Self-Employment in Germany: Freelancers and Small Businesses

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to Germany and want to work for themselves, whether as a freelance translator, a designer or the owner of a small shop. After reading it, you will know whether your work counts as freelance or as a trade, which office you register with, which documents and deadlines apply, and where to find free advice and funding.

• Freelance work or a trade
• Residence permit and qualifications
• Registering your work
• Tax and insurance
• Free advice and funding
• FAQ

Freelance work or a trade

German rules separate two kinds of self-employment. A Freiberufler (freelancer in one of the liberal professions) offers a scientific, artistic, teaching or writing service, according to Handbook Germany’s page on freelance self-employment. The page sorts these into three groups: Katalogberufe (catalogue professions) such as doctor, lawyer, engineer and interpreter; Tätigkeitsberufe (activity professions) such as teacher, journalist, musician and writer; and Ähnliche Berufe (similar professions), meaning comparable technical or creative work such as photography or graphic design.

A Gewerbe (trade) is something else. Handbook Germany’s page on trade-based self-employment describes it as selling goods, manufacturing products or offering craft services, for example running a shop, restaurant or workshop, or working as a hairdresser.

This distinction determines where you register and whether trade tax applies. The Finanzamt (tax office) makes an initial decision on whether someone counts as a freelancer when they register, and its staff can help with the classification. Anyone who registers as a freelancer but is in fact running a business will have to pay back trade tax. The pages do not give trade tax rates.

Residence permit and qualifications

Self-employment needs a residence permit that allows it. For freelancers, Handbook Germany refers to a permit under Section 21 (5) of the Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act); for a trade, it refers to Section 21 (1). Both pages say that other requirements must also be met, without listing them in full.

Qualifications are a second hurdle. Many liberal professions require official certification and recognition of qualifications, especially for degrees obtained abroad, and some, such as doctor or lawyer, may only be practised with official permission. Whether a particular permit covers self-employment is for the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ authority) to decide. That office or a migration advice service handles individual residence questions.

Registering your work

Freelancers: the tax office

Freelancers register directly with their local tax office. A short informal letter is enough, sent no later than four weeks after the self-employment starts. The office then sends the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung (tax registration questionnaire), which can also be collected in person to save time. Once the completed form is returned, the office issues a tax number. Filling it in requires your personal tax identification number (IdNr.). Tax advisors can help for a fee.

Trades: the Gewerbeamt

A trade is registered by appointment at the Gewerbeamt (trade licensing office) responsible for the business location. The page lists these documents:

• passport and residence permit, including confirmation that you may work as a self-employed person
• any special permit the activity needs
• a reference from the Gewerbezentralregister (Central Trade Register) or a Führungszeugnis (certificate of good conduct)
• for craftspeople, a tradesperson’s card

Requirements vary from office to office, and each office lists them on its website. The fee is usually around €50, with exact charges set locally. The Gewerbeamt then informs other authorities, including the tax office, the employers’ liability insurance association and, where relevant, the local court, which write to you asking for forms or documents.

Some trades need a licence before work begins, such as a restaurant licence, Infection Protection Act training for catering companies or a passenger transport licence for taxi drivers. Craftspeople such as bakers, car mechanics and hairdressers usually need a master craftsman’s certificate and must register with the local Handwerkskammer (HWK, Chamber of Crafts), which checks their qualifications. The local Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK, Chamber of Industry and Commerce) or Gewerbeamt can say whether a permit is needed.

Tax and insurance

On the tax questionnaire you state whether you want to use the Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business regulation). The pages do not state its turnover limits; the tax office confirms them. Traders must also keep accounts.

On insurance, the pages say little. They do not set out health insurance or pension rules for self-employed people, so insurers and the advice services below are the sources for those. Two points are stated: the Gewerbeamt notifies the employers’ liability insurance association, and the start-up grant includes an extra €300 for health insurance and pension.

Free advice and funding

Handbook Germany names Wir gründen in Deutschland (Starting a business in Germany) as the first point of contact: a website for migrants in more than 10 languages, linked to free advice centres in each federal state. Freelancers can get a free initial consultation at the Institute for Liberal Professions. Private consultants usually charge, though some federal states subsidise the cost.

People who have received Arbeitslosengeld I (ALG I, unemployment benefit) for at least six weeks can apply to the employment agency for an AVGS voucher, which covers free advice on topics such as accounting or a business plan. It must be redeemed before the self-employment starts.

The Gründungszuschuss (start-up grant) is open to people unemployed for at least one day who are still entitled to ALG I for at least 150 days and plan self-employment as their main occupation. Applicants submit a business plan, a copy of their tax office registration, a Tragfähigkeitsbescheinigung (viability certificate from a business expert), a CV and proof of qualifications. The grant continues ALG I for six months plus €300, then optionally €300 a month for a further nine months. There is no entitlement; the caseworker decides.

People on Grundsicherung (basic income support) from the Jobcenter can apply for Einstiegsgeld (start-up allowance), assessed individually and paid for up to 24 months in total, again at the caseworker’s discretion. Subsidised loans from development banks such as KfW, and guarantees from a Bürgschaftsbank (guarantee bank), are applied for through your regular bank.

FAQ

Do freelancers register with the Gewerbeamt?

No. Freelance activities such as those of self-employed doctors, lawyers, journalists, artists or teachers are not treated as businesses and are registered directly with the tax office, which makes an initial decision on whether an activity counts as freelance.

What is the deadline for registering with the tax office?

Freelancers must register no later than four weeks after starting their self-employment. A short informal letter is enough. The office then sends the tax registration questionnaire and issues a tax number once it is returned.

How much does trade registration cost?

The fee is usually around €50. Each trade licensing office sets and publishes its own fees, so the exact amount depends on the office responsible for the business location.

Does my residence permit allow self-employment?

Handbook Germany refers to Section 21 (5) of the Residence Act for freelancers and Section 21 (1) for trades, with further requirements on top. The foreigners’ authority decides whether a specific permit allows self-employment, and a migration advice service can help with individual questions.

Sources: handbookgermany.de · handbookgermany.de

Last verified: 30 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the foreigners’ authority (Ausländerbehörde) of your city, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).