A company with limited liability is obligated to have a German business address, even if the administrative offices are in another country.
c/o supplement makes deliveries easier
In 2009, Naumburg Higher Regional Court held that the c/o supplement was permitted since it makes it easier to find the location when serving documents. Now, Hamm Higher Regional Court had to deal with this issue as well and arrived at a similar decision.
At first, the register court had rejected the registration into the official register because the company did not have business premises at the stated address and its authorized agent had no place of residence there, either. Hamm Higher Regional Court was referred to and stated that it was sufficient for the c/o address to refer to an agent authorized to receive deliveries. As long as this was ensured, there are no objections to using a c/o address as a German business address.
c/o adress common practice in Germany
It is common practice for companies in the process of being formed to use a c/o address and only obtain an address, for example at a business center, after registration has been completed. If a commercial register blocks this process again, those involved have a further judgment they can use in their dispute with the commercial register nowadays.
Hamm Higher Regional Court, Order of May 17, 2015, 27 W 51/15
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