Company protest and adverse records search: how to get it and what it costs

In short: there is no single official search called "protests and adverse records" on a company: these are checks on different registers. Protests are searched in the computerised register of protests (Registro informatico dei protesti), at any Chamber of Commerce or online on registroimprese.it (in Florence, for example, the counter search costs €2 per name). Property-registry adverse records are seen through a mortgage inspection at the Agenzia delle Entrate: for a company, the search by name is done at the counter, because online it is currently not possible to search by legal person. Insolvency proceedings appear in the company's register extract (visura camerale).

Three checks, not one search

"Protests and adverse records" is a commonly used expression that puts together data held in different registers:

• Protests: unpaid bills of exchange and cheques, in the computerised register of protests kept by the Chambers of Commerce.
• Property-registry adverse records: judicial mortgages, property attachments, conservative seizures and judicial claims transcribed on a property, in the property registers of the Agenzia delle Entrate.
• "Court" adverse records: in commercial reports these are mainly insolvency proceedings (judicial liquidation, composition with creditors, concordato), which appear in the Companies Register.

The full definitions are in protests and adverse records: what they are. Here we see how to obtain each check on a company and what it costs.

Company protest search: where to request it and what it costs

The computerised register of protests is a national database, kept by the Chambers of Commerce and open to consultation by anyone. For a company, you search by name: the register shows, for the company, the name, the tax code or VAT number and the registered office. Each protest remains visible for five years from publication, unless cancelled.

• At the counter of a Chamber of Commerce: searches and certificates can be requested at all the Chambers of Commerce in Italy, and the search covers protests raised throughout the national territory. The Chamber of Commerce of Florence, for example, lists €2 per name for the search, which shows the detail of each protest: type of instrument, amount, date and place of the protest, reason for non-payment. The certificate costs €5 per name plus a €16 stamp duty and only says whether there are protests or not.
• Online on registroimprese.it: you search the company's name and, if it appears, obtain the "Protests Search" (Visura Protesti) with the list of instruments; if it does not appear, the "Visura Protesti di non esistenza" (certificate of no protests on record). The service page does not indicate the cost: you see it before confirming the purchase.

One limit to know: the register does not show the creditor. You know that an instrument has not been paid, not to whom.

Property-registry adverse records search on a company

Property-registry adverse records are seen with a mortgage inspection. The property registers are organised by subject: for a company you search by the company's name or tax code, not by the name of the shareholders. Formalities against a shareholder are recorded in the shareholder's name. The official channels, according to the Agenzia delle Entrate:

• At the counter of the Real Estate Advertising Service of a Provincial Territory Office, with Form 310 (there is also a simplified version). Here the search by legal person is possible. For the computerised period, you can also request, from one office, the inspection of another district. The mortgage taxes provided for in the tariff in force are paid.
• Online, on properties not owned: the Agency's service allows searching by individual, by note or by complete cadastral data of the property. The Agency writes that it is not currently possible to set up a search by legal person: for a company, online, you can only start from a property whose cadastral data you already know. For online searches the Agency lists €6.40 per name and €4 for each formality consulted, plus pagoPA fees, and payment is due even if the search finds nothing.
• Through a professional (notary, lawyer, property searcher) authorised on the Agency's Sister platform.
• If the company is yours: consulting your own properties is free, including online for companies registered with Entratel or Fisconline.

Two limits always apply. The search is by district: it returns the formalities on properties located in the area you search, so it is worth knowing beforehand where the company has properties. And the area of the land tabular system (tavolare: the provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Trieste, Gorizia and some other municipalities) is excluded. If the company has no properties, there are no property-registry adverse records to find. The list and examples of formalities are in property-registry adverse records: what they are.

Insolvency proceedings: the company register extract

Judicial liquidation and applications for access to instruments such as the composition with creditors (concordato preventivo) are entered in the Companies Register. For this reason they appear in the company's register extract, even though they originate in court. In commercial reports they are often called "court adverse records": the difference from the property-registry ones is explained in court adverse records: what they are.

Commercial "protests and adverse records" searches

Several commercial information providers sell a single document that brings together protests, proceedings and property-registry adverse records on a company. It is convenient, but the coverage of the adverse records depends on how the provider collects them. Cerved, for example, states in the sample forms of its reports that it collects the main property-registry events through a circuit for banking, financial and tax-collection creditors and a network of correspondents for the others. It also warns that cancellations and older events may be missing, and for certainty suggests the property search. If the data is needed for an important decision, for example before accepting a property as a guarantee, the direct source remains the mortgage inspection.

What you see with Veryfy, and what you do not

• Negative items and insolvency proceedings, €5.90: protests and insolvency proceedings against the company, plus any involvement in a proceeding of third parties, with source and date. It is not instant: the result arrives when the source responds.
• Essential, €14.90: the same check plus the beneficial owner, reconstructed from the Companies Register.
• Check report, €19: protests and signs of insolvency together with beneficial owner, shareholders, directors and estimated operating credit line.
• Decision report, €49: adds the properties registered to the company (Land Registry). It is the list of assets on which it makes sense to search the property registers, and it tells you in which districts to carry out the mortgage inspection.

None of these products shows a company's property-registry adverse records: for those, the mortgage inspection remains. If instead the subject to be checked is an individual, such as a shareholder or a guarantor, see protest and adverse records search on an individual.

In what order to proceed, so as not to spend in vain

1. Check protests and insolvency proceedings: they are the quickest signals and cost a few euros.
2. If the exposure is significant, verify whether the company has properties and where they are located.
3. Only then carry out the mortgage inspection by name, at the counter or through a professional, on the right districts.