If you wish to relocate your company’s principal place of business within the jurisdiction of the municipality that has been responsible for it thus far, you must re-register your business. The same applies if you change the location of your principal place of business or the location of a branch office or dependent branch. The local business registration office or public order office is responsible for this.

The following are exempt from the requirement to re-register a business:

• Primary production (livestock farming, crop farming, hunting, forestry, and fishing)
• Liberal professions
• Management of one’s own assets

If you change the nature of your business activities, you must also file a change of business registration. This is the case, for example, if you begin to offer goods or services in your business—either exclusively or in addition to your current offerings—that are not customary for your registered business.

In addition, you must update your business registration if your name as a business owner or the name of the legal entity acting as a business owner changes.

If there is a change in your business activity, you must update your registration not only for your permanent business but also for your itinerant business.

The re-registration must be carried out by the following persons or their authorized representatives:

• for sole proprietorships, by the business owner themselves,
• for legal entities, such as a limited liability company (GmbH) or a stock corporation (AG), by the legal representatives

For partnerships, such as a general partnership (OHG), a stock limited partnership (KG), general partnership (GbR), or limited liability company and limited partnership (GmbH & Co. KG), all partners authorized to manage the business must each file a business re-registration.

If you relocate your place of business to the jurisdiction of another municipality, you must first deregister the business at the previous location and then re-register it at the new location. This is not considered a change of registration.