The Italian business register is the Registro delle Imprese (Register of Companies), a public register kept by the Chambers of Commerce on one national IT system. Anyone can run a free search on registroimprese.it. A company's registration number is its codice fiscale. Paid extracts and certificates are bought in Telemaco, which a private person opens with an Italian digital identity.
This guide is about searching the Register, not about forming a company: the route from a founder's decision to an entered company is on the page about forming an Italian company. Here you find what the Register shows, which number is which, what each document costs in 2026, and how a new company reaches the Register.
What is the Italian business register?
The Registro delle Imprese is the register in which Italian businesses are entered. The Civil Code creates it, a Register office keeps it under a delegated judge, and it is public (Art. 2188 c.c.). English-language sources call it the Italian company register, the commercial register or the business register; they all mean this one Register. It is not a land, tax or trade-licence register, and it is not the place where a company is formed: it records a company that a notary's deed has already created.
The practical consequence for a reader abroad is simple. A search in the Register answers three questions: does this company exist, who is it (name, seat, legal form, activity), and what can be proved about it. The rest of this guide takes those questions in turn, from the free search to the certificate that a bank or court will accept.
Deeds and data of capital companies are kept in the Register in digital form (D.Lgs. 183/2021, Art. 3). The Chambers' English portal, italianbusinessregister.it, describes its reach as over 6 million companies, 10 million people and 900,000 financial statements filed every year. That portal is the second public route into the same data, described in the search section below.
Who keeps the Register, and who has to be on it?
- The Chamber of Commerce
A Register office is set up at each chamber, with competence over its province (Art. 8(1) L. 580/1993).
- The delegated judge and the conservatore
Judges of the business sections supervise the Register, and the offices of one tribunal district are run by a single conservatore (Art. 8(3)-(4)). This is the registrar of companies in English usage.
- InfoCamere
The chambers' IT company runs registroimprese.it, Telemaco and the English portal.
- Special sections
Innovative start-ups and other categories have their own sections; entry there has a notice function only (Art. 8(5)).
The Register works as one national system (Art. 8(6) L. 580/1993, see the text of Art. 8), so a company of any province can be found from a single search. Entry is compulsory for the Code's company types, meaning the S.r.l., the S.p.A. and the partnerships other than the società semplice, and for cooperatives (Art. 2200 c.c.). A fact that must be registered and is not cannot be raised against third parties by the person obliged to register it, unless they knew it; once registered, third parties cannot plead ignorance (Art. 2193 c.c.).
Start-ups with their own section are covered in Innovative Start-up Status in Italy.
What is an Italian company registration number?
The company's Register number (Numero Registro Imprese) is its codice fiscale. For a sole trader it is the owner's codice fiscale. This is the answer to the searches for a company registration number or a business registration number in Italy, and it comes from the Register's own page on the three numbers (registroimprese.it, tax code, VAT number and REA).
The three numbers of an Italian company and where each sits on the visura, Register guidance 2026.
| Number | What it is | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Register number (Numero Registro Imprese) | The company's codice fiscale, one nationwide, assigned by the chamber of the province of the sede legale | "Dati Anagrafici" section of the visura |
| Partita IVA (VAT number) | Coincides with the codice fiscale for companies, with exceptions; always differs for sole traders | The visura and the company's invoices |
| REA number | Provincial number of the Economic and Administrative Index: province code and progressive number, for example RM-123456 | The visura, under the entry of the province |
Source: registroimprese.it, page on the codice fiscale, partita IVA and REA.
A company receives one REA number for each province in which it has a seat or a local unit. A foreign entrepreneur with its main seat abroad that opens only a local unit in Italy has no Register entry of its own and is a REA-only entry. A branch with permanent representation (sede secondaria) of a foreign entrepreneur is registered within 30 days with the office of the place where it is set up, naming the representative (Art. 11 D.P.R. 581/1995 and the Civil Code article reproduced in its note).
How can you check an Italian company for free?
Search by name on the home page of registroimprese.it
No account is needed. The result shows address, PEC, generic legal form, activity and ATECO code of the seat and of the active local units (registroimprese.it, seat and local units).
Or search in English on italianbusinessregister.it
The Chambers' English portal offers a search by company name or activity, and a company report, annual accounts and lists.
Read what the result shows and what it does not
The free result is identification: it places the company and its activity. The paid company search in Telemaco adds codice fiscale, partita IVA, REA number, PEC, legal form and ATECO code of the seat on screen.
For more, move to the paid routes
The next section lists each document, its login and its charge. This page states no price for the English portal's report or accounts, because the portal's home page prints none. Check the price on the portal before you order.
Which document for which purpose, and what does it cost in 2026?
Four things separate the Register's outputs: what they show, whether they bind third parties, whether a login is needed and what they cost. The ladder below runs from the free search to the apostille for use abroad, and the table after it gives the 2026 charges. The amounts are the Register's own charges for a capital company, not fees of ours.
