Electrician Trade License (Elektrotechnik)
Key Facts
- Type: Regulated trade
- Qualification: Qualification exam — 5 modules
- Registration cost: Free (€0)
- Exam fees: Covered by government since July 2023
- Start immediately: Yes
- Also needed: Registration with grid operator (Installateurverzeichnis)
Where did you obtain your qualification?
For a regulated trade you submit your Befähigungsnachweis (qualification proof) with the registration — the Key Facts above show what counts for this trade.
For a qualification obtained in the EU/EEA or Switzerland, Directive 2005/36/EC gives you the right to a formal recognition or equivalence procedure (Anerkennung/Gleichhaltung). Do this before registering.
For a qualification obtained outside the EU/EEA the recommended path is the individual assessment (§ 19): your training and experience are assessed for equivalence.
Three routes without a formal qualification: individual assessment (§ 19), the qualification exam (exam fees covered by the government since 2023), or a qualified manager (§ 39).
Individual assessment (§ 19) Qualified manager (§ 39) All 4 paths
When electrical installation work needs this licence
Not every job on a circuit requires a trade licence. The threshold is a number in the statute, not a matter of interpretation. § 106 (1) no. 1 GewO reserves the installation of Starkstrom (heavy-current) systems — expressly „ohne Einschränkung hinsichtlich der Leistung oder der Spannung“ — and § 106 (2) defines what that means: systems above 42 volts or above 100 watts.
Planning is included. § 32 (1) no. 8 GewO entitles every trade to plan the work that falls within the scope of its own licence, so electrical planning inside your own scope needs no second registration. A separate licence — an engineering office under § 94 no. 69 — only becomes necessary if planning itself is the service and you do not build the installation.
Four scopes, not one
The Elektrotechnikzugangs-Verordnung (BGBl. II no. 41/2003 as amended by BGBl. II no. 149/2023) is the regulation issued under § 18 GewO that lists the acceptable evidence. It defines four different scopes, each with its own route in:
- § 1 — unrestricted. Either the qualification exam, or one of the education routes: a degree in electrical engineering plus the entrepreneurial exam, both prescribed courses and one year of practice; an Austrian HTL with an electrical-engineering focus on the same terms but eighteen months of practice; the Werkmeisterschule on the same terms but two years. Six uninterrupted years as a self-employed person or plant manager also qualify.
- § 2 — without alarm systems. Same routes, but the 120-hour alarm-systems course (Annex 2) falls away.
- § 3 — up to 42 volts or 100 watts. An apprenticeship in electrical engineering (or a related trade of at least two years), the 34-hour safety-rules course (Annex 1) and two years of practice. No qualification exam, no entrepreneurial exam — the lowest threshold into this trade.
- § 4 — alarm systems only. Open to mechatronics, communications-electronics and locksmith qualifications combined with the Annex 2 course.
Where none of the standard routes fits, the remaining option is an individual assessment under § 19 GewO, or appointing a qualified manager who holds the qualification.
Important: Grid Operator Registration
Alarm systems belong to this licence — with a reporting duty
§ 106 (1) GewO spells out what this trade covers beyond wiring: no. 3 is „die Errichtung von Alarmanlagen für Betriebe, Gebäude oder Grundstücke“ and no. 4 the installation of fire alarm systems. It makes no difference whether the system is wired or wireless.
There is no separate „electrical installation“ licence
People still search for Elektroinstallation as if it were its own trade. It is not. § 94 GewO lists the regulated trades exhaustively and does not name it — installation work belongs to Elektrotechnik (§ 94 Z 16). Until 1993 a lower-tier Elektroinstallation trade did exist; under the transitional rule in § 376 Z 32a GewO those old authorisations have counted as electrical-engineering licences ever since. The name survives in everyday speech, not in trade law.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What qualification do I need to work as an electrician in Austria?
You need a qualification exam (Befaehigungspruefung) with 5 modules. HTL diploma or university degree with experience are alternatives.
Do I need to register with the grid operator as an electrician?
Yes, you must be registered in the installer directory (Installateurverzeichnis) of the local grid operator, separate from the trade license.
Qualification: how to prove it
Elektrotechnik is a regulated trade under §94 Z.16 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO 1994). The standard route is the qualification exam (befähigungsprüfung).
- Examined by: Meisterprüfungsstelle der Wirtschaftskammer
- 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:
- Studium Elektrotechnik oder einschlägiger FH-Studiengang + Unternehmerprüfung + beide Lehrgänge + ein Jahr fachliche Tätigkeit (§ 1 Abs 1 Z 2)
- Berufsbildende höhere Schule mit Elektrotechnik-Schwerpunkt (HTL) + Unternehmerprüfung + beide Lehrgänge + eineinhalb Jahre fachliche Tätigkeit (§ 1 Abs 1 Z 3)
- Werkmeisterschule für Berufstätige für Elektrotechnik + Unternehmerprüfung + beide Lehrgänge + zwei Jahre fachliche Tätigkeit (§ 1 Abs 1 Z 4)
- Individuelle Befähigung nach § 19 GewO, wenn kein Regelweg passt
- Appointing a qualified managing director
Registering the trade
- Cost: Free — registration itself carries no fee
- Where: District administrative authority — Bezirkshauptmannschaft or Magistrat
- Decision within: max. 3 months
- Typically takes: 1-5 Werktage (bei vollständigen Unterlagen)
You can register in these ways:
- Online via GISA (the trade register)
- Online via USP (the business service portal)
- In person at the authority
- By post
Who may register
- Minimum age: 18
- Citizenship or residence: Austria, EU, EEA or Switzerland — third-country nationals with a residence permit are also eligible
- Clean record: no disqualifying convictions (checked by the authority)
Documents to bring
- Valid photo ID
- Befähigungsnachweis (Prüfungszeugnis oder Bildungsabschluss + Praxisnachweis)
- Strafregisterbescheinigung (bei <5 Jahren Aufenthalt in AT)
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 | MA 63 |
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.16 . Last reviewed April 2026. This is not legal advice.
Rule-change alerts
Austrian trade rules change through amendments, new regulations and new thresholds. Every day we check the Federal Law Gazette for changes to the Trade Act and its regulations. When one affects this trade, you get an email: what changes, from when, and where it is written. Otherwise we do not write.
First you get one email to confirm. No advertising, no tracking.