Business & Self-Employment
How long does a Gewerbeanmeldung take?
Estimated wait
~5 days
Based on published sources
Timeline guide
- Faster cases~3 days
- Average cases~5 days
- Slower casesUp to 10 days
The Gewerbeanmeldung does not include downstream steps — the tax office issues your tax number (Steuernummer) roughly 1–3 weeks later. Some activities are permit-required (e.g. trades, gastronomy, security) and need approvals first before the Gewerbeschein can be issued.
A Gewerbeanmeldung is essentially a same-day act: with complete documents you walk out of the trade office (Gewerbeamt) with the Gewerbeschein in about 10–30 minutes. Registering online or by post typically takes 3–10 business days (up to about two weeks in large cities or with system delays) for the confirmation to arrive.
More details
This is only the trade-office step — a much faster and separate process from founding a GmbH, which needs a court register entry.
Last updated: 10 Jul 2026
Information is for general knowledge only.