Select your location for location specific information:
Registration in the Register of Craftsmen is required for the independent operation of a craft requiring a license as a standing trade. Proof of professional qualification is a prerequisite for entry in the Register of Craftsmen.
This form can be submitted electronically without signature (e.g. via a secure contact form or by e-mail) or in paper form to the responsible authority.
This form can be submitted electronically (e.g. via a secure contact form using your user account with login via the electronic ID function or the ELSTER certificate) or handwritten and signed in paper form to the responsible authority.
The independent operation of a craft requiring a license or a significant part thereof (see Annex A to the Crafts Code) as a standing trade is only permitted for natural and legal persons and partnerships entered in the register of craftsmen.
Standing trades include any business whose activity is not attributable to itinerant trade or market trade. If several trades are carried out in your business, each of these trades requiring a license must generally be entered in the Register of Craftsmen.
Upon entry in the Register of Craftsmen, the business becomes a member of the relevant Chamber of Crafts and is obliged to pay contributions in accordance with the contribution regulations of the respective Chamber of Crafts.
Entry in the Register of Craftsmen requires that you - or a manager employed by you - meet the personal requirements for entry in the Register of Craftsmen, i.e.
Registration takes place at the request of the business owner at the local Chamber of Skilled Crafts. Registration in the Register of Craftsmen is associated with the issue of a craftsman's card. You can use the craftsman's card to legitimize yourself as a registered craftsman's business.
The following documents must be submitted
If the original documents within the meaning of No. 2 have been lost, these must be credibly proven:
- employment contract,
- registration of the operations manager with the statutory social security insurance,
- notification advising whether or not the person is active elsewhere as an operations manager or a self-employed (independent) tradesperson or businessperson
approx. 70 - 153 EUR
Electronic payment via online banking is possible. Information on this is provided by the relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts.
Initial entry in the register of craftsmen or in the register of trades not requiring a license and similar trades
each change is subject to a fee of: EUR 51
You must notify the competent Chamber of Skilled Crafts of the appointment of the management of your craft business subject to licensing.
The Chamber of Skilled Crafts issues a certificate in the form of a skilled crafts card upon entry in the skilled crafts register.
The temporary and occasional provision of services of a craft requiring a license by EU nationals and equivalent persons in Germany without a branch must be reported.
If the requirements for entry in the Register of Craftsmen are not met, you must apply for the data to be deleted from the Register of Craftsmen.
Are you registered in the Register of Craftsmen with a craft requiring a license and would like to practice another craft? Then, under certain conditions, you can apply for a license to practice another trade.
Undeclared work distorts competition, jeopardizes the existence of small and medium-sized enterprises and destroys jobs. The public purse suffers considerable losses in taxes and social security contributions.
You can apply for information from the register on the owner of a business in a craft that does not require a license or a trade similar to a craft.