The short answer
A KBO extract (uittreksel KBO, extrait BCE) is a certified copy of a company's public data in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. Only a recognised business counter (ondernemingsloket) such as Acerta, Liantis, Partena, Securex or Xerius can issue one. The fee is set by royal decree and indexed every year, so every counter charges the same: 16.50 euros including VAT in 2026, quoted per establishment unit. Ordered online at Xerius, it arrives by email right after payment. For use abroad you may need a legalised extract with an apostille from FPS Foreign Affairs, which counters sell for 73.50 to 95 euros including VAT. A free printout from KBO Public Search shows the same public data but is not certified, and for many checks that printout is all anyone needs.
Prices below come from the counters' own tariff pages and sheets, the Royal Decree of 4 July 2004 and the FPS Foreign Affairs legalisation page, read on 30 September 2026.
Free printout or official extract?
Document | Who provides it | Cost | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
KBO Public Search page or printout | FPS Economy, online, no account | Free | Checking that a company exists, its status, address, activities and office holders |
Official KBO extract | A recognised business counter | 16.50 euros incl. VAT | A partner, supplier, bank or authority that asks for certified proof of registration |
Legalised extract with apostille | A business counter, with FPS Foreign Affairs | 73.50 to 95 euros incl. VAT | Authorities and institutions outside Belgium that require legalisation |
Publication in the Official Gazette | FPS Justice, online | Free | Proving an appointment, a change of address or of the articles, with its date |
KBO Public Search at kbopub.economie.fgov.be shows the public data of every registered entity and establishment unit, active or stopped, and each page states the date of the database it reflects. You can print any record. FPS Economy does not describe that printout as a certified document. The royal decree gives that role to the business counters: they deliver "eensluidend verklaarde uittreksels", certified true extracts. Our guide to the Belgian company register walks through Public Search field by field.
What an official extract costs
Business counter | Standard extract | Extract for use abroad |
|---|---|---|
Xerius | 16.50 euros incl. VAT per establishment unit | 95 euros incl. VAT per establishment unit, legalised with apostille |
Acerta | 16.50 euros incl. VAT | 80.20 euros plus 20 euros per additional establishment unit, legalised at FPS Foreign Affairs |
Partena Professional | 16.50 euros incl. VAT (13.64 excl. VAT) | 73.50 euros incl. VAT with apostille |
zelfstandigenloket.be | 16.50 euros incl. VAT (13.64 excl. VAT) | 81 euros in total: 46.28 euros excl. VAT for the extract plus the 25-euro Foreign Affairs fee |
Liantis | 16.50 euros incl. VAT per establishment unit | - |
Securex | Offered; price not published on the page we read | Offered; price not published on the page we read |
Sources: the tariff pages of Xerius, Acerta, zelfstandigenloket.be and Liantis, and Partena Professional's tariff sheet valid from 1 January 2026.
Why every counter charges the same
The standard price is not a commercial choice. The Royal Decree of 4 July 2004 on consulting and extracting KBO data sets the fee for an extract at 10 euros including VAT (as amended from 1 January 2006) and lets it be indexed every 1 January, rounded down to a multiple of 50 cents. That is how it reached 16 euros in 2025 and 16.50 euros in 2026. The same decree says the enterprise receives its first extract free of charge, and that extracts are delivered per enterprise or per establishment unit. Since 2004, extracts have come from the recognised business counters, not from FPS Economy itself.
The legalised version is different: its price is the counter's own service fee plus the FPS Foreign Affairs fee, which is why the figures in the table vary.
How to order one, and how long it takes
Have the enterprise number ready. Look it up in KBO Public Search if you only have the name.
Choose a counter. Xerius and zelfstandigenloket.be, for example, sell extracts through an online order form.
Pick the version. Standard for Belgium and for partners who accept it, legalised when a foreign authority asks for it. If the company has several establishment units, check whether you need one or all of them, since some counters charge per unit.
Pay and receive. Xerius emails a standard extract right after payment and a legalised one after two days. zelfstandigenloket.be promises a legalised extract the day after the order. Xerius issues extracts in Dutch, French, German and English.
If the extract shows something wrong, it is the register that needs fixing, not the document. The owner can correct part of the company's data in My Enterprise, FPS Economy's own application, logging in with eID or itsme, and then order a fresh extract.
Extracts for use abroad: legalisation and apostille
FPS Foreign Affairs explains the rule: if the destination country is party to the Apostille Convention, one apostille is enough; if not, the destination country's embassy or consulate adds a final legalisation. Apostilles are now issued only electronically. Since 1 August 2026 the fee is 25 euros per legalisation or apostille, and online requests from accredited authorities are normally handled within 48 hours. Some counters' tariff sheets date from January 2026, before that fee went up from 20 euros, so confirm the total when you order.
Not every foreign use needs it. zelfstandigenloket.be lists Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Estonia and Latvia as countries where the standard extract is enough. Xerius names the typical cases that do need a legalised extract: opening a bank account abroad, buying property abroad, obtaining a foreign permit or investing abroad. The safe move is to ask the receiving party in writing which version it accepts before you pay for the more expensive one.
What is on the extract, and what is not
By royal decree the extract contains all of the company's public KBO data. That includes the enterprise number, name, legal form, status, registered office, the establishment units and their activities, and the office holders. It does not contain the national registration numbers of directors or bank accounts, which the register holds but never shows publicly.
Three things people expect and will not find:
Beneficial owners. They sit in a separate register at FPS Finance. See who can consult the Belgian UBO register.
Powers of representation. The extract lists who holds a mandate, not whether one director can sign alone. That is in the articles; how to get a company's statutes covers the free notaries' database.
History and figures. Former directors, earlier addresses and financials are not on it.
When a free printout or the Gazette is enough
Many requests for "a KBO extract" are really requests for proof that the company exists and who runs it. A partner onboarding you as a supplier, a tender form or a bank's first check may be satisfied by your enterprise number, a Public Search printout or a link to the record; ask before you pay. When the question is when a director was appointed or when the registered office moved, the Official Gazette publication is the stronger document, because it is the official publication itself, dated and free. How to search the Official Gazette shows how to find it by enterprise number.
An extract proves one company at one moment. If what you actually need is the underlying data for many companies, an extract per company is the wrong tool. FPS Economy's reuse options are compared in our KBO API guide. Bizzy shows KBO identity data, the annual accounts filed at the National Bank and the Official Gazette publications per legal entity, filterable across all Belgian companies and pushable to HubSpot; plans start free, see pricing.
The Dutch equivalent: the KVK extract, its types and prices.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a KBO extract cost? 16.50 euros including VAT in 2026 at every recognised business counter, because the fee is fixed by royal decree and indexed each year. A legalised extract for use abroad costs 73.50 to 95 euros including VAT, depending on the counter.
Where can I get an official KBO extract? From a recognised business counter such as Acerta, Liantis, Partena, Securex, Xerius or zelfstandigenloket.be. Several sell it through an online order form.
Is a KBO Public Search printout an official extract? No. It shows the same public data free of charge, but only a business counter issues certified extracts. Whether a printout is enough depends on who asks.
How fast do I get a KBO extract? At Xerius a standard extract arrives by email right after payment and a legalised one after two days; zelfstandigenloket.be delivers a legalised extract the next day.
Photo: the town hall of Charleroi seen from the Place Charles II, Jmh2o, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons