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Register of craftsmen; application for registration on the basis of an exemption permit for persons from other EU/EEA countries and Switzerland

Are you a citizen of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland and would like to practice a craft requiring a license in Germany? Then you must first register in the register of craftsmen with your exemption permit.

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Procedure details

As a citizen of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you can establish yourself in Germany with a craft requiring a license as a standing trade.

To do so, you must first have your professional qualifications and practical professional experience acquired abroad recognized as part of the exemption permit and be entered in the register of craftsmen with the issued admission permit.

You must apply for the exemption permit separately before registration.

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
  • wish to carry out essential activities of several trades, then for each of these trades.

In addition to the business, the management is also recorded in the register of skilled crafts businesses. The management of a skilled crafts business must have the professional qualifications to carry out the skilled crafts requiring a license.

The following may be considered as management

  • Owners of the skilled crafts business or
  • persons employed by the craft business

You can find a complete list of trades requiring a license in Appendix A of the Crafts Code (HwO).

The relevant chambers of skilled crafts provide further information on this service. Please contact the relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts for more information.

The professional experience or training and qualification certificates or compensation measures taken for the craft to be registered were recognized as part of an exceptional approval.

  • Required document/s

    Sole proprietorship:

    • Identity card or comparable identification document (copy)
    • Notification of the granting of an exemption permit (copy)
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen.

    Companies under civil law (GbR):

    • Identity card or comparable identification documents of the partners or authorized representatives (copy)
    • Articles of association, if not concluded informally (copy)
    • Decision on the granting of an exemption permit by the management (copy)
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen.

    Commercial partnerships with legal capacity

    • This refers to
      • General partnership (OHG),
      • Limited partnership (KG) and
      • corresponding foreign company forms
    • Identity card or comparable identification documents of the shareholders or authorized representatives (copy)
    • For proof of the company's legal form
      • if the company is based in Germany:
        • Extract from the register of the company entered in the commercial register. In the case of general partnerships, also the articles of association (copy)
        • if no entry in the register has been made: articles of association (copy)
      • For foreign legal forms:
        • Extract from the relevant foreign register for companies entered in registers, otherwise
        • Memorandum and articles of association (copy)
    • Notification of the granting of an exemption permit by the company management or managing partners
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the trade register.

    Legal entities

    This refers to:

    Limited liability company (GmbH),

    limited liability company (UG),

    public limited company (AG),

    registered cooperative (eG):

    Identity card or comparable identification documents of the authorized representatives (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 register of the competent foreign register

    Notification of the granting of an exemption permit for the management (copy)

    Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen

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

    Declaration of management

    Proof of management activity: Employment contract (copy)

    Proof of social insurance for the management

    Notification of the granting of an exemption permit

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.

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. (3 months)

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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