Hungary Company Search Guide 2026: How to Verify a Hungarian Business

TL;DR. Hungary’s company register, the Cegbírosag (Company Court Registry), is publicly searchable at cegjegyzek.hu without an account or Hungarian identity. Basic searches are free. Certified extracts (cegkivonat) cost HUF 1,500-5,000 (~USD 4-14). The site has partial English; company records are in Hungarian. Hungary is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026.

What is the official Hungary business registry?

Hungary’s commercial register is administered by the Cegbírosag (company court), which operates as a division of each regional general court (torvenyszek). The national online portal aggregating all court registers is cegjegyzek.hu, operated under the oversight of the Ministry of Justice of Hungary. The registry is governed by the Act on Business Associations (Cegtorveny, Act V of 2006 on the Company Register, Court Registration Procedure and Voluntary Dissolution, as amended).

Registration is mandatory for all Hungarian commercial entities: korlatolt felelossegu tarsasag (Kft., private limited), nyilvanosan mukodo reszvenytarsasag (Nyrt., public joint-stock), zartköruen mukodo reszvenytarsasag (Zrt., closed joint-stock), kozkereseti tarsasag (Kkt., general partnership), betet tarsasag (Bt., limited partnership), and branches of foreign companies. The filing court corresponds to the registered seat of the entity; Budapest-headquartered companies are registered at the Capital Court (Fovárosi Torvenyszek) Cegbírosag.

The cegjegyzek.hu portal consolidates all regional court company registers into a single searchable database. Historical depth varies by entity, but for most companies the register holds records from at least 2007 onward in electronic form, with some earlier records available as scanned documents.

Hungary participates in the EU Business Registers Interconnection System (BRIS), providing cross-border access to basic Hungarian company data through the European Business Register network.

What can you search?

The cegjegyzek.hu portal supports the following free searches without account registration:

• Company name (full or partial)
• Cegszám (company registration number), the primary entity identifier
• Adoszám (tax number, 11-digit)
• Registered seat municipality or county
• Court of registration

Free search results include:

• Company name, legal form, registration number, registered seat, current status (active, in liquidation, under winding-up proceedings, struck off)
• Short company data card (short extract preview) showing key officers and capital
• List of filed documents in the Cegközlöny (official gazette) related to the entity

Paid certified extracts include:

• Cegkivonat (company extract): the current state of the register entry, covering directors, capital structure, and corporate purpose
• Teljes cegkivonat (full extract): the complete chronological history of all changes since registration
• Cegmásolat (certified copy): a copy of any specific document filed with the registry

Data is updated on a court-acceptance basis. Filed changes to the register are typically processed within 5-15 business days by the competent court.

How much does it cost?

HUF/USD conversion used: 1 HUF = ~USD 0.0028 (approximate, May 2026; verify at point of purchase). Certified extracts are ordered through cegjegyzek.hu with payment by credit card or domestic bank transfer. Foreign credit cards (Visa, Mastercard) are accepted on the portal. No Hungarian bank account is required.

Electronic certified extracts carry a qualified electronic signature under EU eIDAS regulation and are legally equivalent to paper-certified documents in Hungary and within the EU.

Do you need a local account or ID?

No Hungarian identity document or local company registration is required for basic searches on cegjegyzek.hu.

The portal is fully open for company name searches, data card views, and Cegközlöny notice browsing without any account. To order a certified extract, the portal’s payment flow does not require a Hungarian eID (Ügyfélkapu) account for foreign buyers. Payment by international credit card completes the transaction. The extract is delivered electronically to the email address provided at checkout.

Some advanced functions of the cegjegyzek.hu system (such as online filing submissions by Hungarian registered companies) do require Ügyfélkapu authentication, but these are not relevant for foreign compliance buyers conducting searches.

Is the website in English?

Partial. The cegjegyzek.hu portal has an English-language interface option that translates navigation menus, search field labels, and section headers. Company data within records (company names, addresses, director names, purpose descriptions) remains in Hungarian.

Hungarian uses Latin script with specific diacritical marks (a, e, i, o, o, u, u and their long forms). Name searches typically work with or without diacritics due to portal normalization. Precise lookups should use correct characters.

The EU BRIS portal provides English-language access to basic Hungarian company name, registration number, and status without navigating the Hungarian portal directly. This is a useful starting point for initial screening.

