What is a registry and REGON number?
The REGON register was created on the basis of Law of June 29, 1995. on public statistics. It collects and administers data on national economic entities.
Why the name REGON?
As you can easily guess, the full name – that is, the National Official Register of National Economic Entities – does not make up the abbreviation REGON. An extension of the same is the words National Economy Register.
What entities belong to REGON?
The REGON number is given to:
- legal entities;
- unincorporated organizational units;
- individuals engaged in economic activity;
- individual farms.
Important!
If the listed entities have local units, such as subsidiaries or branches, each such unit will be assigned a separate REGON number.
Objectives and features of the REGON register
According to the wording of the Decree of the Council of Ministers of November 30, 2015. On the manner and methodology of keeping and updating the National Official Register of National Economic Entities model applications, questionnaires and certificates, the REGON register is intended to help achieve identification consistency of all economic entities entered in other registers and public administration information systems. Another function of the REGON register is to standardize the descriptions used in the nomenclature of public administration registries and information systems.
At a glance
The REGON register serves to organize information about national economic entities despite their presence in various registers.
Another purpose of establishing REGON was to create a characterization of national economic entities in various aspects – by area of activity, legal status, type of entity and ownership.
The information contained in the registry is also statistically significant, as it is an input to the database of units that are selected for statistical surveys, address lists or the creation of data banks on national economy entities.
What does the REGON number mean?
The seemingly random string of digits that make up the REGON number actually contains a range of information, important from the point of view of the REGON database.
Legal entities, sole proprietors and unincorporated business entities are assigned a nine-digit REGON number. The first two digits are the territorial designation (each corresponds to a specific province), the next six are the serial number, and the last is the check digit.
The REGON number at first had only 7 digits. In the late 1980s. was extended, and owners of the old REGON numbers had to add two zeros to them to start.
The territorial units of the aforementioned. entities are designated with a longer, up to fourteen-digit REGON number. The first nine digits correspond to the REGON number of the legal entity, the next four are the ordinal number of the local unit, and the last is the check digit.
Important!
In 1985-99, the first two digits of the REGON number corresponded to the division into provinces at the time – there were 49 of them and they were always given odd numbers. Since the territorial reform, the first two numbers are assigned in accordance with the current division into provinces.
How to obtain a REGON number?
The process of assigning a REGON number looks different, depending on the type of entity. Individuals conducting business activity will receive a REGON number automatically – this will happen simultaneously with the submission of the CEIDG-1 application (that is, the document that informs about the desire to open a business and report to the Central Register and Information on Business Activity) – but it is worth remembering that notification of successful REGON assignment will be sent by mail up to a few working days after the application is received.
Other legal forms will require submission of a completed form RG-1, an application to join the REGON register.
REGON search engine – how to use it and what can we find in it?
Checking a company’s REGON is a very simple matter: just visit the REGON search engine page, then enter at least one of three numbers in the search box on the left: REGON, NIP or KRS. After entering the appropriate data, you will get the result – a table with information about the subject.
What information does the REGON database contain?
Each entity included in the REGON register is first described in one of the categories (legal entity, organizational unit, natural person conducting business). Depending on the type of entity, REGON entries will differ in layout and the presence of some of the following sections:
- background information;
- registered office address;
- dates related to the entity’s activities;
- contact information.
In the basic information section, you will find REGON and TIN numbers, TIN status, entity name, as well as codes and names for: basic legal form, special legal form and ownership form. Completing this section is the name of the registration authority, the type of register or registry and the number in that register.
In the business address section, there are no surprises – you will find a detailed address, and the only difference from the standard mailing address is information not only about the locality, but also about the province, district and municipality. There will also be a place for the item “unusual location”, which will help determine the exact location of the headquarters (for example, when several companies occupy one address or when we are talking about a kiosk or other facility that does not have its own address).
The section of dates related to the entity’s activities includes all relevant dates, such as the date of the entity’s establishment, commencement of activities, entry in the register or registry, or entry in the REGON. If the entity in question is affected, the “date of suspension of activity”, “date of resumption of activity” and “date of termination of activity” sections will also be filled in. There are also items Informing about the dates of deletion from REGON, bankruptcy ruling or termination of bankruptcy proceedings.
The last section – contact information – includes phone numbers, fax numbers, email address and website address (if applicable).
At the very end of the entity entry, you will find a drop-down list of PKD codes, covering the activities carried out by the entity, divided into the main activity and other activities.
Other features of the REGON search engine
In addition to the ability to search for a specific entity using its TIN, KRS or REGON numbers, the REGON database has three interesting features:
- search by address – the address tab, when expanded, shows a number of options, the selection of which will show the user a list of all entities registered at a given address. The minimum information to be entered is the province, county, municipality and city. When you click on the “Search” button, you will get a list of entities registered at the location, along with the name, exact address and if any. information about deletion from REGON (deleted entities always appear at the bottom of the list). Clicking on the gray box with the REGON number will open the tab of the specific entity.
- search by identifier group – allows you to enter multiple REGON, NIP or KRS numbers to get a list of selected entities.
- satistics – this view shows data on the number of new entries in the REGON register and deleted entities, as well as the number of hits on the REGON search engine page.
REGON – what is it needed for?
Sole proprietors do not actually use their own REGON number in an active way. Legal entities, on the other hand, only need a REGON number when registering a trademark. This state of affairs has been going on for many years, so for what reason is there still a REGON number being assigned to new entities in the national economy?
The answer to this question is statistics. As we mentioned earlier, the REGON register is used largely for statistical purposes and to standardize the identification of entities. Giving up the REGON system would mean creating a new one to cover statistical needs in our country.
