Business registration

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

There are free and regulated trades. For regulated trades, you must provide a certificate ofcompetence. Please note the deadlines for when you are allowed to start work.

You must also registera change of businesslocation or newmanaging directors. If you no longer practise your trade, you can cancel your trade. If you have any questions, the contact persons at Service Unit Trade and operating facilities - Professional law will be happy to help you.

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 Trade 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 for a business registration?

You need different documents depending on the trade and type of business (sole trader, company, firm, etc.). In any case, you will need a copy of your official photo ID.

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

Which certificates of competence do I have to provide?

You only need to provide certificates of competence for regulated trades. Exactly which ones vary from trade to trade. To do this, you must first use the list of trades in Austria(§ 94 of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO)) to determine which trade your activity falls under. The exact certificates of competence that you must provide are specified in a separate ordinance for each trade. All ordinances can be found in the RIS (Federal Legal Information System). If you have detailed questions, you can contact the Service Unit Trade and operating facilities - Professional law . If you require general information, please contact the start-up service of the Chamber of Commerce.

Certificates of qualification can be, among others

• Master craftsman's certificate
• School leaving certificate
• Certificate of employment
• Degree certificate
• Employer's references
• etc.

If you are not qualified yourself, you can also employ someone who can prove this qualification. This person is then the managing director under trade law. When registering, you will also need this authorisation form. If this person leaves the company, you must employ another person with a certificate of competence 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 will show 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 verified.
   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 authorisation form with the application.
6. Data of the commercial manager and all shareholders:
   1. Name
   2. Date of birth
   3. National insurance number
   4. Place of residence
   5. Telephone number or e-mail address
   6. Managing directors under trade law from third countries 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 the exclusion of 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 is no confirmation 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 of more than three months or more than 180 daily rates
   2. if insolvency proceedings have not been opened due to lack of assets
   3. organised illegal employment
   4. fraudulent crida (criminal offence): 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 an authorisation to issue orders from the company or the trade owner to the managing director under trade law. This authorisation form is available for this purpose.
11. You need confirmation that the managing director under trade law is employed by the company or the trade owner for at least 20 hours per week if the person is not a managing director under trade law.
12. You must specify the date from which the business is to be registered. You can only apply for registration from the application date.

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 Service Unit Trade 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 authorisation
• Form 1a: Registration of a trade for a sole propriet orship (natural person) with management under trade law
• Form 2: Registration of a trade for a legal entity
• Form 4: Registration for cateringbusinesses (natural person) with own authorisation
• Form 4a: Registration for hospitality businesses(natural person) with management under trade law
• Form 5: Registration for hospitality businesses(legalentity/partnership) andnotification ofmanagingdirector
• Form 8: Notification for an additional business establishment (natural person)
• Form 8a: 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 Trade and operating facilities - Professional law .. has received it.

What deadlines apply when registering a business?

You must register your business before you start trading - see: When can I start my business activity?

The Service Unit Trade and operating facilities - Professional law has three months to register your business after submitting the complete documents. If your trade has been entered in the Austrian Trade Information System, a GISA extract (= trade licence) will be sent to you.

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

You must notify Service Unit Trade 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 with the following documents with Service Unit Trade and operating facilities - Professional law

1. Form for resignation and entry of the previous or new managing directors
   1. Notification of managing directorfor legalentity/partnership
   2. Notification of 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. National insurance number
   4. Place of residence
   5. Telephone number or e-mail address
4. Managing directors under trade law:in from third countries: valid residence authorisation
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 of more than three months or more than 180 daily rates
   2. If insolvency proceedings have not been opened due to lack of assets.
   3. Organised illegal employment
   4. Fraudulent crida (criminal offence): 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/individual to be authorised to issue orders to the managing director under trade law. This authorisationform is available for this purpose.
8. You need confirmation that the managing director under trade law 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 cancel my business?

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

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

You can also use the following forms for cancellation:

• Form 13: Cancellation of the trade (natural person)
• Form 13a: 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 Trade and operating facilities - Professional law .

If you need general information, please contact the start-up service of the Chamber of Commerce.