Business re-registration

If you wish to relocate the registered office of your company within the jurisdiction of the municipality that was previously responsible, you must re-register your business. The same applies if you change the location of your registered office or the location of a branch or dependent branch office. The local trade or public order office is responsible for this.

The following are exempt from trade re-registration:

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

If you change your business activity, you must also re-register your business. This is the case, for example, if in future you offer goods or services in your business exclusively or additionally that are not customary in relation to your registered trade.

You must also re-register your business if your name as a trader or the name of the legal entity as a trader changes.

In the event of a change of business activity, a change of registration is required not only for the standing business, but also for the travelling trade.

The following persons or their authorised representatives must carry out the re-registration:

• in the case of sole traders, by the trader himself,
• in the case of legal entities, for example limited liability companies (GmbH), public limited companies (AG), by the legal representatives

In the case of partnerships, for example general partnerships (OHG), partnerships limited by shares (KG), partnerships under civil law (GbR), limited liability companies and limited partnerships (GmbH & Co. KG), all partners authorised to manage the business must register their business.

If you move your place of business to the jurisdiction of another municipality, you must first deregister the business at the previous location and then re-register it at the new location. This is not a re-registration.