Business Entity Types

Validation Logic

Thred validates entity_type based on the business’s country:

Restricted countries (GB, DE, NL, ES, BE): Must use predefined business entity type codes
All other countries: Accept any string value for entity_type

Business Entity Types by Country

For these countries, the API will reject requests with invalid business entity types (HTTP 400).

United Kingdom (GB)
Germany (DE)
Netherlands (NL)
Spain (ES)
Belgium (BE)

Valid business entity types:

Code	Description
`limited`	Ltd (Private Limited Company)
`sole_trader`	Sole Trader
`llp`	Limited Liability Partnership
`partnership`	Partnership
`plc`	Public Limited Company

Example:

{
  "entity_type": "limited",
  "country": "GB",
  "legal_name": "Acme Ltd"
}

Valid business entity types:

Code	Description
`gmbh`	GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung)
`ug`	UG (haftungsbeschränkt) - Mini-GmbH
`ag_de`	AG (Aktiengesellschaft)
`einzelunternehmen`	Einzelunternehmen (Sole Proprietorship)
`gbr`	GbR (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts)
`kg`	KG (Kommanditgesellschaft)
`ohg`	OHG (Offene Handelsgesellschaft)

Example:

{
  "entity_type": "gmbh",
  "country": "DE",
  "legal_name": "Beispiel GmbH"
}

Valid business entity types:

Code	Description
`bv`	BV (Besloten vennootschap)
`eenmanszaak`	Eenmanszaak / ZZP
`vof`	VOF (Vennootschap onder firma)
`cv`	CV (Commanditaire vennootschap)
`nv`	NV (Naamloze vennootschap)
`vve`	VvE (Vereniging van Eigenaars)

Example:

{
  "entity_type": "bv",
  "country": "NL",
  "legal_name": "Voorbeeld BV"
}

Valid business entity types:

Code	Description
`sl`	SL (Sociedad Limitada)
`slu`	SLU (Sociedad Limitada Unipersonal)
`sa_es`	SA (Sociedad Anónima)
`autonomo`	Autónomo (Empresario individual)
`sociedad_civil`	Sociedad Civil

Example:

{
  "entity_type": "sl",
  "country": "ES",
  "legal_name": "Ejemplo SL"
}

Valid business entity types:

Code	Description
`self_employed_be`	Self-employed / sole trader
`bv_be`	BV / SRL (Private limited company)
`nv_be`	NV / SA (Public limited company)
`cv_be`	CV / SC (Cooperative company)
`vof_be`	VOF / SNC (General partnership)
`commv_be`	CommV / SComm (Limited partnership)
`vzw_be`	VZW / ASBL (Non-profit association)

Example:

{
  "entity_type": "bv_be",
  "country": "BE",
  "legal_name": "Voorbeeld BV"
}

Validation Behavior

Cross-Field Validation

The API validates entity_type against country in create operations, and against the business’s existing country in update operations: Create Business:

POST /v1/platform/businesses/
{
  "entity_type": "gmbh",
  "country": "GB"  # ❌ FAILS - German type in UK
}

Update Business:

PATCH /v1/platform/businesses/{id}/
{
  "entity_type": "limited"  # Validates against business's existing country
}

Error Response

Invalid business entity types return HTTP 400 with details:

{
  "error_code": "validation_error",
  "detail": "Invalid entity_type 'gmbh' for country GB. Valid options: limited (Ltd (Private Limited Company)), sole_trader (Sole Trader), llp (Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)), partnership (Partnership), plc (Public Limited Company (PLC))"
}

Edge Cases

Blank entity_type

The entity_type field is optional (blank=True). Omitting it or passing an empty string is valid for all countries.

{
  "legal_name": "My Business",
  "country": "GB",
  "entity_type": ""  // ✅ Valid
}

Case sensitivity

Business entity type codes are case-insensitive. The API automatically normalizes them to lowercase:

✅ "limited" → stored as "limited"
✅ "Limited" → stored as "limited"
✅ "LIMITED" → stored as "limited"
✅ "GMBH" → stored as "gmbh"

Recommendation: Use lowercase for consistency, but any case will work.

Updating country

country is not a partner-mutable field on PATCH /v1/platform/businesses/{id}/.To change the legal country for an existing business, contact Thred support or create a new business record with a new external_id if the change represents a new legal entity.

# Business created with entity_type="limited", country="GB"
PATCH /v1/platform/businesses/{id}/
{
  "country": "DE"  # ❌ Not accepted by the partner update contract
}

Let's Get Started

AI Access (MCP)

Importing Business Activity

Embedded Accounting

Technical Guides

Validation Logic

Business Entity Types by Country

Validation Behavior

Cross-Field Validation

Error Response

Edge Cases

​Validation Logic

​Business Entity Types by Country

​Validation Behavior

​Cross-Field Validation

​Error Response

​Edge Cases

Validation Logic

Business Entity Types by Country

Validation Behavior

Cross-Field Validation

Error Response

Edge Cases