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Registration in the register of craftsmen

  • Register und Kataster 



    	    

		    
If you want to practice a craft subject to registration on a self-employed basis, you must register your business in the register of craftsmen.

		    


                					    

						    

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							    Basic information
						    

						    

							    

								    
If you want to practice a craft that is subject to licensing, you must register with your regional Chamber of Crafts (Handwerksrolle) before you start your business. In addition to the owner of the business (sole proprietor, partnership with legal capacity or legal entity), the register of skilled crafts also lists the person responsible for managing the business. The company management can be exercised either by the company owner or a salaried company manager. The company management must have the professional requirements for the practice of the craft subject to licensing. Proof must be provided in the form of a master craftsman's certificate for the respective craft or an equivalent relevant professional qualification. For more details, please refer to the section "Prerequisites."  

Crafts subject to licensing include the following professions:   


  • Bricklayer,
  • carpenter,
  • roofers,
  • road builders,
  • scaffolders,
  • metal workers,
  • tiler,
  • screed layers,
  • stonemasons,
  • stone sculptors,
  • plasterers,
  • painters and varnishers,
  • interior decorators,
  • car body and vehicle builders,
  • information, automotive and electrical engineers,
  • plumbers and heating engineers,
  • tank and apparatus builders,
  • bakers,
  • confectioners,
  • butchers,
  • hairdressers,
  • glassblowers and glass apparatus makers,
  • chimney sweeps,
  • orthopedic technicians,
  • dental technicians.

A complete list can be found in Annex A to the Crafts Code (HwO). The craft does not have to be exercised as a whole. Essential (partial) activities can also be exercised. 

Attention: You may only exercise the craft subject to licensing that has been registered. If several crafts subject to licensing are practiced, each of these crafts subject to licensing must normally be entered in the register of crafts.

								    

									    Requirements
  • Completed master craftsman's examination in 
    
 
    • the craft you want to practice or
    • in a related craft subject to registration
  • The Crafts and Trades Code also contains provisions under which you or your company management may 
    
 
    • as a graduate engineer or graduate engineer,
    • with a Bachelor's or Master's degree or
    • with a German state or state-recognized examination equivalent to the master craftsman's examination.
  • The prerequisite is that the study or school focus of your examination corresponds to the craft to be registered.
  • In addition, it is possible to obtain an exemption or authorization to practice.
  • For nationals of a member state of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, special regulations exist for the recognition of professional qualifications within the framework of an exceptional approval procedure.
  • In addition, an equivalence determination can be made for professional qualifications acquired abroad.