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Ceramics & Tile Laying (Keramiker)

GewO §94 Z.38   Verified: April 2026

Key Facts

  • Type: Regulated trade (Handwerk)
  • Qualification: Master exam (Meisterpruefung) or equivalent
  • Registration cost: Free (€0)
  • Exam fees: Covered by government since July 2023
  • Scope: Tile laying, ceramic work, mosaic, terracotta
  • Demand: Strong in bathroom and kitchen renovation sector

What This Trade Covers

Keramiker vs. Hafner vs. Platten- und Fliesenleger The Keramiker trade covers tile laying and ceramic work. The Hafner (§94 Z.30) is the stove builder (Kachelofenbau). In practice, tile layers are often called Platten- und Fliesenleger, which falls under the Keramiker trade license. Natural stone work may overlap with the Steinmetzmeister trade.

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Deutsche Version →

One qualification, several trades

Austrian trade law lists this as a verbundenes Handwerk (combined trade). § 94 Z 38 GewO reads, verbatim: „Keramiker; Platten- und Fliesenleger (verbundenes Handwerk)“

This is worth more than it looks. Under § 30 (1) GewO, once you have the qualification for one of the trades named there in full, you may also provide the services of the others — no second exam. The same applies under § 30 (2) if the authority has recognised your individual qualification (§ 19) without restricting it to partial activities.

What this licence additionally covers

§ 150 GewO grants rights beyond the trade's own field — no second registration needed. The statute is quoted below verbatim in German; we do not paraphrase legal text.

§ 150 (18): „Platten- und Fliesenleger (§ 94 Z 38) sind unbeschadet der Rechte der Steinmetzmeister einschließlich Kunststeinerzeuger und Terrazzomacher auch zur Verlegung von Bodenplatten aus Naturstein und Kunststein und zum Verkleben von Wandplatten aus Naturstein und Kunststein berechtigt.“

Qualification: how to prove it

Fliesenleger is a regulated trade under §94 Z.38 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO 1994). The standard route is the qualification exam (befähigungsprüfung).

  • 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:

  • 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: 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
  • 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

ProvinceCompetent authority
ViennaMagistrat der Stadt Wien, MA 63
Lower AustriaBezirkshauptmannschaft
Upper AustriaBezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Linz/Wels/Steyr
StyriaBezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Graz
TyrolBezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Innsbruck
SalzburgBezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Salzburg
CarinthiaBezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Klagenfurt/Villach
BurgenlandBezirkshauptmannschaft
VorarlbergBezirkshauptmannschaft / 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.38 . Last reviewed April 2026. This is not legal advice.

Legally binding: German text of GewO 1994.