A trade is any activity that is not socially unlawful, self-employed, intended to be permanent and profitable, carried out in its own name and for its own account.

Trade does not include, among other things

• Socially unworthy activities, e.g. clairvoyance,
• primary production, e.g. agriculture and forestry,
• liberal professions, e.g. doctors, lawyers, tax consultants,
• the management of own assets (unless the company is entered in the commercial register).

A business registration is always necessary if you start a standing business. A permanent business is a business with a fixed place of business from or in which the business is carried out. This is the case if you:

• set up a new business,
• establish a new branch office,
• establish a dependent branch office,
• take over an existing business, for example by purchase or lease,
• convert a sole proprietorship into a different legal form,
• relocate a business from the area of one authority to the area of another authority (for one authority, this is regarded as a discontinuation of the business for the other authority as a new establishment).

You must register your business at the same time as you start operating it. The obligation to register only applies if it is a commercial activity.

The following are exempt from business registration

• Primary production (livestock farming, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing)
• Liberal professions
• Management of own assets

Find out at an early stage what personal, financial and professional requirements you need to fulfill in order to be able to operate in these business areas.

The purpose of registering a trade is to enable the competent authorities to monitor the exercise of the trade and to carry out statistical surveys.