Data sources and methodology: where our Austrian company data come from

As of 3 November 2026: 218,653 records from one processed source, Overture Maps. The other sources listed below are planned and not yet in the database. The counted status is shown on the database status page.

Sources for Austria

The following public sources come into consideration for the Austrian company database. So far only Overture Maps has been processed (initial load on 18 October 2026); the other sources are planned and not included in the published figures.

• Overture Maps

  Open map data with locations, business names and often phone, website and email address, merged from several sources. The places dataset is licensed under CDLA Permissive 2.0.

  Processed: source of all 218,653 records (as of 3 November 2026) · overturemaps.org

• OpenStreetMap

  Map data maintained by volunteers, including shops, businesses and facilities with addresses and some contact details. Licence ODbL; © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  Planned, not yet processed · openstreetmap.org/copyright

• Public business directories

  Entries that businesses publish themselves, within the terms of use of each directory.

  Planned, not yet processed

• Directories of the chambers of the liberal professions

  Public lists of licensed professionals, for example chartered accountants and tax advisers or civil engineers, where they are publicly accessible and their use is not excluded.

  Planned, not yet processed

• Company websites

  Details that businesses must publish themselves: in the legal notice under § 5 ECG, in the disclosure under § 25 MedienG and on company websites under § 14 UGB, including address, email address, register number and VAT number.

  Planned, not yet processed

• GISA open data and official statistics

  Aggregate figures without names (trades per municipality, businesses per industry and federal state), which can be used to check completeness by region and industry.

  Official statistics: used on this website for context · GISA open data: planned

The Firmenbuch (company register) is public, but it is not a dataset to download: anyone may carry out individual searches, bulk and change queries are only provided under a licence from the Ministry of Justice (§ 34 FBG), and the register database is protected as a database (§ 76c UrhG, OGH 4 Ob 17/02g). We therefore do not download register data in bulk. The following table shows the main public sources and what applies to their use.

The table can be scrolled sideways.

Many sole traders and most liberal professions are not entered in the Firmenbuch. They have no register number; what is public is usually the GISA data (for licensed trades) and what they publish themselves.

How we count

The figures on this website were counted in our database on 3 November 2026, not extrapolated. These rules apply:

• Record. A business or an establishment with its own location, as listed in the source. A business with several locations can appear more than once; the records have not been matched to the statistical definition of a business. In total: 218,653.
• Active. The source records neither an end date nor the status “closed”: 218,624 records.
• With contact. At least one of the fields phone, website or own email address is present: 209,587 records (95.9%).
• Own email address. An address not shared by three or more records; 218 shared addresses are excluded. This leaves 112,824 of the 114,907 records with an email address.
• Federal state. Follows from the address; 8,729 records are not assigned to a federal state.
• Industry. Not yet assigned to any record. The industry pages therefore show the official figure for the industry as the market size.

The figure in the quote is binding for a delivery. The database status page documents every published version.

Market figures and their sources

For context we give the market size according to official statistics next to the figures of our own database. Austria – Statistics Austria, structural business statistics 2024: 628,058 businesses in the market economy (ÖNACE sections B to S excluding O and S94, reference year 2024); the figures per industry come from the same table (reference year 2024, table created 30 June 2026). For comparison, the WKO Firmen A–Z directory states 630,224 Austrian businesses on its start page (retrieved on 25 October 2026). EU – Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics (sbs_ovw_act), enterprises in industry, construction and market services 2024: EU-27 33,978,235 minus Austria 628,058 = 33,350,177 in the other 26 member states (data as of 30 September 2026, retrieved on 25 October 2026). Source: Statistics Austria; the open data tables on data.statistik.gv.at are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Eurostat data may be reused with acknowledgement of the source (Eurostat copyright notice). Official figures describe the market, not the size of an export.

How a record is created

This is how a record in the Austrian company database is created. We compile data from other countries on request (EU and other markets).

1. Basis from map data. The open map data of Overture Maps produce one record per entry with name, address and the available contact details. Public directories are planned as a further basis.
2. Details from websites (planned). The legal notice and disclosure are to provide the register number, VAT number, address, email address and often the phone number.
3. Matching. Once further sources are added, details are only assigned to a record if characteristics match, most strongly the register number or VAT number, and also company name and address.
4. Region. Federal state and district follow from the postcode and municipality of the address (regional classification of Statistics Austria).
5. Duplicates. The same business can appear in several sources; duplicates are merged.
6. Format check. Phone numbers are written uniformly in +43 format, email addresses are checked for formal validity.

