be identified in Italy on the official register.

Those who are required to register must declare any change to their activity. However, they are not mandated to file financial statements, and the obligations regarding beneficial ownership do not apply to them.

For associations

An association with legal personality is required to register with the RUNTS (Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore). It must also notify the register of any changes to its activity, address, etc., within 30 days, and file its financial statements annually. RUNTS information is then made available through the online register managed by InfoCamere. Lastly, the association is also subject to the declaration of its beneficial owners.

In summary: an association with legal personality must register, and its information is accessible via the company register.

For companies

All companies, regardless of their legal form, must register and declare any significant ulterior change (such as changes in the company name, registered office, corporate purpose, directors, share capital, etc.).

They are also required to file their financial statements within 30 days of the approval of the accounts. An exception exists for partnerships (SNC – Società in nome collettivo and SAS – Società in accomandita semplice), which are currently not obliged to file their accounts — although a forthcoming EU Directive is expected to make this mandatory.

Lastly all companies — except partnerships — are subject to filing obligations with regard to beneficial ownership.

With Semaphore

Semaphore is directly connected to the InfoCamere API allowing on-demand access to data & documents.

Available Data

Company Profile

• Legal name and trade name
• Company registration number:
  • Unique identifier issued by InfoCamere
  • Format: 11-digit number
  • Example: 01234567890
• VAT number:
  • Equal to the company registration number
  • Format : 11-digit number (without any IT characters in front)
• CCIAA number:
  • Stands form Camera di Commercio, Industria, Artigianato e Agricoltura, and represents the local business register where the company had to register
  • Format: always a 2 characters (you can find the exhaustive list in this file)
  • Example: RM for "Roma"
• REA number:
  • Stands for Repertorio Economico Amministrativo and represents the company ID in the local business register (see CCIAA number)
  • Less useful than the company registration number because it's not possible to search for companies on the local authorities websites
• Tax code:
  • Another identifier, often identical with the company registration number but not always.
  • Format: 11-digit number
• Legal form and status
• Registered and mailing addresses
• Activity (Italy use NACE codification)
• Registration authority and date
• Capital (amount and currency)

Legal Representatives

• Full name, date and place of birth
• Gender, roles, appointment/revocation dates

Shareholders

• Type (individual or legal entity)
• Name and address
• Percentage of capital held
• Amount of capital owned

Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO)

• UBO data is not available from public sources in Italy
• However, Semaphore can discover UBO by building the capital ownership tree

Available Documents

Semaphore enables access to the following official documents from Italy:

Costs

Italy and InfoCamere provide highly comprehensive information — arguably the most detailed company register in Europe. The trade-off: the information is paid. Accessing company data costs a few dozen cents, while obtaining documents (such as the Visura Ordinaria or Ultimo Bilancio) can cost several euros.

This underlying cost should be taken into account when integrating Italy into your processes.