Trade licence and registration confirmation

In short: After registering you get a confirmation, often called trade licence or business registration. It proves to banks, platforms and suppliers that the business is registered.

In more detail: A trade licence in the sense of a permit exists only for activities that require one. Normally it is an acknowledgement of the business notification. It contains name, address, activity and start date. It is also the basis for the ELSTER questionnaire and for contracts with dealers.

In detail

• Keep it: file the original or a scan safely, with the registration date.
• Use: opening a business account, merchant accounts, wholesale, insurance.
• Changes: a new activity, address or name must be reported to the trade office (Deregistering and changing a registration).
• Do not confuse: the confirmation does not replace a permit when one is required.
• If lost: request a duplicate from the trade office.

See also: Registering a business step by step, Trades that require a permit