Guide Business registration
Registering a business, step by step
One form, one appointment, a fee between 20 and 60 euros.
Information, not advice. This is general information, not tax or legal advice and no substitute for it. Figures, thresholds and deadlines change with every tax law — check them for your year or ask someone who is licensed. Wherever money or liability is involved, the text says so.
The registration itself is the easiest part of the whole process. It is done at the trade office (Gewerbeamt) of your town or municipality, in many places online by now, and takes less than half an hour.
What you bring
- Identity card or passport with registration certificate.
- The fee — depending on the municipality, around €20 to €60.
- A one-sentence description of your activity.
- The date you started (not today’s, if you have been selling for a while).
The description of the activity
It is often worded too narrowly and then has to be changed later — which costs a fee again. “Purchase and sale of second-hand clothing, shoes and accessories, including via the internet” covers more than “sale of vintage shirts”, without claiming anything you don’t do.
What follows by itself
The trade office passes the registration on. Within a few weeks you hear from:
- The tax office, with the questionnaire for tax registration. That is the part that really matters — there you decide, among other things, on the small-business rule.
- The Chamber of Commerce (IHK, for trade) with compulsory membership. Small businesses are often exempt from the fees, but the membership itself is not voluntary.
- Possibly the employers’ liability insurance association (Berufsgenossenschaft).
What else you should check
- In a rented flat: commercial use is usually unproblematic as long as no customers come to the door. If in doubt, look at the tenancy agreement.
- For employees: many employment contracts require a side activity to be reported.
- For students and those on family health insurance: your own income can affect the free co-insurance.
- On unemployment benefit or citizen’s income: side income must be reported.