Jaarrekening.be
A bank, a contracting authority or a foreign customer asks for "an extract from the CBE", the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises that registers every Belgian business. Or you want to see in black and white who may represent a company. There are two kinds of extract, with a big difference in price. Here is how to know which one you need.
The short answer
- Free
- CBE Public Search, any enterprise
- Officially stamped
- Enterprise counter, from EUR 16.50
- What is not on it
- Figures and shareholders
Three routes, three kinds of document
| Where | What you get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| CBE Public Search | The public data of any enterprise and establishment unit, to view or print. No stamp. | Free |
| My Enterprise | All CBE data of your own enterprise, including what is not public, and the option to change part of it | Free, with eID or itsme |
| Enterprise counter | A stamped extract, ordinary or legalised, in Dutch, French, German or English | Paid |
CBE Public Search: free, for any enterprise
According to the FPS Economy, CBE Public Search shows "the publicly accessible data of all registered entities and establishment units free of charge". You need no account and the company does not notice that you are searching.
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Open CBE Public Search
Go to kbopub.economie.fgov.be and choose the search by number. Searching by name, address or activity is also possible. -
Type the enterprise number
Ten digits, with or without dots, without BE. A number starting with 2 is an establishment unit; the page then also shows the enterprise behind it. -
Check status and legal situation
At the top you see the status (active or stopped), the legal situation and, if there is one, a line saying the enterprise was struck off ex officio. -
Expand the functions
Click "Show the legal functions" to see the directors, managers and permanent representatives, with their start date. -
Print or save as PDF
Use your browser's print function. At the bottom is the date of the CBE database, so you can later show what you saw at that time.
For your own file, a KYC check or a first check of a new customer, that is usually enough. If you still need to find the enterprise number, first read how to look up a CBE enterprise number.
My Enterprise: your own enterprise
My Enterprise is the CBE's secure application for enterprises themselves. You log in with your eID, itsme or a mobile app and see all data about your enterprise and its establishment units. Only people who may represent the enterprise (or an authorised agent, such as the accountant) get access. You can change contact details, a bank account number, powers of attorney and the name and address of an establishment unit there free of charge, among other things.
Use My Enterprise mainly to check that your own data is correct before you order an extract. Otherwise a wrong address or a forgotten discontinued activity will also be on the paid document.
Enterprise counter: the stamped extract
An "official" CBE extract is a document issued and stamped by an approved enterprise counter. There are two variants:
- Ordinary extract: with the counter's stamp. It is sufficient for Belgian authorities and partners, and for the official bodies of a number of EU countries. At the counters we checked, it costs EUR 16.50 including VAT per establishment unit and arrives by email after payment.
- Legalised extract: also bearing an apostille or legalisation by the FPS Foreign Affairs, for foreign authorities that require it. Expect a few days and a clearly higher price, between roughly EUR 75 and EUR 95 at the counters we checked.
Rates differ per counter. So first ask whoever requests the document which version and which language is needed: ordering a legalised extract where an ordinary one will do only costs you time and money.
What is on a CBE extract
The extract and the page in Public Search contain the same public data:
- Identity: enterprise number, name and any trade names, legal form, type of entity and start date.
- Status and legal situation: active or stopped, and normal situation, bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation or judicial reorganisation.
- Registered office and establishment units: the address of the registered office and the number of establishment units, each with its own number and address.
- Functions: directors, managers, permanent representatives and persons in charge of day-to-day management, with start date.
- Capacities and authorisations: among others VAT-registered, employer registered with the social security office (RSZ/ONSS), and licences or approvals recorded in the CBE.
- Activities: the NACE-BEL codes per register (VAT, social security), in the new version since 2025.
- Financial data: where known, the capital, the month of the annual general meeting and the end date of the financial year.
What is not on it
- No figures. Turnover, profit, equity or debts are in the annual accounts at the National Bank, not in the CBE. How to find them is explained in how to find Belgian annual accounts.
- No shareholders. The CBE shows who manages, not who owns. The UBO register is not freely accessible.
- No articles of association. What the directors may do exactly is in the articles of association. You look those up elsewhere, see finding articles of association.
- No missed filings. That a company has not filed annual accounts for two years does not show in the CBE. Only after three years can an ex officio strike-off follow.
What a company page on Jaarrekening.be shows
Jaarrekening.be uses the same CBE data and puts it next to what the CBE does not have. A company's overview shows the enterprise number, legal form, legal situation, start date, address and activities. In separate tabs you also find:
- Financial statements and Financial ratios: all filed years side by side, with ratios and the Health score from 1 to 5. You also see at once which financial year was filed last.
- Directors: the current directors, with a link to their other mandates.
- Publications: the deeds in the Belgian Official Gazette, such as appointments, amendments to the articles and dissolution, with the original PDF.
- Locations: the establishment units with address and start date.
That does not replace the stamped extract when an authority or bank explicitly asks for it. It is faster, though, when you want to know whether to do business with the company. A free account is enough for the basic figures.
Read also Checking a Belgian VAT number, validity and reliability in three stepsIn short
For most checks you do not need a paid extract: CBE Public Search shows the same data for free, for any enterprise. If a bank, authority or foreign partner asks for an official document, order an ordinary or legalised extract from an enterprise counter. And remember what no extract tells you: whether the company can pay its bills. For that, look at the annual accounts.