If you operate a traveling business and require a permit from the relevant authority (traveling trade license) to do so, you may, on a commercial basis and without prior order, outside your commercial establishment or without having one
- offer goods for sale or seek or purchase orders, or
- offer services or solicit orders for services.
This includes, in particular, activities such as:
- visiting homes or businesses (door-to-door sales) without a prior order,
- offering goods and services on the street or in public places,
- entertaining activities as a showman or showwoman or in a showman-like manner (businesses typical of folk festivals).
The prerequisite for the granting of a permit (travel trade card) is the personal reliability of the applicant with regard to the specific travel trade activity in question.
In order to carry out licensed trades (including security guards, real estate agents, property developers, construction supervisors, investment advisors, insurance brokers, insurance advisors) in the itinerant trade, additional requirements are imposed in accordance with the requirements for stationary trades.
Any expansion of commercial activities or the goods and services offered is subject to renewed approval and will be added to the existing itinerant trade card upon request. The itinerant trade card is valid nationwide.
If you employ staff, they will need a duplicate or certified copy of your itinerant trade card. The itinerant trade card or a copy or duplicate must be carried during itinerant trade activities.
Activities not requiring a
traveling trade license
For some traveling trade activities, you do not need a traveling trade license. This applies, for example, to:
- the sale of food or other everyday goods, if these are sold from non-stationary, i.e., mobile, sales outlets at regular short intervals at the same location,
- the sale of printed matter on the street (mobile newspaper sales)
However, these activities are subject to the other provisions for itinerant trade (e.g., the notification requirement), unless otherwise specified.
(Reliability is assessed on the basis of various forms of evidence. As a rule, you will not be considered reliable if, in the five years prior to submitting your application, you have been convicted of a crime or of theft, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, breach of trust, money laundering, document forgery, receiving stolen goods, usury, or a violation of the law against unfair competition.)
Once you have submitted your application for a traveling trade license to your local authority and all the necessary documents are complete, the relevant office will check whether you meet the relevant requirements.
If all the documents are complete, you will receive the itinerant trade license you applied for.
If you have a traveling trade license, you are required to carry it with you while conducting business. If you use a sales outlet or other facility (e.g., a sales vehicle), you must display your first and last name or company name visibly on the outside.
Self-employed entertainment activities as a showman or showwoman or in a showman-like manner are part of the itinerant trade and require the business owner to have an itinerant trade license. If the business owner is not personally active at the place of performance, they must provide the employees present there with a duplicate of the itinerant trade license.
Anyone who is self-employed as a showman or showwoman or in a showman-like capacity and performs work in the itinerant trade that is subject to insurance must take out liability insurance for themselves and the persons employed in their business to cover personal injury and property damage caused by their activities and maintain this insurance for the duration of their activities.
The itinerant trade license must be issued before the activity begins, so it is necessary to submit the application in good time (a few weeks before the intended start of operations).
If you have applied for a permit to work in the itinerant trade, the permit is deemed to have been granted if the authority has not decided on your application within three months of receiving the complete documentation.
It is an administrative offense to work without the required itinerant trade license.
If the documents are complete, the application will be processed promptly.
