The switchover is meant to be all but seamless: a brief blackout is planned between noon and 2pm on 25 August before the new site is available to all. “From that point onwards, users will be able to take advantage of a modernised interface, smoother navigation and simplified centralisation of procedures,” says LBR director Yves Gonner.

The redesign of the portal has been redesigned with users foremost in mind. “The current site is a web-based IT application that has been built in stages since 2006,” says the director. “Over time, the architecture had become cumbersome for users. We wanted to make it more accessible and intuitive.”

Concretely, procedures no longer go through separate portals (RCS, RBE, Résa, Reginsol), but through four major “tiles” grouped together on the home page: “register,” “file,” “consult” and “order.” For users, the journey becomes simpler: registering a company or association, updating a file with the RCS or RBE, consulting information or ordering an extract can now be done from a single entry point. The search engine at the top of the home page allows you to find a company immediately by its RCS number or name. It might not translate into a massive time-saver for users, but the platform should be simpler and more intuitive.

User experience has also been modernised with the abandonment of PDF forms in favour of HTML forms. Integrated help accompanies the process, and practical guides are available for different profiles (associations, retailers, limited companies, etc.) “Of course, this is still an administrative process,” says Gonner. “It’s not a simple online purchase. But we want to make it as simple as possible within the legal framework that applies.”

This redesign has been months in the making. The LBR called in web design specialists, defined typical user profiles and tested the platform with real panels. The investment, the amount of which remains undisclosed, is entirely self-financed. “We are not receiving a single euro from the government,” says the director, “so taxpayers are not involved. LBR finances its developments from its own resources generated by its business.”

On a technical level, the new site also incorporates an anti-robot verification system (Captcha) to prevent automatic data capture. Large professional users, such as fiduciaries or public authorities, are invited to use API interfaces, designed for machine-to-machine mass data exchanges.

Business continues to grow

Beyond the interface, the register’s activity continues to grow. As of 30 June 2025, the platform had 169,101 registered entities, compared with 165,462 six months earlier, an increase of 2.2%. Of these, around 80% were commercial companies. By the end of 2024, the LBR had issued 757,806 documents (RCS/RBE extracts and certificates), a figure that is constantly rising. Each year, more than 300,000 filings are registered. The LBR now employs around 60 people, a workforce that must also grow to keep up with volumes. “Our business is highly cyclical,” says Gonner, “with a peak at the time of the summer bankruptcy filings. But we generally respect the legal deadline of three days for processing formalities.”

There remains the question of companies that fail to meet their filing obligations. “It is clear that a number of companies are not complying with the legal requirements. Until now, apart from a surcharge for filing late annual accounts, there have only been criminal penalties, which have not always been proportionate. From now on, with the law passed in January 2025, we will be able to apply administrative sanctions.”

For Gonner, the stakes are clear: “For an international financial centre like Luxembourg, it is vital that the public has adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on companies. Any failure to comply with this obligation constitutes a lack of transparency, with consequences for the economy.”

This article was originally published in French.