Do I need a trade licence in Austria at all?
The five outcomes
| Outcome | Trade licence? | Social insurance | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free trade | yes, registration is enough — free of charge, no exam | from the licence onwards, even at zero profit | § 5 (2), § 339 GewO |
| Regulated trade | yes, plus proof of qualification | as above | § 94 GewO |
| Regulated outside § 94 | yes — a licence under a separate statute | as above | e.g. road haulage act |
| New Self-Employed | no — and you cannot obtain one either | only above €6,613.20 profit; you notify the SVS yourself within a month | § 2 (1) no. 4 GSVG |
| Outside the Trade Act | no — the exception is mandatory | own professional statute and chamber, or New Self-Employed | § 2 GewO |
The four checks, in this order
- Is it an economic activity in the legal sense? Self-employed, regular, with the intention of earning (§ 1 GewO). Careful with „regular“: § 1 (4) puts a single act on the same footing where an intention to repeat is apparent, or where it takes a longer period.
- Does an exception under § 2 GewO apply? Agriculture and forestry, art, chartered engineers and other liberal professions, health professions, private tuition. These exceptions usually appear twice in the law — once here, once in the relevant professional statute.
- Regulated or free? Regulated means the 75 items of § 94 GewO — everything else is free and needs only the registration.
- Only now: insurance. With a trade, from the licence onwards; as New Self-Employed, only above the profit threshold.
What am I actually doing? One line per case
| You are doing … | Answer | More |
|---|---|---|
| Twitch, YouTube: subscriptions, bits, ad revenue | Payouts for clicks and subs: no trade licence, New Self-Employed | Creators |
| … plus paid brand deals | As soon as you advertise for payment: free trade (advertising). Payment in goods counts as payment. | Creators |
| … plus affiliate links or merch | Free trade (trading) | Online shop |
| Online shop, Etsy, dropshipping | Always a trade, never New Self-Employed — the only question is which one | Online shop |
| Selling used items privately | Your own household goods, occasionally: no trade at all. Buying in to resell tips it over. | — |
| Food truck, mobile snack bar | Regulated (hospitality) — but up to eight seats without proof of qualification | Hospitality |
| … packaged goods to take away only | Not hospitality — without consumption on site it is a free trading licence | Hospitality |
| Massage | Regulated, § 94 no. 48 | Massage |
| Energy work, reiki, sound bowls | Free trade — the line is the movement: stroking, kneading, massaging is massage | Massage |
| Therapeutic massage, physiotherapy | No trade at all — health profession, § 2 (1) no. 11 GewO | Massage |
| Teaching yoga | No trade licence — New Self-Employed | No licence needed |
| Tutoring, language, music or dance lessons | No trade licence (§ 2 (1) no. 12) — writing your own course concepts changes nothing | No licence needed |
| Nail modelling (gel, acrylic, nail art) | Free trade — explicitly not regulated | Cosmetics |
| Manicure, lashes, make-up, hair removal | Regulated: cosmetics. The line is styling (free) versus care (regulated). | Cosmetics |
| Permanent make-up, microblading | Regulated plus an extra qualification — legally it counts as tattooing | Cosmetics |
| Light haulage up to 3.5 t, domestic | Free trade — but „free“ refers to entry, not to operation. Trailers count towards the weight, empty ones too. | — |
| … above that, or above 2.5 t across borders | Licence under the road haulage act — regulated without a § 94 number | — |
| Courier work without a motor vehicle | Free trade — the line is the motor vehicle, not the size of the job | — |
| Copywriting, graphics, photography, IT | Free trade. The art exception applies only to genuinely creative work — commissioned graphics usually is not. | Photography |
| Surveying with effect on the land register | No trade at all — chartered engineers. The textbook case where „just register“ is impossible. | Surveying |
| Alongside a full-time job | Changes nothing about the path — only the cost | Side business |
| A foreign firm on a single job in Austria | No Austrian licence — but a service notification and, with staff, a posting notification | Working in Austria |
| Nothing running at the moment | Suspend the trade rather than deregister — it saves contributions and keeps the licence | — |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trade licence in Austria at all?
That is decided in four steps, and the order is binding. First: is it a self-employed, regular activity carried out with the intention of earning (§ 1 GewO)? Second: does § 2 GewO exclude it outright — health professions, art, private tuition, chartered engineers? Third: is the trade regulated or free? Only then does the social-insurance question arise. Turning the order around is how people end up calling themselves New Self-Employed without ever checking whether a licence was required.
What are „Neue Selbständige“ — and can I choose to be one?
No, it is not a choice. The term comes from social-insurance law (§ 2 (1) no. 4 GSVG) and is a fallback: it applies only if the same activity has not already triggered compulsory insurance elsewhere. Register a trade and you are insured through that trade — the category never comes into play. The phrase does not even appear in the statute; the law says „self-employed persons“.
Does „I only do it once“ get me out of it?
Usually not. § 1 (4) GewO says a single act counts as a regular activity if the circumstances suggest an intention to repeat it, or if it takes a longer period. What matters is not how many times you did it, but whether an intention to repeat is apparent.
Can I just register a trade to be on the safe side?
Not always. Where an exception under § 2 GewO applies, it is mandatory — a trade licence cannot be obtained for that activity at all. The advice „register if in doubt“ works inside the Trade Act, not at its edge. Land surveying with effect on the land register is the classic case: it belongs to chartered engineers, and no trade licence exists for it.
From what income am I compulsorily insured as New Self-Employed?
From an annual profit of 6,613.20 euros (2026 figure), and you have to notify the SVS yourself within one month. With a trade licence it works the other way round: compulsory insurance starts with the licence, even at zero profit.
I am employed full-time. Does that change the answer?
Not the path — only the cost. Employment is no obstacle to registering a trade, and the trade authority does not ask about your job. What changes is the social-insurance arithmetic, including a possible exemption for very small businesses.
Which trades are regulated?
The 75 items listed in § 94 GewO, plus a handful that are regulated by separate statutes and therefore carry no § 94 number at all — road haulage above certain weights, for example. Everything else is a free trade and needs nothing but the registration.
Sources
- RIS — § 1 GewO (economic activity, the single act)
- RIS — § 2 GewO (activities outside the Trade Act)
- RIS — § 94 GewO (the regulated trades)
- RIS — § 2 GSVG (compulsory insurance, the fallback rule)