Business registration

Every business in Austria must still register a trade before starting work if it is commercial and does not fall under the exemption provisions (§ 2 GewO). If your business is located in the city of Innsbruck, register your trade at the City Magistrate Innsbruck with the required documents.

There are free and regulated trades. For regulated trades, you must provide proof of qualification. Please note the deadlines when you are allowed to start your work.

You must also report anychanges of trade locationor newmanaging directors. If you no longer practice your trade, you can delete your trade. If you have any questions, the contact persons at Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law .. will be happy to help.

Who must register a trade?

Every company in Austria must apply for a trade license before starting work if it operates commercially and does not fall under the exemption provisions (§ 2 GewO). Even if it is a free trade, it must be registered. An activity is carried out commercially within the meaning of the Trade Regulation Act if it is carried out independently, regularly and with the intention of generating a profit or other economic benefit.

Which trades are free, which are regulated?

• The list of free trades can be found in the nationwide list of free trades (bmdw.gv.at).
• All regulated trades can be found in § 94 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO).

No matter whether free or regulated trade, you must register all trades if you are commercially active and do not fall under the exemption provisions (§ 2 GewO))! For free trades, only the certificateof competenceis not required.

How do I register my trade?

You can register your trade in person, by online form or by e-mail in the Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law .. with the required documents.

If you have detailed questions, you can contact the Trade and Business Facilities Department. If you need general information, please contact the start-up service of the Chamber of Commerce.

What documents do I need to register a business?

You need different documents depending on the trade and type of business (sole proprietors, companies, firms, etc.). In any case, you need a copy of the official photo ID.

There are free trades, for which you do not need a certificate of competence, and regulated trades, for which such a certificate is required.

Which certificates of competence do I have to provide?

You only need to provide proof of competence for regulated trades. Which exactly varies from trade to trade. To do this, you must first use the list of trades in Austria(Section 94 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO)) to determine which trade your activity falls under. Which certificates of competence you have to provide is defined for each trade in a separate ordinance. All ordinances can be found in the RIS (legal information system of the federal government). If you have detailed questions, you can contact the Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law .. ... If you need general information, please contact the start-up service of the Chamber of Commerce.

Qualifications can be, among others:

• Master craftsman's examination
• School leaving certificate
• Service certificate
• Graduation certificate
• Work certificates
• etc.

If you are not qualified yourself, you can also hire someone who can prove this qualification. This person is then the managing director under trade law. When registering, you will also need this authorization form. If this person leaves the company, you must hire another person with proof of qualification and register the new managing director.

Example: Documents required for the business registration of a company

1. Contact details
2. Business location
3. Company register excerpt
4. Trade name(list of independent trades or § 94 GewO). You must select from the list which trade your activity falls under. This shows whether your trade is regulated or unregulated.
5. If the trade is regulated, you need a certificate of competence.
   1. there is a separate regulation for each regulated trade, which lists how the qualification can be proven.
   2. If you do not have the qualification yourself, you can also employ someone who does. This person is then the commercial manager. To do this, you must enclose this authorization form with the application.
6. Data of the managing director and all shareholders:
   1. Name
   2. Date of birth
   3. Social security number
   4. Place of residence
   5. Telephone number or e-mail address
   6. Managing directors under trade law from Drittstaaten also require a valid residence permit.
   7. Proofof qualification
7. Photo IDs of all managing directors and shareholders with significant influence
8. The past five years are checked for reasons for exclusion from the trade for the managing director under trade law and all managing directors and shareholders with significant influence:
   1. If you have been resident in Austria throughout this period, the department can check this itself.
   2. If you did not have your place of residence in Austria, you will need
      1. Criminal record extract
      2. Confirmation of residence (if there are no confirmations of residence in the country where you lived, you will need proof that you lived there, e.g. bills, etc.)
      3. Confirmation that no insolvency proceedings have been rejected for lack of assets or not opened.
9. You or the managing director under trade law as well as all managing directors and shareholders with significant influence must submit a declaration that there are no grounds for exclusion from the trade. The business exclusion grounds formis available for this purpose. Judicial grounds for exclusion include
   1. court convictions over drei months or over 180 daily rates
   2. if insolvency proceedings have not been opened due to lack of assets
   3. organized illegal employment
   4. fraudulent crida (criminal offense): fraudulent or grossly negligent inducement of insolvency by a debtor, etc.
   5. All grounds for exclusion can be found in §13 GewO.
10. You need the company or the business owner to have the authority to issue orders to the managing director under trade law. This authorization form is available for this purpose.
11. You will need confirmation of the employment of the managing director under trade law at the company or of the trade owner for at least 20 hours per week if he/she is not a managing director under trade law.
12. You must state the date from which the business is to be registered. You can only apply for registration from the date of application.