Which Italian Register document for which purpose, with the 2026 charge for a capital company.
| Document | What it gives | Login needed | Cost, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free search on the registroimprese.it home page | Address, PEC, generic legal form, activity and ATECO code of the seat and active local units | None | Free |
| Company search in Telemaco | On screen: codice fiscale, partita IVA, REA number, PEC, legal form, ATECO of the seat | SPID, CIE or CNS for a private person | EUR 0.60 |
| "Sede e unità locali" visura block | The seat and local units | SPID, CIE or CNS for a private person | EUR 1 |
| Ordinary and historical visura | Current data; or the company's history | SPID, CIE or CNS for a private person | EUR 5.00 ordinary, EUR 6.00 historical (partnerships EUR 3.50 and EUR 4.50) |
| English visura | The same content in English | SPID, CIE or CNS for a private person | The same as the Italian ordinary visura |
| Own-company visura through impresa italia | The company's own visura, also in English | SPID or CNS (the app also takes CIE) | Free |
| Certificato camerale | Certified data, legal force, valid six months; the English certificate is exempt from stamp duty and has a QR code on page one | Telemaco profile 2, or a chamber counter | Euro price not stated here; the English certificate costs less |
Sources: registroimprese.it pages on seat and local units and on the visura and certificate; Milan-Monza Brianza-Lodi chamber, certificates page; registroimprese.it English company registration report page.
The English visura is drawn up to the same standard and at the same cost as the Italian ordinary one (registroimprese.it, visura and certificate). For the extract itself, read our guide to the visura camerale.
Can you use the Register from outside Italy?
The free searches work from anywhere, with no account and no Italian document. The paid routes are the constraint, because a bank, a counterparty or a notary will often ask for a document that only a paid route produces. Registration in Telemaco is free, but a private person logs in only with SPID level 2, CIE 3.0 or CNS, the Italian digital identities, available since 28 February 2021 (registroimprese.it, user area). Payment is by prepaid account (Visa, Mastercard) or ICONTO.
The Telemaco pages list SPID, CIE and CNS and say nothing about a foreign eID, so this guide makes no statement on whether one is accepted. Impresa italia, the company's own drawer, also needs SPID or CNS, and the app takes CIE.
Routes left without an Italian digital identity:
- The free search on the registroimprese.it home page.
- The Chambers' English portal, italianbusinessregister.it.
- An Italian representative who holds an identity, for every extract and certificate.
- A certificate with an apostille, where the document is meant for use abroad.
- None of these opens the beneficial-owner section.
Visura or certificate: which one has legal weight?
A visura is official data from the Register, but it has no value of certification and cannot be raised against third parties. It carries no expiry date. A certificato camerale has legal force as certification, is valid for six months, and is bought online with a Telemaco profile 2 or at a chamber counter (Milan-Monza Brianza-Lodi chamber, certificates). Which of the two a bank, notary, court or tender asks for is for the party asking to say; the law only fixes what each document is worth. Read the request you received, and if it names a certificato camerale or a visura, take the name literally.
A certificate meant for use abroad may need an apostille, requested from the local Prefecture. A certificate is issued only to a business in good standing with its annual chamber fee, and it cannot be presented to public administrations. English certificates are issued at the counter or online. This guide gives no turnaround or charge for the apostille, because the chamber's page states none and the Prefecture's page was not read.
Forming a company rather than checking one?
The formation route is on the home page. Tell us where your founders live and which papers they hold.
How does a new company get onto the Register?
Law and practice are labelled apart below. The statutory terms belong to the notary and the Register; the formation route itself is on the page about forming an Italian company.
Before the deed (practice)
The founders' documents and a company PEC are in hand. This page does not itemise the documents; the list depends on who the founders are.
The deed (law)
A notary receives the deed of incorporation, in person, by attorney or, for an S.r.l., by videoconference. See what the Italian notary does and the deed and the statute.
The notary files (law)
The filing is made within 10 days of the deed (Art. 2330 c.c.), through the Comunicazione Unica, now through DIRE.
The Register checks and enters (law)
The check is of form only (Art. 11(6) D.P.R. 581/1995). Entry is made without delay and at most within 10 days of protocol, halved to 5 for an application on electronic media (Art. 11(8), text of Art. 11). The company has legal personality from entry (Art. 2331 c.c.).
Confirmations (law, procedure)
The chamber confirms to the company's PEC within 5 days; the Agenzia delle Entrate, INPS and INAIL each within 7 days (GuidaComUnica).
First annual chamber fee (law)
The company pays it within 30 days of the filing, by F24, code 3850.
