Auctioneer trade - apply for permission

County, independent cities, large independent cities and independent municipalities

In order for you to be granted permission, you must

• be personally reliable,

• have an orderly financial situation.

• Identity card or comparable identification document (copy)
• Non-EU citizens: residence permit (copy)
• Proof of entrepreneurial legal form
  • Company headquarters in Germany:
    • Excerpt from the commercial register for registered company
    • If applicable, a copy of the articles of association (e.g. in the case of a partnership under civil law (GbR))
  • Company domicile abroad: documents from this country proving the legal form
• Proof of personal reliability
  • Residence in Germany:
    • Certificate of good conduct
    • Excerpt from the Central Trade Register for natural and, if applicable, legal persons
  • Residence abroad: Documents from your home country that prove that you have the personal reliability to perform the desired service
  • In individual cases, the authority may request further documents that are suitable for making a statement about your personal reliability as an applicant.
• Proof of orderly financial circumstances
  • Residence in Germany:
    • Excerpt from the debtor file
    • Certificate from the insolvency court
    • Certificate from the tax office in tax matters
  • Residence abroad: Documents from your home country that prove that you live in an orderly financial situation

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

Fees are charged in accordance with No. 40 of Annex 1 to Section 1 (1) of the General Fee Regulations of the State of Lower Saxony (AllGO).

Once you have submitted the application and all the documents are complete, the competent body will check whether you meet all the requirements.

If you meet all the requirements, you will receive the permit.

You may only begin with the activity when you have received the permit. Simultaneously with the start of the activity, the trade must be reported to the authority responsible for trade notifications in accordance with § 14 GewO.

The application can be made informally. However, it is strongly recommended to submit the application in writing.

The permit must be granted before the start of operations, so a timely application (several weeks before the intended start of operations) is required.

If you have applied for a permit to operate as an auctioneer, the permit is deemed to have been granted if the authority has not made a decision on your application within a period of three months after receipt of the complete documents (Section 6a (1) of the German Trade Regulation Act).

You must notify the authority responsible for trade notifications of the start of the activity at the same time.

If the documents are complete, the application will be processed promptly.

The auctioneer is prohibited,

1. to bid for himself or through another at his auctions or to purchase auctioned goods entrusted to him,

2. to allow relatives or his employees to bid at his auctions or to purchase auction goods entrusted to him,

3. to bid for another person at his auctions or to purchase auction goods entrusted to him, unless a written bid of the other person is available,

4. to auction movable goods from among the goods he carries in his commercial business, unless this is customary,

5. to sell by auction goods on which he has a lien or which belong to goods offered for sale in open sales outlets and which are unused or whose intended use consists in their consumption.

Violation of these prohibitions shall be punished as a misdemeanor. In addition, such violations may also lead to the revocation of the auctioneer's permit if it can be concluded from them that the auctioneer is no longer reliable.

Retailers and manufacturers of goods are generally not allowed to auction their goods to the end consumer.

Anyone who auctions movable property, real estate or rights belonging to third parties without the necessary permission, or violates an enforceable condition, is acting in breach of the law and may be fined.

• § Section 34b of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO)
• § 80 NJG

If the addressee (usually the applicant) has legal doubts or concerns about the decision on the permit or details thereof, these can be reviewed by way of an action for an obligation or rescission at the competent administrative court, depending on the legal nature.

In Lower Saxony, § 80 of the Lower Saxony Justice Act does not provide for preliminary proceedings. Therefore, no objection is admissible, but rather an administrative court action must be brought directly.

• § 8 Lower Saxony Justice Act (SJG)