Pyrotechnics Company License (Pyrotechnikunternehmen)
Key Facts
- Type: Regulated trade (reglementiertes Gewerbe)
- Qualification: Professional competence + pyrotechnics-specific certification
- Explosives license: Required under the Pyrotechnikgesetz 2010
- Insurance: Mandatory liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung)
- Registration cost: Free (€0) at the trade authority
- Note: Each event typically requires a separate municipal permit
What Does This Trade Cover?
The pyrotechnics trade license covers professional firework displays and pyrotechnic services:
- Planning and executing professional firework shows for events and celebrations
- Stage pyrotechnics for concerts, theater, and film productions
- Industrial pyrotechnics (demolition charges, signal devices)
- Sale of professional-grade pyrotechnic articles (categories F3, F4, T2, P2)
- Storage, transport, and handling of pyrotechnic materials
- Safety planning and risk assessment for pyrotechnic events
Insurance Requirements
Pyrotechnics companies must carry mandatory liability insurance that covers:
- Property damage: Fire, explosion, and debris damage to surrounding buildings or vehicles
- Personal injury: Coverage for injuries to spectators, crew, or third parties
- Environmental damage: Contamination from pyrotechnic residues
- Minimum coverage: Sums vary by insurer, but must be adequate for the scale of operations
Event-Specific Permits
Each pyrotechnic display typically requires additional approvals:
- Municipal permit: The local Gemeinde must approve the firework event
- Safety distances: Minimum distances to spectators, buildings, forests, and protected areas
- Fire brigade notification: The local Feuerwehr must be informed and may need to be on standby
- Nature protection: Restrictions near wildlife reserves, especially during nesting seasons
Qualification Requirements
- Pyrotechnic specialist certification (Pyrotechniker-Ausbildung) from an accredited provider
- Reliability check (Verlässlichkeitspruefung) — criminal record review
- Practical experience in pyrotechnic operations, typically under supervision
- Individual assessment (§19 GewO) with proof of professional competence
- Qualified manager (§39 GewO) who holds the required certifications
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Related Guides
Qualification: how to prove it
Pyrotechnik is a regulated trade under §94 Z.18 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO 1994). The standard route is the qualification exam (befähigungsprüfung).
- Examined by: 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:
- Individual assessment under §19 GewO
- Appointing a qualified managing director
Registering the trade
- Cost: Free — registration itself carries no fee
- Where: District administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde)
- Decision within: max. 3 months
- Typically takes: 2-6 Wochen (Zuverlässigkeitsprüfung)
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
- Certificate of competence (Befähigungsnachweis)
- 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 Linz/Wels/Steyr |
| 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.18 . Last reviewed April 2026. This is not legal advice.