What’s the turnaround time?

For free searches and data card previews, results are instant. The cegjegyzek.hu portal responds in real time.

For certified extracts ordered online, the electronic document is typically generated and delivered within minutes to a few hours after payment. The system issues the extract as a digitally signed PDF.

For changes to be reflected in the register (new director appointments, capital changes, address updates), court processing time is typically 5-15 business days. Hungary’s court processing period is longer than some EU peers, which is a relevant factor when verifying recent corporate changes. A company card showing no recent updates may simply reflect court processing lag rather than genuine inactivity.

Is there an API?

No public API is available for cegjegyzek.hu or the Hungarian company register as of May 2026. The Ministry of Justice does not offer a documented programmatic interface for third-party queries.

The Hungarian government’s open data portal (data.hu) publishes some Cegközlöny data as open datasets, but these are periodic bulk exports rather than live APIs.

For programmatic access to Hungarian company data, the practical options are: local commercial data providers (see section below) who offer API-based delivery of company registry data; or EU BRIS cross-border access for basic name and status queries.

Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) offers a free online VAT number validation at nav.gov.hu, which can be used to confirm that an Adoszám is valid and the entity is VAT-registered, but this does not provide full company details.

What you legally cannot do

The cegjegyzek.hu terms of use and Hungarian and EU law place the following restrictions on use of company register data:

• Automated bulk scraping of cegjegyzek.hu is prohibited. The system detects and blocks automated querying. Systematic replication of the register through the portal interface is not permitted.
• GDPR constraints: Directors, shareholders, and partners appearing in Hungarian company register entries are natural persons protected under EU GDPR as implemented in Hungarian law (Act CXII of 2011 on the Right of Informational Self-Determination and Freedom of Information, as supplemented by GDPR implementing measures). Reusing their personal data for marketing purposes is not a valid legal basis under GDPR.
• Redistribution of certified extracts: Certified extracts carry court digital signatures. Distributing altered or unauthenticated versions creates liability under Hungarian civil and criminal law.
• Claiming registry operator status: Any commercial use of Hungarian company register data must clearly disclose that the user is not the official registry authority.

For the full global due diligence framework applicable across multiple jurisdictions, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.

Practical tips for foreign compliance buyers

• Cegszám is the anchor identifier. The cegszám (company registration number) has the format XX-YY-ZZZZZZ, where XX is a 2-digit county code, YY is the court division code, and ZZZZZZ is the sequential registration number. The Budapest court code is 01. This number uniquely identifies the entity across all registers.
• Adoszám for VAT and tax verification. The 11-digit adoszám (tax number) is required for tax filings and VAT invoices. The first 8 digits are the entity’s base tax ID; digit 9 is the VAT status code; digits 10-11 are the county code. Validate against NAV’s free online tool at nav.gov.hu for quick status checks.
• Status indicators. “Bejegyzett / mukodo” means registered and active. “Végelszamolás alatt” means in voluntary winding-up (végelszámolás). “Felszámolás alatt” means in court-ordered insolvency proceedings (felszámolás). “Törolt” means struck off. Insolvency proceedings in Hungary are published in Cegközlöny.
• Kft vs. Zrt disclosure. A Kft (Korlatolt felelossegu tarsasag) is a private limited company and is the most common entity form for Hungarian SMEs. A Zrt (Zartköruen mukodo reszvenytarsasag) is a closed joint-stock company. A Nyrt (public joint-stock) has higher disclosure obligations. For compliance purposes, financial statements filed with the Tax Authority (NAV) are accessible through the e-cegjegyzek system for entities meeting size thresholds.
• Slower court processing vs. EU peers. Hungarian court processing of company changes takes longer than in Germany or the Czech Republic. Account for this when verifying recently appointed directors or newly registered entities.
• Branch office identification. Foreign company branches registered in Hungary appear in cegjegyzek.hu with the same search and data display as domestic entities, but the entry links to the parent foreign company’s details. Confirm whether the entity you are dealing with is a Hungarian subsidiary (independent legal person) or a branch (legally part of the foreign parent).
• FATF status. Hungary is a FATF member. It is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. For current status, see fatf-gafi.org.

