Trade Licence (Gewerbeberechtigung) for an Austrian GmbH

It depends on what the company actually does. Every trade not expressly classed as regulated is a free trade and needs no certificate of competence; a regulated trade needs a Befähigungsnachweis. In both cases a GmbH appoints a trade-law managing director who is actually active in the business and holds authority to give instructions (§ 39 Abs. 3 GewO).

Under § 39 Abs. 2a GewO the person needs a domicile in Austria, unless they are an EEA national resident in an EEA state, or service and enforcement of administrative penalties are secured by treaty. The Business Service Portal also expects the local and temporal ability to be active in the business, for example by living nearby.

For every trade, § 39 GewO asks for authority to give instructions and actual activity in the business. For a regulated trade, § 39 Abs. 2 GewO adds a condition: the person belongs to the body entitled to represent the GmbH, or is an employee working at least half the normal weekly hours, fully insured under social-insurance law.

The appointment and any departure are notified to the district administrative authority, which reports the appointment to the social-insurance carrier. If the insurance ends while the person is still registered, the carrier reports back (§ 39 Abs. 4 GewO). The trade holder is released from responsibility under § 370 GewO only once a compliant appointment is notified.

The Firmenbuch. It records the GmbH itself, after formation steps such as how the share capital is deposited before registration. Registration in the Firmenbuch does not replace the trade licence: a GmbH that exercises a trade also needs a Gewerbeberechtigung in its own name, recorded in GISA.

Two registers matter to a GmbH. The Firmenbuch is the commercial register of companies. Trades are recorded in the Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria (GISA): entry follows within three months of a legally effective notification, and the GISA extract is the proof of the trade licence, known as the digital trade licence.

For a trade, it is the GISA extract. The extract from the Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria proves the trade licence and is known as the digital trade licence; it replaces the former paper Gewerbeschein. For the company itself, the record is its Firmenbuch entry, which does not replace the trade licence.

Yes, if it exercises a trade. The licence is held in the company's own name; a shareholder's licence is not enough, and entry in the Firmenbuch does not replace it. The registration is filed through GISA, with no stamp duties or federal administrative charges. See also setting up a GmbH step by step.

No. A licence is needed only for an activity the Trade Act covers. Agriculture and forestry, mining, the liberal professions such as doctors, notaries and pharmacists, and private tuition are excluded from it. A GmbH that does exercise a trade needs the licence, proved today by the GISA extract rather than a paper Gewerbeschein.

Not for trade-law purposes. Entry in the Firmenbuch neither grants nor replaces a trade licence; what counts is whether the company exercises an activity the Trade Act covers, as a free or a regulated trade. Its tax position is a separate question, set out in how an Austrian GmbH is taxed.

For a regulated trade without the formal Befähigungsnachweis, an application can be made to the trade authority for a declaration of individuelle Befähigung (individual competence), based on employment references and training. According to the Austrian Economic Chambers, the application itself is free of charge.

The departure is notified to the district administrative authority, and a GmbH must appoint a successor within six months (a sole trader within one month). The authority can shorten the period where the trade poses a particular danger to life or health, or ran more than six months without a managing director in the preceding two years.

Within a group, yes, provided the person is an employee of at least one of the group companies. The appointment is made for each company, and in each one the person must hold self-responsible authority to give instructions, be actually active in the business and have demonstrably consented to the appointment.

According to the Business Service Portal, no stamp duties or federal administrative charges are payable on the trade registration, and an application for a declaration of individuelle Befähigung is free. Our own work is quoted on request. Tax registration is a separate procedure: see registering the GmbH for VAT.