Deregister trade

Responsibility lies with the municipality, the joint municipality and the city.

This procedure can also be handled by a "single point of contact". The "Single Point of Contact" is a special service offered by the municipalities and the state for service providers.

• Find your single point of contact here

• liquidation of your business or
• relocation of your registered office or the registered office of a branch or dependent branch outside the previous municipality, or
• change of the legal form of your business
  

• Forms: yes
• Online procedure possible: yes (if offered)
• Written form required: no
• Personal appearance required: no
  

• Gewerbe-Abmeldung, Seite 1
• Gewerbe-Abmeldung, Seite 2

• Copy of ID card or passport with certificate of registration, or presentation on site. In the case of electronic business re-registration, depending on the municipality, further suitable and appropriate procedures for establishing identity (for example PIN/TAN procedure, the electronic ID function, De-Mail or a self-declaration of identity).
• Copy of the extract from the commercial register, if your company is entered in the commercial register (also: register of cooperatives, register of associations).
  

The costs are based on the respective administrative fee regulations of the state or on the fee statutes of the bodies responsible under state law.

You can deregister your trade in person, in writing (for example, by fax or letter) or by electronic means.

• If you deregister in person or in writing, you must fill out the form "Trade Deregistration" - GewA 3 and sign it personally.
  • The form "GewA 3" is available at the office responsible for deregistration or, depending on the offer, can also be downloaded.
• In the electronic procedure, the same data is collected as in the personal deregistration. However, it is possible to deviate from the form and you do not have to sign it personally.
• The office responsible for deregistration may use suitable and appropriate procedures to establish your identity when deregistering electronically using the online procedure (for example, PIN/TAN procedures, the electronic ID function, De-Mail or a self-declaration of identity).
• You will receive a certificate from the authority for the receipt of your trade deregistration.
• The office responsible for deregistration forwards the trade deregistration to other offices, such as the tax office, the employers' liability insurance association, the chamber of crafts or the chamber of industry and commerce and, if applicable, the registration court.
  

You are obliged to deregister your business at the time of the closure of the business or at the time of the transfer of the business to the jurisdiction of another municipality or the change of the legal form.

If you have filled out the form correctly and your documents are complete, the authority will certify receipt of your deregistration immediately if you come in person. If you deregister in writing or electronically, you will receive the receipt of your trade deregistration within 3 days.

If the cessation of the business is clearly established and you do not deregister your trade, the deregistration will be carried out ex officio.

• § 14 Gewerbeordnung (GewO)
• § 2 Absatz 1 Gewerbeanzeigeverordnung (GewAnzV)

Pursuant to Section 15(1) of the GewO, the office responsible for deregistration shall certify receipt of the deregistration notification within three days.