If the Register refuses the entry, the applicant may appeal to the Register judge within 8 days, and then to the tribunal within 15 days (Arts. 2189 and 2192 c.c.). No statute makes 48 hours a term for any step above.
- Signed deedThe notary receives the deedStarting point
- The notary filesComunicazione Unica through DIREWithin 10 days (Art. 2330 c.c.)
- Register entryLegal personality starts on entry10 days from protocol, 5 for an electronic filing (Art. 11(8) D.P.R. 581/1995)
- Chamber PEC confirmationTo the company PECWithin 5 days
- Agency confirmationsAgenzia delle Entrate, INPS and INAILEach within 7 days
- First annual chamber feeBy F24, code 3850Within 30 days of the filing
What does the Register charge a new company?
These are state charges for a new capital company in 2026, not fees of ours. The notary's own fee is not in the table, because no official scale exists.
State charges on a new Italian company, 2026.
| Charge | Amount | Who pays and when |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty on a Register filing | EUR 65.00 capital company; EUR 59.00 partnership; EUR 17.50 sole trader. The deed of incorporation pays EUR 156 through the notary's MUI instead | The filer, with the filing |
| Secretarial fee | EUR 90 for the deed of incorporation with the single-member notice | The filer, with the filing |
| First-year annual chamber fee | EUR 120.00 for a new capital company in Rome; EUR 24.00 per new local unit | The company, within 30 days of the filing, F24 code 3850 |
Sources: Romagna chamber, stamp duty and MUI note, 2026; Romagna chamber, secretarial fee table revision 16 of 27 January 2026; Rome chamber, annual fee 2026 page.
What must an Italian company show on its website and letters?
An Italian company prints the following on its deeds, correspondence and website (Art. 2250 c.c.):
- Its registered office (sede).
- The Register office where it is entered.
- Its registration number.
- For an S.r.l. and an S.p.A., the paid-up capital.
- Whether it has a single member.
- Each director's domicilio digitale is registered separately, cannot coincide with the company's, and is the person's own PEC; see PEC in Italy.
A late or missed Register filing carries a fine of EUR 103 to EUR 1,032, reduced to one third if made within 30 days of the deadline (Art. 2630 c.c.).
What changed in 2026?
12 February 2026: DIRE replaces ComUnica
The ComUnica software has not been available since that date; filings go through DIRE or market software, and the Comunicazione Unica procedure itself stays in force.
9 January 2026: beneficial-owner data closed to the public
D.Lgs. 210/2025 (Art. 1(1)(a)) is in force; a private person sees the data only with a relevant and differentiated legal interest and evidence (D.Lgs. 210/2025).
Directors' domicilio digitale
Each sole director, managing director or, failing them, the chairman registers a personal PEC that cannot coincide with the company's.
From our practice: what the state controls and what a firm can prepare
In our practice we prepare the papers a notary needs and coordinate the steps around the deed; the notary files, and the Register enters.
The deed and the notary's filing (steps 2 and 3 above) are the steps a notary and a firm can prepare. The Register's own term (step 4) is the state's. A director abroad without SPID, CIE or CNS depends on the free search, the English portal or an Italian representative for every extract and certificate. Everything on this page is explained, not sold; if you want a firm to prepare the papers, the formation page says how. Our own 48-hour practice runs from the signed deed with the documents in hand; it is not a Register term and not a promise.
Sources
The texts this guide rests on, each with what it supports.
- Art. 8 L. 580/1993: the Register offices, the judges, the national system.
- Art. 11 D.P.R. 581/1995: the formal check and the entry term.
- D.Lgs. 210/2025: access to beneficial-owner data.
- Civil Code (Regio Decreto no. 262): Arts. 2188, 2189, 2192, 2193, 2200, 2250, 2330, 2331 and 2630, stated as rules without quotation.
- registroimprese.it, tax code, VAT number and REA: the three numbers.
- registroimprese.it, seat and local units: the free search and the EUR 0.60 search.
- registroimprese.it, visura and certificate: documents, prices and legal value.
- registroimprese.it, user area: the Telemaco login.
- registroimprese.it, tools: ComUnica switched off, DIRE.
- italianbusinessregister.it: the Chambers' English portal.
- Milan-Monza Brianza-Lodi chamber, certificates: validity, English certificates, apostille.
Also used and named without a link: the registroimprese.it Comunicazione Unica page and GuidaComUnica; the Romagna chamber stamp-duty note and secretarial-fee table of 27 January 2026; the Rome chamber annual-fee page 2026; the Milan-Monza Brianza-Lodi chamber note on directors' digital domicile; D.Lgs. 183/2021 Art. 3. The Civil Code articles are stated as rules, not quoted.
Related service
- forming an Italian company: the formation page covers the route from the founders' documents to an entered company. Questions on your file go through our contact page.
- Innovative Start-up Status in Italy: the special section of the Register for innovative start-ups.