Verwaltungsleistungen suchen

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.

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

• 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

State of Brandenburg:

• for natural persons: according to time spent, at least € 30.00
• in the case of legal entities
  • with a legal representative: according to the time spent, at least € 55.00;
  • for each additional legal representative: according to time spent, at least € 15.00
• in the case of the serving of alcoholic beverages (§ 3 para. 1 BbgGastG), the fee for each natural person and legal representative increases by € 10.00

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.

• Point of Single Contact Brandenburg

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

The local regulatory authorities are responsible in accordance with Section 1 (1) of the Ordinance on Responsibilities in Commercial Law (GewRZV).

The independent cities, the responsible local authorities or administrations of the independent municipalities, the association municipalities and co-administrating municipalities will support you in registering your business.

The procedure can be handled via the Single Point of Contact network.

• § 14 Trade Regulations (GewO)
• § Section 15 of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO)
• § 11 Trade Regulations (GewO)
• Trade Notification Ordinance (GewAnzV)

When you change your legal form, you must file both a trade deregistration (for ceasing operations under the old legal form) and a trade registration (for starting operations under the new legal form).

What is a trade:

A trade is any activity that is not socially unvaluable, is intended to generate profit, is intended to be permanent, and is carried out independently in one's own name and for one's own account. It does not matter whether a profit is actually made.

In particular, socially unvaluable activities (e.g. clairvoyance), liberal professions (such as doctors, lawyers or tax consultants) or other activities that require a university degree are not considered trades. Nor are primary production (e.g. agriculture and forestry), scientific management consulting or the management of one's own assets (e.g. an apartment building) as well as generally prohibited or socially unvaluable activities (e.g. illegal gambling).

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, State of Brandenburg