Small business as a minor: overview

In short: Even under 18 you may run a small business if your parents agree and the family court approves it. After that, almost the same rules apply as for adults: business registration, tax office, taxes, bookkeeping and online duties.

In more detail: Minors have only limited legal capacity in everyday life. A business owner, however, concludes contracts all the time (buying, selling, invoicing). The law therefore provides its own route: the legal representatives authorise the child to run a business independently, and the family court approves this authorisation (Authorisation under § 112 BGB). Only then does registering the business make sense.

In detail

• Order of steps: check the idea, convince your parents, write the consent, file the application at the family court, wait for the decision, then register the business and the tax office.
• Who decides: first the parents (both guardians), then the local court acting as family court, finally the trade office of your town.
• What stays the same as for adults: tax duties, invoices, imprint, data protection, consumer law.
• What changes: the court looks at the child’s welfare, school and training come first, and payment providers often demand legal age.
• Protection: debts from the time as a minor are covered by a liability limit (Liability limit for minors (§ 1629a BGB)).

See also: Family court approval, Registering a business step by step, Business registration and self-employment