Matching is automated and cannot be error-free. With identical or very similar names and no register number, the risk of a wrong match is higher.

Legal framework for use

• Marketing emails only with consent. Under § 174 TKG 2021 para. 3, electronic mail including text messages for direct marketing without prior consent is not permitted, also towards businesses. The only exception covers your own customers under the conditions of para. 4. An export contains no consent; we therefore do not offer the data for email marketing.
• Marketing calls only with consent. § 174 para. 1 TKG 2021 prohibits calls including fax for marketing purposes without prior consent, with no exception for businesses.
• ECG list. The regulator RTR keeps a list of persons and businesses who do not want to receive marketing emails (§ 7 ECG).
• Postal marketing is not regulated in the TKG. For sole traders and other natural persons the GDPR applies; address publishers and direct marketing companies must also respect the Robinson list under § 151 GewO para. 9.
• Personal data. Details of sole traders and named representatives are personal data. We process them on the basis of legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); the information under Art. 14 GDPR is on the data subject rights page, the right to object under Art. 21 GDPR on the objection page.
• Buyer’s own responsibility. Anyone who acquires data from us is the controller for their own use within the meaning of the GDPR and needs their own legal basis. We do not provide legal advice.

In detail: B2B marketing: what § 174 TKG 2021 allows.

Known limits

• Contacts go out of date. Businesses change phone numbers, email addresses and websites; time passes between a change and the update of the source.
• No delivery check. The number of email addresses is not a number of verified mailboxes; a phone number does not confirm that the line can be reached.
• Generic addresses. Addresses such as office@ or info@ are not personal contacts of decision-makers.
• Uneven coverage. Industries where websites are common have far more contact details than industries whose businesses are rarely online.
• Region by address. Federal state and district follow the address, not the area of operation or further locations.

Industry registers: meant for look-ups

Several industries have official or chamber registers, for example the list of doctors, the list of chartered accountants and tax advisers, the register of health professions or the registers of licences in goods and passenger transport. They serve to check whether an individual business is licensed; each register sets its own rules on how the data may be used. What exists in which industry is described on the industry pages:

• Law, tax and consulting firmsChamber lists: public, but meant for individual enquiries
• Construction firms and building tradesTrade licence register: public, but for individual searches only
• Manufacturing and industryCompanies register and legal notice: identity is usually easy to check
• Estate agents and property managersProperty trustees: a regulated trade
• Energy, water and wasteMany public operators and cooperatives
• Hospitality and tourismHospitality and travel agencies: regulated trades
• Agriculture, forestry and foodAgriculture is outside the Trade Act
• Transport and logisticsRegister of transport companies: licences searchable individually
• IT and softwareNo specific register, but a strict legal notice duty
• Architects and engineering officesZiviltechniker and engineering offices: two public directories
• Healthcare and wellnessList of doctors and health professions register
• Finance and insuranceFinancial Market Authority: licences searchable individually
• Municipalities and public institutionsMunicipalities: officially listed, contact via the municipal office
• Motor trade and garagesMotor vehicle trades in GISA, franchised dealers on manufacturer sites
• Retail and online shopsNo retailer register, but a legal notice duty for online shops
• Wholesale and trade agentsCompanies register and legal notice as the source of identity
• Pharmacies, opticians and hearing careRegulated trades and pharmacy licences
• Education and trainingSchool directories and trade licences: different legal bases
• Clubs, sport and cultureCentral Register of Associations: individual searches yes, collective searches no
• Building cleaning and gardeningTrade licence register rather than a specialist directory
• Staffing and temporary employmentStaff provision and placement: different trades

Background on the registers: Firmenbuch and GISA: which data are public and ÖNACE 2008: industry codes for target groups.

Report an error

If you find incorrect information in your own record, write to us and we will correct it.

• Contact formState the company, address and the incorrect detail.
• Objection to processingFor sole traders and other data subjects who want to exercise their rights under the GDPR.
• info@kontaktdatenbank.atDirect email to the operator.

Details in public registers are kept by the respective registry. We correct our record; a lasting correction also requires a change in the register.