English
When You DON'T Need a Trade License
GewO §2
Verified: April 2026
The Austrian Trade Act does not apply to everything. Certain activities are explicitly exempt (§2 GewO). Here are the most important exceptions.
Activities That Do NOT Require a Trade License
- Free professions: Doctors, lawyers, notaries, tax advisors, architects (Ziviltechniker), auditors — governed by separate professional laws. Legally binding land surveying belongs here too: it is reserved to the Ingenieurkonsulent für Vermessungswesen under §3 Abs 2 Z 2 ZTG 2019, and no trade licence for it exists. Measurement work without land-register effect runs under Ingenieurbüro, §94 Z.69. Details: surveying in Austria →
- Agriculture & forestry: Primary production, farm-gate sales, traditional wine tavern (Buschenschank)
- Artistic activities: Fine art, performing art, music — if the artistic achievement is the main focus
- Private tuition and education (§2 Abs 1 Z 12): tutoring, language, music, yoga, dance and sports lessons — and expressly the running of institutions serving those purposes. A tutoring school is exempt just as a single lesson is; being „organised“ changes nothing.
- Occasional sales: Flea markets, occasional trades without profit intent
Do not confuse it: „new self-employed“ is not an exemption from the Trade Act
The term comes from social insurance law (§2 Abs 1 Z 4 GSVG), not from the Trade
Act. It describes how someone is compulsorily insured — not whether a trade
licence is required. The order is binding: first whether the Trade Act applies at all, only
then the insurance question. And the category is a fallback: it applies only
„if compulsory insurance has not already arisen from that same activity“
— so it is not something you can opt into.
How to Tell the Difference
| Factor | Trade Needed | No Trade Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Regularity | Repeated, ongoing activity — and even a single act, if an intention to repeat is apparent or it takes an extended period (§1 Abs 4 GewO) | a genuine one-off with no intention to repeat |
| Profit intent | Yes, aimed at earning | Hobby, no profit motive |
| Independence | Own risk, own organization | Employed (employment contract) |
Common Examples
| Activity | Trade? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance programmer | Usually YES | Free trade "IT services" |
| Freelance journalist | NO | Free profession (Press Act) |
| Running an online shop | YES | Commercial trade (free trade) |
| Private tutoring | NO | private tuition, §2 Abs 1 Z 12 — organised and as an institution too |
| Selling honey (own bees) | NO | Agriculture (primary production) |
| Baking cakes for friends | NO | Not commercial |
| Selling cakes commercially | YES | Confectioner (regulated!) |
| Offering yoga classes | NO | tuition, §2 Abs 1 Z 12 — usually „new self-employed“ for insurance |
When in doubt: ask — do not just register
Registration is free, so „register to be safe“ sounds like sound advice. It is
not, at the border of the Trade Act: where an exemption under §2 GewO applies it is
mandatory, and a trade licence for that activity cannot be obtained at all.
The advice works inside the Trade Act, not at its edge. The WKO startup service offers free
consultation, and the district authority answers binding questions.
Related Guides
General guidance only, not legal advice. Last verified: April 2026.
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