Prerequisites
You want to run a business.
You are required to report:
- if you run a sole proprietorship,
- as managing partner of a partnership (for example OHG, GbR),
- as a personally liable partner of a KG,
- as a limited partner of a KG, if you have management authority and
- as legal representative of a corporation (for example GmbH, AG).
You are not required to report, among other things:
- as primary producer (livestock breeding, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing),
- as a freelancer (including lawyers, notaries, tax consultants, auditors, doctors, scientific, artistic and literary activities),
- if you care for or raise children,
- as a teaching person.
Documents required
- Completed business registration form
- Proof of identity (for example: identity card or passport)
- When registering a business electronically, other means of identification are also possible (e.g. electronic identity card, De-Mail, PIN/TAN procedure).
- For legal entities, partnerships: Notarized partnership agreement or commercial register extract, consent of the partners
- Declaration of consent of shareholders
- Supplementary sheet for authorized representatives
If you, as a business person, are not registering the business yourself, but as a managing partner or as their legal representative, you will need a written power of attorney. The power of attorney is only required if the person registering is not an authorized representative of the business.
Please note
A business is any activity that is not socially unworthy, is aimed at making a profit and is intended to be permanent and is carried out independently in one's own name and on one's own account. It does not matter whether a profit is actually made.
In particular, socially unworthy activities (e.g. clairvoyance), freelance professions (such as doctors, lawyers or tax consultants) or other activities that require a university degree are not considered to be a business. Primary production (e.g. agriculture and forestry), the management of one's own assets (e.g. a rental property) and generally prohibited or socially unworthy activities (e.g. illegal gambling) are also not considered to be a business.
If you change your legal form, you must submit both a business deregistration (for closing down your business under the old legal form) and a business registration (for starting up your business under the new legal form).
Traders are natural or legal persons (stock corporation, limited liability company, registered cooperative or registered association, partnership limited by shares).
In the case of partnerships (for example, civil law partnerships, general partnerships, limited partnerships), the partners authorized to manage the company are to be regarded as tradespeople.
In the case of legal entities (e.g. GmbH, AG), the obligation to report lies with the person who legally represents them, for example the managing director of a GmbH.
Traders are natural or legal persons (stock corporation, limited liability company, registered cooperative or registered association, partnership limited by shares).
Register your business personally so that you can clarify any questions quickly and conclusively.
When registering a business using a form in written or electronic form, please attach a copy of all required documents.
Before a minor can register a business, the legal representatives must authorize the minor to operate a business independently and the responsible district court (family law department) must approve this authorization.
From the business registration you will receive, among other things, a message:
the responsible tax office
the Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber of Crafts
the professional association
the State Office for Occupational Safety
This notification does not replace a special reporting requirement. In particular, craft businesses still need to register with the Chamber of Crafts.
The entry in the commercial register does not replace or include the notification according to Section 14 of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO) (duty to notify).
Business registrations are also accepted at the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce.
Some commercial activities require a permit. Others are subject to supervision. Additional requirements apply to them. Find out early on what personal, financial and professional requirements you must meet in order to be able to work in these commercial areas. If your business also requires a permit (for example, security services) and you do not have one, the responsible authority can prohibit the continuation of the business.
When registering a business, you are required under Section 138 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) to provide the relevant tax office with further information on the circumstances relevant for taxation. You must submit the "tax registration questionnaire" provided for this purpose electronically using the officially prescribed data set within one month of opening the business or permanent establishment. To complete and submit the questionnaire, please use the tax administration's service portal ELSTER - your online tax office at www.elster.de. You can obtain further information from the attached ELSTER instructions, at www.hamburg.de/fb/informationen-fuer-buerger or from your relevant tax office by calling the authority number 115.
Deadlines
You must register your business at the same time as you start your business activity. If you register late, you may be fined.
