Register of Craftsmen; Application for registration
Registration in the Register of Crafts is required for the independent operation of a craft subject to licensing as a standing trade. The prerequisite for registration in the register of skilled crafts is proof of professional qualification.
Description
The independent operation of a craft subject to licensing or of an essential sub-area (cf. Annex A to the Crafts Code) as a standing trade is only permitted to natural and legal persons and partnerships entered in the Crafts Register.
A standing trade is any trade whose activity cannot be attributed to itinerant trade or market trade. If several trades are practiced in your business, each of these trades subject to licensing must generally be entered in the register of trades.
Upon registration in the register of skilled crafts, the business becomes a member of the relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts and is obligated to pay dues in accordance with the dues regulations of the relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts.
Prerequisites
Entry in the register of skilled crafts requires that you - or a company manager employed by you - have the personal requirements for entry in the register of skilled crafts, i.e.
- have passed the master craftsman examination (Section 7 (1a) HwO), or
- meet the requirements of Section 7 (2) HwO, according to which engineers, graduates of technical universities and of state or state-recognized technical colleges for technology and for design with the craft subject to licensing to which the study or school focus of their examination corresponds, are also entered in the register of skilled crafts. This also applies to persons who have successfully passed another German state or state-recognized examination at least equivalent to the master craftsman's examination for the practice of the relevant craft subject to licensing.
- have an exemption permit (Section 7 (3) HwO) or authorization to practice (Section 7 (7) HwO) for the craft in question (for details, see "Handicrafts Law; Exemption Permits as Prerequisites for Entry in the Register of Handicrafts"), or
- as a late resettler, can credibly demonstrate to the Chamber of Crafts responsible for their place of permanent residence that they independently operated a craft as a permanent trade or were authorized to instruct apprentices prior to their resettlement. Section 10 (3) and (4) HwO shall apply mutatis mutandis to the substantiation.
Registration shall be effected upon application by the proprietor of the enterprise to the locally competent Chamber of Skilled Crafts. Registration in the register of skilled crafts is associated with the issue of a skilled crafts card. With the handicraft card you can legitimize yourself as a registered handicraft business.
The following must be submitted:
1. displaced person's identity card
2. documents proving that you are entitled to run a craft business in your home country or that you have the right to train apprentices in your home country.
If the original documents as defined in No. 2 have been lost, credible evidence of this must be provided:
- by a written statement made in lieu of oath by a person who, due to his or her previous official position in the applicant's district (e.g. applicant of the trade office, chamber of crafts or chamber of commerce), has his or her own knowledge of the previous self-employed activity or the apprenticeship training authorization (if, for example, he or she registered the apprenticeship contract or was a member of an examination board or issued the trade card himself or herself), or
- by written statement in lieu of oath of two persons who have their own knowledge of the training authorization or the previous self-employed activity, e.g. they have seen apprenticeship contracts in which the applicant is named as the trainer or they have seen the document containing the training authorization, etc.
Deadlines
Registration must be made before the start of the business.
Required documents
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Proof of qualifications
(e.g. master craftsman's diploma, engineering technician's diploma)
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Registration of a trade or business
(may be submitted at a later date)
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For corporations (with the exception of BGB companies): Excerpt from the commercial register
(for incorporation: notarized memorandum of association)
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For partnerships: Memorandum of association
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For hiring of an operations manager (required in all cases for legal entities):
- 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
-
If necessary, please provide additional documents depending on the circumstances of the particular case
-
All necessary documents can be submitted as photocopies (certified if necessary).
Fees
- Approx. 70-153 EUR. Electronic payment via online banking is possible. Information on this will be provided by the relevant Chamber of Crafts.
Links to more information
Status: 21.02.2023
Responsible for editing: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Landesentwicklung und Energie
- Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
- Online transactions, locally limited
- Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, locally limited
- Fees, Bavaria-wide
- Fees, locally limited