Business Registration

Permanent Business Establishments

Companies and other business establishments in Germany are required to register with a number of administrative authorities before commencing business activities.

For European service providers, the German network of points of single contact provides individual assistance with the relevant administrative regulations and procedures. They guide you through all of the relevant application procedures.

The registration process may include any of the following:

• Entrepreneurs who are not resident in another EU Member State will need a visa with a special business permit.
• If the business activities necessitate the setting up of a permanent establishment, this must be registered with the local Commercial Trades Office (Gewerbeamt).
• Sole-proprietors and partnerships whose turnover exceeds a certain minimum amount must also be registered in the Commercial Register (Handelsregister) of the local ordinary court (Amtsgericht) in order to fulfill the disclosure obligations imposed on them. Because the Commercial Register also includes the Register of Companies, the same registration obligations apply to limited liability corporations and stock corporations  established pursuant to German commercial law.
• Registration with the competent professional organization (Berufskammer) is mandatory as membership in such an organization is required to exercise any profession. Professional organizations are semi-autonomous, public organizations authorized to regulate and supervise the professions governed by them. They are also responsible for representing the public interests of their members.
• Since business establishments in Germany are subject to German income tax, you will have to register with the local Tax Office (Finanzamt) in order to receive a tax identification number. This tax identification number is required for German income tax purposes and should not to be confused with the EU VAT identification number.
• If you plan to hire employees, you must also register with the local Employment Office (Agentur für Arbeit) and apply for a business number (Betriebsnummer). This number identifies employers for the purposes of German social insurance. In addition to being responsible for unemployment insurance, this federal institution also provides detailed information on the German labor market and offers nationwide placement services free of charge. Therefore it may also be useful to you in recruiting suitable employees.
• Another requirement is that you must register with the appropriate ''Berufsgenossenschaft''. Amongst other things, these associations provide employers' statutory occupational accident insurance. In Germany, all insurance issues related to accidents at the workplace are covered by these special public insurance associations.

The local Commercial Trades Office will generally forward the necessary information to the appropriate Tax Office, professional organization, and statutory occupational accident insurance association.

Since members of the liberal professions (freie Berufe), which roughly include the medical professions, legal and tax advisers, accountants, and practitioners of the fine arts, are not governed by commercial-law provisions, they must register with the relevant institutions themselves. If you are not sure whether your profession is regarded as a liberal profession in Germany, you can contact the local Tax Office, which will help you with the classification.