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Register of craftsmen; application for registration with a domestic examination equivalent to the master craftsman's examination

If you want to work independently in a craft requiring a license and have a domestic professional qualification equivalent to a master craftsman's examination, you must first be entered in the register of craftsmen.

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Procedure details

With a domestic professional qualification equivalent to a master craftsman's examination, you can exercise a craft requiring a license as a permanent trade in Germany. Before setting up a business, 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
  • wish to carry out essential activities of several trades, then for each of these trades.

To be entered in the Register of Craftsmen, you or the company management must provide proof that you have successfully completed a master craftsman's examination for the trade to be practiced or an equivalent professional qualification.

The following are eligible as management

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

In addition to a corresponding master craftsman qualification, proof of qualification may be a certificate of a passed examination to become a certified industrial foreman.

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

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

  • You or the company management must have successfully completed a master craftsman's examination for the craft requiring a license or
  • You must provide evidence of an equivalent German state or state-recognized professional qualification, such as a certificate of successful completion of the examination to become a certified industrial foreman.
  • The focus of the training must correspond to the trades that you want to carry out with your company.

  • Required document/s

    For sole proprietorships:

    • Identity card or comparable identification document (copy)
    • Presentation of equivalent domestic professional qualification (copy)
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen.

    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)
    • Presentation of equivalent domestic professional qualification (copy)
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen

    For commercial partnerships with legal capacity:

    • This refers to:
      • General partnership (OHG),
      • limited partnership (KG) and
      • corresponding foreign company forms
    • Identity card or a comparable identification document of the partners or authorized representatives (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:
        • For companies: extract from the register of the competent foreign register, otherwise
        • Copy of the articles of association
    • Presentation of the equivalent domestic professional qualification (copy)
    • Business registration (copy): Can be submitted after entry in the register of craftsmen.

    For legal entities:

    • This refers to:
      • Limited liability company (GmbH),
      • Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt), Aktiengesellschaft (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
      • 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 management activity: employment contract (copy)
    • Proof of social insurance for the manager
    • Submission of equivalent domestic professional qualification (copy)

You can apply for entry in the Register of Craftsmen online or in writing to your local Chamber of Crafts.

Please obtain information about the procedure from the relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts. 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 specific fee can be found in the Chamber of Crafts' schedule of fees, which is available on the Chamber's website.

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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