Baker Trade License (Baecker)
Key Facts
- Type: Regulated trade (Handwerk)
- Qualification: Master exam (Meisterpruefung)
- Registration cost: Free (€0)
- Exam fees: Covered by the federal government since July 2023
- Start immediately: Yes, upon registration
- Also covered: confectioner's baked goods and pastries — torten included (§ 150 (1) GewO)
What Does This Trade Cover?
The baker trade license covers the production and sale of:
- Bread (all types including specialty breads)
- Rolls, baguettes, and small bakery goods
- Simple pastries and baked goods
- Dough products (fresh and frozen)
- Confectioner's baked goods and pastries, torten included — see below
The same paragraph goes further: in the rooms given over to sale, bakers may serve their products, garnished as snacks, and pour non-alcoholic drinks and beer in commercially sealed containers. The limit is in the same sentence — the business must retain its character as a production business.
What it does not cover is pure sugar confectionery such as pralines; that is the Konditor trade (§ 94 Z 40 GewO). And the traffic runs both ways: § 150 (11) lets confectioners produce pastry and white bread.
Qualification Alternatives
- Master exam (Meisterpruefung) for bakers
- Relevant education + practical experience in the trade
- Individual assessment (§19 GewO) with proof of extensive experience
- Qualified manager (§39 GewO) who holds the baker qualification
Food Safety Requirements
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Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a baker also sell confectionery (cakes, pralines)?
Torten yes, and without a Konditor licence. § 150 (1) GewO entitles bakers to produce confectioner's baked goods and pastries, and the statute names torten as its example. Pure sugar confectionery such as pralines is the Konditor trade (§94 Z.40 GewO).
What food safety rules apply to bakeries in Austria?
HACCP concept mandatory, EU allergen labeling (Regulation 1169/2011), regular health authority inspections, and business premises approval.
Qualification: how to prove it
Bäcker is a regulated trade under §94 Z.3 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO 1994). The standard route is the master craftsman exam (meisterprüfung).
- Examined by: Meisterprüfungsstelle WK
- Exam modules: 5
- Exam fee: €0 — exam fees are covered by the federal government
If you cannot sit the exam, these routes are open to you:
- Lehrabschluss Bäcker + Berufspraxis
- Individual assessment under §19 GewO
Registering the trade
- Cost: Free — registration itself carries no fee
- Where: District administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde)
- Decision within: max. 3 months
- Typically takes: 1-5 Werktage (bei vollständigen Unterlagen)
- Start trading: immediately on registration — you do not have to wait for the decision
You can register in these ways:
- Online via GISA (the trade register)
- Online via USP (the business service portal)
- In person at the authority
Who may register
- Minimum age: 18
- Citizenship or residence: Austria, EU, EEA or Switzerland
- Clean record: no disqualifying convictions (checked by the authority)
Documents to bring
- Photo ID
- Master craftsman certificate (Meisterprüfungszeugnis)
- Criminal record certificate
Terms shown in German are the ones printed on the Austrian forms — you will meet them exactly like this at the authority.
Where to go, by province
| Province | Competent authority |
|---|---|
| Vienna | Magistrat der Stadt Wien, MA 63 |
| Lower Austria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft |
| Upper Austria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat |
| Styria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Graz |
| Tyrol | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Innsbruck |
| Salzburg | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Salzburg |
| Carinthia | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Klagenfurt/Villach |
| Burgenland | Bezirkshauptmannschaft |
| Vorarlberg | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Bregenz |
Sole trader, GmbH, or partnership?
Trade law does not prescribe a legal form — but it does draw one line. Under § 9 (1) GewO, legal entities and registered partnerships (GmbH, OG, KG) may hold a trade licence, but they „must have appointed a managing director (§ 39)“ — a named person who carries the qualification and the legal responsibility for the trade. As a sole trader you are that person yourself.
Whether a GmbH pays off financially depends on profit, drawings, SVS contributions and allowances. There is no general profit threshold, and that question belongs to a tax adviser, not to this page.
Running this trade alongside a job
Nothing in Austrian law forbids running a trade as a side business. Two things about social insurance are regularly misremembered, and both cost money.
- The obligation follows Chamber membership, not profit. Under § 2 (1) 1 GSVG compulsory SVS insurance attaches to membership of the Economic Chamber, which you acquire with the trade licence itself. It therefore applies in a year in which you make no profit at all.
- There is an exemption — but only on application. § 4 (1) 7 GSVG lets very small businesses be exempted while turnover and income stay under the limits it refers to. Nothing happens automatically: without the application, the obligation stands.
If you are employed, check your employment contract separately for a secondary-activity clause — that is a matter between you and your employer, not trade law.
Legal basis: GewO 1994 §94 Z.3 . Last reviewed April 2026. This is not legal advice.