Cognised existence: A firm is a legally recognized business entity that can own assets, incur obligations, report accounts, appoint management, and persist through time even as its activities, addresses, or establishments change.
Question: What firm is this, as a legal registered entity?
What is a Firm?
A firm is not an economic activity, not an establishment, and not a service. It is the legal business actor behind those other concepts. It has a stable identity, a legal form, a registration status, and a lifecycle. A single firm may operate many establishments, perform several activities, and hold ownership stakes in other firms.
This leaf is the right starting point when the user wants to identify a company, understand its legal structure, or anchor joins to other business-related concepts.
Realisations
1. CVR (CentraleVirksomhedsregister) — Legal Business Entity
The authoritative Danish realisation. CVR models the firm through Virksomhed, CVREnhed, Navn, and Virksomhedsform.
Spatial Access Path
Virksomhed (legal entity)
│ FK: → CVRAdresse
▼
CVRAdresse (registered office / legal address)
│ normalize address components
│ → DAR address / house-number match
▼
adgangspunkt.position (point geometry via DAR)
Registered office, not operational footprint. The geometry reached through the firm address represents legal or administrative presence. For where activity happens on the ground, use Business Locations.
Key Entities
| Entity | Role |
|---|---|
| |virksomhed | Legal business anchor |
| CVREnhed | Stable business-side identity |
| Navn | Official and alternative names |
| Virksomhedsform | Legal form |
| |cvradresse | Registered address components |
Key Attributes
| Attribute | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
cvrnummer | Official firm number | Public business identifier |
navn | Official name | May coexist with trade names / aliases |
virksomhedsform | Legal form | Sole proprietorship, ApS, A/S, foundation, association, etc. |
virksomhedstatus | Registry status | Active, dissolved, under liquidation, etc. |
registreringfra / registreringtil | System registration interval | Audit trail |
virkningfra / virkningtil | Legal validity interval | Real-world effect |
Access
- GraphQL: best for targeted firm lookup by CVR number, name, legal form, or status
- File Download: best for full business registers and repeatable local joins
- Semantic bridge: CVR Semantic Organisation
Realised By Links
- CentraleVirksomhedsregister (collection)
- Skatteforvaltningens Virksomhedsregister (collection)
Related Leaves
| Leaf | Relation |
|---|---|
| |Economic Activities | What the firm does |
| |Business Locations | Where the firm operates |
| |Ownership and Governance | Who controls the firm |
| |Economics and Employment | Financial and workforce characteristics |
Temporal Model
Firm identity is bitemporal. The legal entity can persist while name, legal form, address, activity, and ownership change over time. Historical queries should use virkning* for legal state and registrering* for system history.