Alternatives if you cannot access the registry directly

The partial-English interface and Hungarian-language records create friction for some foreign buyers. Practical alternatives include:

• EU BRIS portal: Basic company name, status, and cegszám for Hungarian companies available in English without an account. Suitable for initial screening; does not deliver certified extracts.
• NAV VAT validation (nav.gov.hu): Free online tool to validate an Adoszám and confirm VAT registration status. Useful for invoice compliance checks.
• Aggregator search: OpenCorporates indexes Hungarian register data but lags official records. Not suitable for compliance-grade verification.

Local data suppliers

• Bisnode Hungary (bisnode.hu). Part of the Dun and Bradstreet group, Bisnode delivers Hungarian company credit reports, financial data, and payment scoring. Widely used by Hungarian and multinational creditors for counterparty assessment.
• CRIF Hungary (crif.hu). The Hungarian subsidiary of the CRIF group provides consumer and commercial credit bureau services, registry data enrichment, and KYC solutions for financial institutions.
• Creditreform Hungary (creditreform.hu). Part of the European Creditreform network. Provides Hungarian company credit reports combining registry data with payment history and financial statement analysis. Useful for trade credit risk assessment.

Use cegjegyzek.hu for the authoritative court registry extract. Use a credit bureau when you need payment behavior, financial risk scoring, or ongoing entity monitoring.

FAQ

Can a foreign company access Hungary’s company register without a Hungarian identity?

Yes. The cegjegyzek.hu portal is publicly accessible without a Hungarian identity document, Ügyfélkapu account, or local address. Basic searches and data card views are free. Certified extracts (cegkivonat) can be ordered online by foreign buyers using an international credit card. No Hungarian eID is required for extract ordering.

What is the cegszám number in Hungary?

The cegszám (company registration number) follows the format XX-YY-ZZZZZZ: the first two digits identify the county (megye), the middle two digits identify the court division, and the last six digits are the sequential registration number. For Budapest-headquartered companies, the format begins with 01 (the Budapest county code). The cegszám is the primary identifier for all companies in the Hungarian register and is used in all court filings, contracts, and official correspondence.

What entity types are registered with the Hungarian Cegbírosag?

The Cegbírosag registers: Kft. (private limited, by far the most common), Zrt. (closed joint-stock), Nyrt. (public joint-stock), Kkt. (general partnership), Bt. (limited partnership), European company (SE), branches of foreign companies, and economic associations. Sole traders (egyeni vallalkozo) are not registered in cegjegyzek.hu; they register with the Hungarian business license authority (Onkormanyzat) and their data appears in the Vallalkozasok egységes keretrendszer (VEK) database.

Does Hungary have a beneficial ownership (UBO) registry?

Yes. Hungary established a beneficial owner register under Act LIII of 2017 on the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, implementing EU 4AMLD and subsequently updated for EU 5AMLD. The UBO register is maintained by the Tax Authority (NAV) and financial service providers are required to submit UBO information. Public access to the central UBO register in Hungary is more restricted than in some EU peers; regulated entities (banks, auditors, lawyers) have direct access under AML obligations. The framework aligns with FATF Recommendation 24 and EU 6AMLD requirements. Contact the relevant financial institution or use a licensed information service for UBO queries.

How current is the Cegbírosag data?

The cegjegyzek.hu register reflects data as accepted and processed by the regional courts. Court processing time for changes is typically 5-15 business days after the filing is submitted. This means the online record may lag recent corporate changes by one to three weeks. The Cegközlöny (official company gazette) publishes notices of filings and changes, which can appear before the full register entry is updated.

Is Hungary on the FATF grey list?

No. Hungary is not on the FATF grey list as of May 2026. Hungary is a FATF member and has implemented EU 5AMLD and 6AMLD into national law. For current country standings, see fatf-gafi.org.

What is the difference between the company register and tax filings in Hungary?

The Cegbírosag (company register) records corporate structure, officers, and capital. Financial statement filings are submitted to the Tax Authority (NAV) and are accessible through the e-cegjegyzek system for entities above certain size thresholds. Hungary’s Corporate Income Tax rules require larger companies to file audited annual accounts, which are publicly accessible. The company register and the tax filing system are maintained by separate government agencies and do not fully overlap in their data coverage.

Last verified: May 2026. Sources: Cegbírosag portal (cegjegyzek.hu), Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (nav.gov.hu), FATF (fatf-gafi.org). For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.