Register business

If you start a business, you must register it with the competent authority. The registration must be made at the same time as the start of the business.

A business registration is always necessary when you start a standing business. This is the case for

• New establishment of a business,
• New establishment of a branch office,
• New establishment of a dependent branch office,
• Takeover of an existing business, e.g. by purchase or lease,
• conversion of a sole proprietorship into another legal form,
• transfer of a business from the area of one authority to the area of another authority (considered as an abandonment by one authority and as a new establishment by the other authority).

The business registration must be carried out simultaneously with the start of the business.

• The obligation to notify exists only if it is a commercial activity. Excluded from the obligation to notify are the activities specified in § 6 paragraph 1 sentence 1 GewO.
  Excluded are, among others:

• Primary production (cattle breeding, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing)
• Liberal professions (including lawyers, notaries, tax consultants, auditors, doctors, scientific, artistic and literary activities)
• Education of children for remuneration
• Education

The purpose of registering a trade is to enable the competent authority to monitor the exercise of the trade and to conduct statistical surveys.

Trade office or the city or municipal administration at the location of the company headquarters.

• Completed business registration form
• Proof of identity (e.g.: identity card or passport).
• in the case of electronic business registration, other means of identification are also possible (e.g. electronic ID card, De-Mail, PIN/TAN procedure).
• Notarized articles of association or excerpt from the commercial register, consent of the shareholders (in the case of legal entities or partnerships)
• Declaration of consent of shareholders
• Supplementary sheet for authorized representatives

You want to operate a trade. Traders are natural persons or legal entities (stock corporation, limited liability company, registered cooperative or registered association, partnership limited by shares). The following are subject to notification:

• Sole traders the sole trader,
• partnerships (e.g. OHG, GbR) the managing partners,
• KG every personally liable partner, the limited partners of a KG only if they have management authority.
• corporations (e.g. GmbH, AG) the legal representative

You must register the start of a standing trade with the competent office. The same applies to the operation of a branch office or a dependent branch.

Some business activities require a permit. Others are subject to supervision. Additional requirements apply to them.

Find out at an early stage what personal, financial and professional requirements you must meet in order to be able to operate in these trades.

You can register your trade in person, in writing or electronically. Use the form "Trade registration" (GewA 1) for this purpose.

If you as a trader do not register the trade yourself, but as a managing partner or legal representative, you need a written power of attorney.

If you register your business in writing or electronically, you will receive confirmation of your business registration (the so-called "Gewerbeschein") within 3 days, provided you have filled out the registration form completely and correctly. If you appear in person, you will receive the confirmation directly at the time of registration.

The responsible office will forward the trade registration to other offices such as the tax office, the Chamber of Crafts or the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the registration court and the employers' liability insurance association.

If a permit is also required for your trade (e.g. guarding trade, operation of a restaurant) and this is not available, the competent office can prohibit the continuation of the business.

The procedure can be handled by a single point of contact.

You must register your trade immediately at the time you start your business. A fine may be imposed in the event of late notification.

• In case of personal appearance: immediately
• In case of written or electronic registration: within 3 days, provided that the business registration form has been filled in completely and correctly and the required documents are available.

The specific amount is usually determined by the time required for administration.

Für die Gewerbeanzeige.: Fee 28,00 EUR (Information on cost composition can be found here)

Für das Ausstellen einer Empfangsbestätigung gemäß Ziffer 2132: Fee 8,00 EUR (Information on cost composition can be found here)

If you change your legal form, you must submit both a business deregistration (to cease operating under the old legal form) and a business registration (to start operating under the new legal form).