If you are a sole trader who can prove that you are qualified for the trade, you do not need to take points 3, 6, 10 and 11 into account. If you want to make sure which documents you need, please contact the Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law For general questions, please contact the start-up service of the Chamber of Commerce.

You can also use the following forms for registration:

• Form 1: Registration of a trade for a sole proprietorship (natural person) with own qualification
• Form1a: Registration of a trade for a sole proprietorship (natural person) with a managing director under trade law
• Form2: Registration of a trade for a legal entity
• Form4: Registration for hospitality businesses (natural person) with own qualification
• Form4a: Registration for hospitality businesses (natural person) with a managing director under trade law
• Form5: Registration for hospitality businesses (legalentity/partnership) andnotificationofmanaging director
• Form8: Notification for an additional business establishment (natural person)
• Form8a: Notification for an additional business establishment (legal entity/partnership)
• further forms for business registration

When may I start my trade activity?

If the trade is not a sensitive trade according to § 95 GewO 1994, the trade can be started immediately after registration. However, the documents must be complete and there must be no grounds for excluding the trade. If you start your activity after filing the application and your documents are not complete, you are liable to prosecution.

Even the placement of advertisements is a commercial activity and may only be started when the application has been received in full by Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law .. has received it.

What are the deadlines for registering a trade?

You must register your business before you start trading - see: When may Istart my trade activity?

The Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law .. has three months to register your trade after submitting the complete documents. If your trade has been registered in the Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria, a GISA extract (= trade license) will be sent to you.

What do I have to do if I change my business location?

You must notify Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law of a change of location if the new location is in Innsbruck. Otherwise, the respective district authority is responsible. All you need to do is send an e-mail with the following content:

• Name and address
• if you run several businesses: Details of which business is involved
• old location
• new location
• Copy of identity card
• if possible: GISA number. This can be found on the trade license.

You can also use the following forms to report the relocation:

• Notification of relocation of natural person business
• Notification of relocation of the business legal entity/partnership

What do I have to do if new managing directors under trade law are appointed?

In such a case, you must register the new managing director(s) with Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law with the following documents:

1. Form for resignation and entry of the previous or new managing directors
   1. Notificationof managing director forlegalentity/partnership
   2. Notificationof managing directornatural person
2. Photo ID of the new managing director and the business owner
3. Data of the new managing director under trade law:
   1. Name
   2. Date of birth
   3. Social security number
   4. Place of residence
   5. Telephone number or e-mail address
4. Managing director under trade law from Drittstaaten: valid residence permit
5. If you were not resident in Austria:
   1. Criminal record extract
   2. Confirmation of residence (if there is no confirmation of residence in the country where you were, then proof that you lived there, e.g. invoices, etc.)
   3. Confirmation that no insolvency has been rejected for lack of assets or not opened.
6. The managing director under trade law must submit a declaration that there are no grounds for exclusion from the trade. This form is available for this purpose. Judicial grounds for exclusion include
   1. court convictions over drei months or over 180 daily rates
   2. If insolvency proceedings have not been opened due to lack of assets.
   3. Organized illegal employment
   4. Fraudulent crida (criminal offense): fraudulent or grossly negligent inducement of insolvency by a debtor, etc.
   5. All grounds for exclusion can be found in §13 GewO.
7. You need the company's/individual's authority to issue orders to the managing director under trade law. This authorization form is available for this purpose.
8. You need confirmation that the managing director is employed by the company for at least 20 hours per week if he/she is not a managing director under commercial law.
9. Proof of qualification of the new managing director under trade law

Business deregistration - How do I delete my business?

If you no longer wish to exercise your trade, you can have your trade deleted by the Trade and Business Facilities Department. All you have to do is send an e-mail to Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law with the following content:

• Name and address
• Specify which trade you wish to delete
• Copy of your identity card
• if possible: GISA number. This can be found on the trade license.

You can also use the following forms for deletion:

• Form 13: Deletion of the trade (natural person)
• Form13a: Cancellation of the trade (legal entity/partnership)

Who can help me with business registration?

If you have detailed questions, you can contact the Service Unit Business and operating facilities - Professional law .. ... If you need general information, please contact the start-up service of the Chamber of Commerce.