Craft roll: Apply for registration

You can apply for a crafts card or business card online via the Wirtschafts-Service-Portal.NRW as well as at the Chamber of Crafts responsible for you.

Here you can access the online application for registration in the craft roll.

Further information on the procedure as well as the application documents can be found at your competent Chamber of Crafts.
Here you can check which Chamber of Crafts is responsible for you.

• Handwerkskammer Aachen
• Handwerkskammer Ostwestfalen-Lippe zu Bielefeld
• Handwerkskammer Dortmund
• Handwerkskammer Düsseldorf
• Handwerkskammer Köln
• Handwerkskammer Münster
• Handwerkskammer Südwestfalen

If you want to become self-employed in a craft subject to approval, you or your company must register as a craftsman. In order to do so, certain conditions must be met.

You can find out which professions are subject to registration in Germany in [Annex A of the HwO] (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/anlage_a.html).

If you wish to operate a company in the non-licensed crafts of [Annex B1 of the HwO] (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/anlage_b.html) or in the craft-like trades of [Annex B2 of the HwO] (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/anlage_b.html), you must register with the Chamber of Crafts. Entry can be made without proof of qualification (master's certificate).

• You have a Master's certificate or have obtained an equivalent qualification abroad.

• you have a “equivalent” degree (e.g. final examinations at a German university, a state-recognised technical school or a diploma from another EU Member State).

• You have an approved application for the right to exercise according to § 7 b HwO. Experienced apprentices who have six years of professional experience in their craft, including four years in a managerial position, can submit this application. With the granted right to exercise, they can also become self-employed with their own company in a craft subject to approval. Excluded from this scheme are: Chimney sweeps, opticians, hearing aid acousticians, orthopaedic technicians, orthopaedic shoemakers and dental technicians.

• You hold an exception permit for the independent exercise of a craft profession in Annex A of the HwO. This allows you, for example, to pursue your profession if you would be an unreasonable burden for taking the master's examination. However, you must be able to demonstrate all the necessary knowledge and skills.

• You employ a manager with the required qualifications. Then you can also set up or take over a craftsman's business subject to approval if you, as the owner of the business, do not have a master's certificate. Here you will find the required Operator's declaration for download.

In order to apply for a craft roll, the following documents must be submitted:

• Copy of identity card or similar identification document
• completed and signed application for registration
• in the case of entry in Annex A to the Crafts Code: Proof of qualification (Meisterbrief/EU-certificate)
• in the case of employment of professional managers: Manager's declaration and employment contract
• if applicable, extract from the commercial register of the local court (in the case of legal persons or other registered companies)
• if applicable, articles of association, if one of the entry requirements is met by partners who are personally liable for the artisanal management or by professional managers employed by the company

Depending on the chamber, different fees are charged for registration, which can range from €100 to €400. your Chamber of Crafts will be happy to inform you in individual cases.