Itinerant Trade License
You have an itinerant trade, if you offer specific services outside your place of business or if you do not have a place of business (e.g. market trader, showman, operator of a mobile snack van). However, sales representatives are not businessmen carrying out an itinerant trade.
By contrast to the fixed location business, an itinerant trade mostly requires a licence, a so-called Reisegewerbekarte (Itinerant Trade License). The Itinerant Trade License can be applied for and issued temporarily or indefinitely.
Note: The statutory shop opening hours are also binding to the itinerant trade.
The itinerant trade also has activities which do not require an itinerant trade licence. If you want to take up such an activity, you might possibly have to notify it. You can find more information on this in the procedure description "Itinerant trade notification for activities which do not need an itinerant trade licence" (für reisegewerbekartenfreie Tätigkeiten).
Prerequisite
You have an itinerant trade, if you provide the following commercially or without previous appointment outside your commercial place of business or without having a place of business:
- you offer goods for sale or call on customers for orders (sell) or buy,
- you offer services or call on customers to offer services or perform entertaining activities as a showman or type of showman.
Responsible department
the city council or the regional council office (Landratsamt), depending on your place of residence in Germany.
Procedure
The application to issue the itinerant trade licence has to be submitted to the responsible authority. The itinerant trade licence has to be signed before handing it over.
Required documents
- completed application form
- copy of the identity card or comparable identity documents
- for proof of the corporate legal form
- If the location of your company is in Germany, you will need:
- for registered companies: an excerpt of the Commercial Register (Handelsregisterauszug) and if applicable a copy of the shareholders agreement (e.g. for a company constituted under civil law, (GbR)).
- If your company is located abroad, you will need documents from the country where it is located which prove its legal form.
- If the location of your company is in Germany, you will need:
- for proof of personal reliability
- If your place of residence is in Germany, you will normally need:
- Certificate of Good Conduct (Führungszeugnis)
- Excerpt from the Central Trade Register (Auszug aus dem Gewerbezentralregister)
- If your place of residence is abroad, you will need documents from your native country, which prove that you have the personal reliability to provide the requested service.
- If your place of residence is in Germany, you will normally need:
- If you apply for an itinerant trade licence as an insurance broker or consultant or as a real estate agent, property developer, building contractor, investment adviser or loan broker: in addition proof of orderly financial circumstances
- If your place of residence is in Germany, you will normally need:
- Exceprt from the debtor’s files (Auszug aus der Schuldnerkartei)
- Attestation from the bankruptcy court (Bescheinigung des Insolvenzgerichts)
- Certificate from the tax authorities regarding tax matters (Bescheinigung des Finanzamtes in Steuersachen)
- If your place of residence is abroad, you will need documents from your native country, which prove that you are living in orderly financial circumstances.
- If your place of residence is in Germany, you will normally need:
- if you apply for an itinerant trade licence as an insurance broker or consultant: in addition proof or proofs of competence or you prove that the competence has been delegated to a supervisor (form)
- if you apply for an itinerant trade licence to offer security services:
- in addition, proof that you have adequate funds and securities available to run the business (if the place of residence is in Germany you normally also need an excerpt from the debtors’ file)
- in addition, proof or proofs that seminars have been completed at the IHK or a recognised equivalent proof in accordance with the surveillance regulations
- if you apply for an itinerant trade licence as an auctioneer: in addition, a licence for auctioneers (Erlaubnis als Versteigerer) (if necessary as a publicly appointed auctioneer)
- if you apply for an itinerant trade licence as a showman: in addition, proof or proofs that a business liablity insurance (pecuniary damage liability insurance) has been concluded
- in the case of sole proprietorships a passport photograph
When checking the personal reliability, in individual cases the authorising authority could request alongside the documents listed additional documents, which are appropriate to make a statement about your personal reliability as applicant.
In the case of legal entities (GmbH, corporate companies, AG, registered cooperatives) the application form only has to be completed by the legal entity itself. All personal documents have to be submitted for all natural persons authorised to manage the company (e.g. certificate of good conduct, personal documents). In addition, an excerpt from the Central Trade Register has to be applied for in the case of legal entities.
In the case of partnerships, which as such are not capable of holding a licence (GbR, KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH & Co. KG), each of the managing partners requires the licence. I.e. an application form and all personal documents are required for each person.
Costs
The amount charged is based on the local regulations governing the fees.
Release note
The German original version of this text was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant departments. The Wirtschaftsministerium released it on 27.10.2014. Only the German text is legally binding. The Federal State does not assume any liability for the translated texts.
In cases of doubt or if you have any questions or problems, please contact the relevant authorities directly.