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Handicrafts register; application for registration if you have a university degree or technician qualification

Would you like to become self-employed after completing an engineering degree or training to become a state-certified technician in a trade requiring a license? Then you must be entered in the register of craftsmen.

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Procedure details

If you wish to operate a craft requiring a license as a standing trade, you must be entered in the register of craftsmen.

The Register of Craftsmen is a register kept by your local Chamber of Crafts.

The Register of Craftsmen lists, among other things

  • natural persons,
  • partnerships with legal capacity or
  • legal entities and
  • the name and qualifications of the company management.

Registration in the Register of Craftsmen is mandatory if you

  • wish to exercise a craft requiring a license,
  • only want to practise the craft in part and
  • want to carry out essential activities of several trades, then for each of these trades.

If you practise several trades requiring a license, whether in part or as a whole, you must have each trade entered individually in the Register of Craftsmen. In addition, the management is recorded in the register of craftsmen. This person is responsible for the professional and technical management of the craft business. They must have the necessary professional qualifications to practice the craft requiring a license.

The following may be considered as management

  • Owners of craft businesses or
  • persons employed by the craft business

each with the appropriate qualifications.

In addition to a corresponding master craftsman's qualification, the following can be considered as proof of qualification for company management

  • an engineering degree
  • a degree certificate from a technical university or
  • a certificate of having passed an examination to become a state-certified technician.

The focus of the training must correspond to the trade you wish to pursue with your company.

  • You must have successfully completed an engineering degree or training to become a state-certified technician.
  • The focus of your training must correspond to the trade you wish to pursue with your company.

  • Required document/s

    For sole proprietorships:

    • Identity card or comparable identification document (copy)
    • Engineering degree certificate, university degree certificate or certificate of passing the state-certified technician examination (copy)
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the trade register.

    For companies under civil law (GbR):

    • Identity card or comparable identification document of the partners or authorized representatives (copy)
    • Articles of association, if not concluded informally (copy)
    • University degree certificate or certificate of successful completion of the state-certified technician examination (copy) of the personally liable partner responsible for the technical management of the business or the employed company management
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the trade register.

    For commercial partnerships with legal capacity:

    • This refers to:
      • General partnership (OHG),
      • limited partnership (KG) and
      • corresponding foreign company forms
    • Identity card or comparable identification document of the partners or persons authorized to represent the company (copy)
    • for proof of the company's legal form:
      • for companies domiciled in Germany:
        • for companies entered in the commercial register: extract from the register, for general partnerships additionally a copy of the articles of association
        • if no entry has been made in the register: copy of the articles of association
      • for foreign legal forms:
        • Extract from the relevant foreign register for companies entered in registers, otherwise
        • Copy of the articles of association
    • Degree certificate from the university or certificate of passing the examination to become a state-certified technician (copy) of the personally liable partner responsible for the technical management of the company or of the employed company management
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen.

    For legal entities:

    • This refers to
      • Limited liability company (GmbH),
      • Entrepreneurial company (limited liability),
      • public limited company (AG),
      • registered cooperative (eG)
    • Identity card or comparable identification document of the persons authorized to represent the company (copy)
    • for proof of the company's legal form:
      • for companies based in Germany: extract from the commercial or cooperative register
      • for foreign legal forms: Extract from the relevant foreign register
    • In the case of a company manager: university degree certificate or certificate of having passed the examination to become a state-certified technician (copy).
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen.
    • Details of the company management

    If a manager is employed, the following documents must also be submitted:

    • Manager's declaration
    • Proof of the manager's activity: Employment contract (copy)
    • Proof of social insurance for the operations manager
    • University degree certificate or certificate of successful completion of the state-certified technician examination (copy)

    Please note: If you employ a second person as a company manager, you must also submit the company manager's declaration with additional documents for this person. For example, if you exercise several trades requiring a license.

You can apply for entry in the Register of Craftsmen in writing or, in some cases, online at your local Chamber of Crafts.

Please contact the relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts for information on the procedure. You can also have the necessary documents sent to you.

  • Submit your application documents to your local Chamber of Skilled Crafts.
  • The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will check your application for completeness and, on the basis of the certificate, whether the focus of the qualification corresponds to the craft you wish to practise.
  • In cases of doubt, you can submit evidence of individual achievements (such as seminar papers or dissertations) during your training as well as framework curricula and training regulations for the examination.
  • If you meet the registration requirements, you will be notified in advance of your expected registration.
  • Once you have been registered, you will receive a written certificate from your local Chamber of Skilled Crafts. Your business will receive the so-called craftsman's card.
  • If the registration is rejected, you will receive a notification from the local Chamber of Skilled Crafts.

The amount of the fees can be found in the fee schedule of the relevant Chamber of Crafts. Please contact the relevant Chamber of Crafts for more information.

You must be entered in the Register of Craftsmen before starting work.

If all documents are complete and no further procedure is necessary, the Chamber of Skilled Crafts must make the entry in the Register of Skilled Crafts within 3 months, otherwise the entry is deemed to have been made after this period has expired.

There are no indications or special features.

  • You have the right to appeal against a rejection of your application for entry in the Register of Craftsmen.
  • Depending on the federal state in which you have submitted the application, a preliminary procedure will be carried out first.
  • Please refer to the instructions on legal remedies in your notification for information on the existing legal remedies.

Bavaria-wide supplement

The registration or refusal of registration constitutes an administrative act. The decision of the chamber can be appealed to the administrative courts in accordance with § 40 of the Administrative Court Code (VwGO).

Status: 12.11.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie + Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Landesentwicklung und Energie
Source: Federal Portal
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