- completed application form
- Copy of identity card or comparable identification document
- For proof of entrepreneurial legal form:
- if the company has its registered office in Germany:
- for companies entered in a register Excerpt from the commercial register or the partnership register, respectively
- otherwise a copy of the partnership agreement (e.g. in the case of a partnership under civil law (GbR))
- if the company is domiciled abroad: documents from the country of domicile proving the legal form.
- For the proof of personal reliability:
- If resident in Germany:
- If you are domiciled abroad: documents from your home country proving your personal reliability.
- Proof of personal expertise by presenting a certificate from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) stating that you have successfully passed an expert examination or by presenting proof recognised as equivalent
- Documents proving your orderly financial circumstances
- Proof that you have taken out the required liability insurance
In order to verify the required prerequisites (in particular your personal reliability), the competent body may request further documents and obtain statements from other authorities (e.g. police, State Criminal Police Office, Office for the Protection of the Constitution).
As of 1.1.2019, your personal reliability will be re-examined at regular intervals, at the latest after 5 years.
In the case of legal entities (GmbH, Unternehmensgesellschaften, AG, eingetragene Genossenschaften), you only need to complete the application form for the legal entity itself. You must submit all personal documents for all natural persons entitled to manage the company (e.g. personal papers). For the legal entity, you also need an extract from the Central Business Register.
Partnerships (GbR, KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH Co. KG) are not eligible for a licence as such. Therefore, each managing partner requires a permit. For each of these persons you must submit a completed application form and all personal documents.