Catering trade - Apply for a temporary permit

Would you like to take over an existing catering business but are not yet able to submit all the documents required for a catering licence? Then the licensing authority can grant you a three-month provisional licence.

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

The requirements for the provisional licence are

You take over the premises and operation of the pub unchanged from the predecessor.
The pub has not been closed for more than one year.

Responsible department

the catering authority

The catering authority is the municipal or city administration or the district office of the place where the restaurant is operated.

Standard port

Enter the location of your business premises in the location selection.

Procedure

You must apply for the provisional restaurant licence in writing or in electronic form to the competent authority. Your application must be signed by hand or have a qualified electronic signature.

You can also replace the written form by

submitting the declaration in an electronic form provided by the competent authority in an input device on site or via the Internet. If you submit your declaration online, you must prove your identity using the electronic ID function of your ID card or electronic residence permit.
send a sender-confirmed De-Mail to the responsible office. Sender-confirmed means that your De-Mail provider confirms in the De-Mail with a qualified electronic signature that
- it has received exactly this message content from you and
- You have authorised the sending of this De-Mail using the electronic ID function of your ID card or another secure method instead of your user namen and password in your De-Mail account.

You must provide the required information and submit the documents that are important for the assessment of your application.

Deadlines

none

Required documents

Completed application form
Copy of identity card or comparable identification document
For proof of the legal form of the company:
- if the company is based in Germany:
  - for companies entered in a register: Extract from the commercial register
  - otherwise a copy of the articles of association (e.g. for a partnership under civil law (GbR))
- if the company is domiciled abroad: documents from the country of domicile that prove the legal form.
For proof of personal reliability:
- For residence in Germany:
  - Certificate of good conduct
  - Extract from the central trade register
- If you live abroad: Documents from your home country that prove your personal reliability.
Proof of training from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce(IHK) responsible for you (certificate from the IHK confirming participation in training on food and hygiene regulations) or certificate from the IHK confirming the existence of a final examination for a state-recognised training occupation that makes training unnecessary
Construction plans, floor plans, site plans
If a deputy is to run the restaurant, additionally:
- Application for a deputy licence
- personal documents of the deputy

The competent authority may request additional documents to verify personal reliability.

In the case of legal entities (limited liability companies, business companies, public limited companies, registered co-operatives), you only need to complete the application form for the legal entity itself. You must submit all personal documents for all natural persons authorised to manage the company (e.g. identity papers). For the legal entity, you will also need an extract from the central trade register.

Partnerships (GbR, KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH & Co. KG) are not eligible for authorisation as such. Therefore, each managing partner requires a licence. You must submit a completed application form and all personal documents for each of these persons.

Costs

The amount of the fees is based on the relevant fee statutes of the municipality or city or the fee regulations of the district administration.

Processing time

The authority must decide on your application within a period of three months. The period begins with the receipt of the complete documents. Once this period has expired, the licence applied for is deemed to have been granted if your application is sufficiently specific.

Note: The authority may extend the deadline once if this is justified by the difficulty of the matter. The authority must give reasons for such an extension and notify you in good time.