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Have your travelling trade card extended
If you wish to be self-employed in the travelling trade, you generally require a travelling trade licence.
You operate a travelling trade if you offer your services or goods outside of your commercial establishment without a prior order or carry out an entertaining activity as a showman or showwoman or in the manner of a showman or showwoman.
For example
- as a showman or showwoman,
- as a "travelling salesperson" or
- as the owner of a market stall.
The travelling trade licence is generally valid indefinitely. However, it can be issued for a limited period if this is necessary to protect the general public or consumers.
If you have a temporary travelling trade licence and wish to extend it, you must apply to the competent authority.
Responsible authority
Lower administrative authority, i.e. the city administration or the district administration, depending on where you live
Details
Prerequisite
Your temporary travelling trade licence will expire shortly.
Procedure
You must apply to the competent authority for an extension of the travelling trade licence. Once all documents have been received, the authority will check your application.
Deadlines
None
Required documents
- Travelling trade card
- Copy of identity card or comparable identification document
- Current excerpt from the commercial or cooperative register, if the company is entered in the register; otherwise a copy of the articles of association (e.g. for a civil law partnership (GbR))
- If the company is based abroad: documents from the country of domicile that prove the legal form
- Extract from the Federal Central Criminal Register (certificate of good conduct) for submission to an authority for each person responsible for managing the company or a branch office (for legal entities: for all persons authorised to represent the company by law, articles of association or partnership agreement)
- Extract from the central trade register for each person responsible for managing the business or a branch (in the case of legal entities: for the legal entity itself and for all persons authorised to represent it by law, articles of association or partnership agreement)
- Certificate in tax matters from the responsible tax office
- Extract from the debtor register of the central enforcement court
- Information from the insolvency court as to whether proceedings have been opened
- Clearance certificate from the municipal tax office
- If you live abroad: documents from your home country that prove your personal reliability
- If you are applying for a travelling trade licence as a showman or showwoman: additional proof or evidence that you have taken out public liability insurance (financial loss liability insurance
The competent authority may request further documents to verify your personal reliability.
In the case of legal entities (GmbH, business companies, AG, registered cooperatives), you only need to complete the application form for the legal entity itself. You must submit all personal documents for all natural persons authorised to manage the company (e.g. identity papers). For the legal entity, you also need an extract from the central trade register.
Partnerships (GbR, KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH Co. KG) are not eligible for authorisation as such. Therefore, each managing partner requires a licence. You must submit a completed application form and all personal documents for each of these persons.
Costs
The costs are based on the municipal fee statutes or the district administration's fee regulations.
Processing time
The competent body must decide on your application within a period of three months. This period begins with the receipt of the complete documents. Once this period has expired, the authorisation applied for is deemed to have been granted if your application is sufficiently specific.
Note: The competent authority may extend the deadline once if this is justified by the complexity of the matter. The competent authority must justify this extension and inform you in good time.
Miscellaneous
None
Legal basis
Gewerbeordnung (GewO):
- § 55 Reisegewerbekarte
Release note
Machine generated, based on the German release by: Wirtschaftsministerium Baden-Württemberg, 06.11.2025
