A trade is any non-socially unacceptable, self-employed, long-term and profit-making activity, carried out in one's own name and for one's own account.

The trade does not include, but is not limited to:

• 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 it is a company registered in the commercial register).

A business registration is always necessary if you start a permanent business. A permanent business means 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 considered to be 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.