Gewerblicher Güterkraftverkehr Erlaubnis beantragen

If you want to transport goods commercially in Germany with motor vehicles over 3.5 tons, you need a permit. For cross-border transport, a so-called community license is required for motor vehicles over 2.5 tons.

Road haulage is the commercial or paid transportation of goods with motor vehicles that have a permissible total weight of more than 3.5 tons, including trailers.

Commercial road haulage generally requires a permit. The so-called "own-account transport", i.e. road haulage for a company's own purposes under certain conditions, does not require a permit.

If the vehicles are only used throughout Germany, you require a permit for commercial road haulage for vehicles over 3.5 tons (in accordance with Section 3 of the Road Haulage Act)

However, if you want to transport goods across borders with motor vehicles over 2.5 tons, you need a so-called community license. For cross-border journeys with motor vehicles over 2.5 tons within the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, a Community license is required (EU license) and, if applicable, a driver's certificate for nationals of a third country.

You can also use the Community license for transports within Germany and the EEA states ("cabotage transports").

For commercial road haulage with countries outside the European Economic Area, you require bilateral permits or so-called CEMT permits in addition to the national permit for the German part of the route (permit for commercial road haulage or Community license) for parts of the route in third countries.

If you are driving into or through Switzerland as part of commercial road haulage, you need a valid Community license.

The permit for commercial road haulage and the Community license can be issued for a limited period, subject to conditions or with conditions. The national permit can be issued for a period of validity of up to 10 years. The Community license is issued for 5 years.

• Documents for the applicant company:
  • Extract from the commercial, partnership, cooperative or association register, if a corresponding entry exists
  • for GbR companies: Extract from the GbR contract
  • Proof of authorization to represent the company if a person other than the applicant is professionally qualified to do so
  • Proof of reliability:
    • Certificate of good conduct for the person authorized to represent the company (not older than three months)
    • Information from the central trade register for the person authorized to represent (not older than three months)
    • Information from the driving aptitude register for the person authorized to represent (not older than three months)
  • Proof of financial capacity:
    • Clearance certificate from the tax office (not older than three months)
    • Clearance certificate from the municipality (not older than three months)
    • Clearance certificate from the health insurance company (not older than three months)
    • Clearance certificate from the Berufsgenossenschaft Verkehrswirtschaft, Post-Logistik, Telekommunikation (BG Verkehr) (not older than three months)
    • Equity certificate as proof of financial capacity in commercial road haulage (Annex 2 of the General Administrative Regulation on Road Haulage Law (GüKVwV)) and
    • if necessary, additional certificate to prove financial capacity in commercial road haulage (Annex 3 of the General Administrative Regulation on the Road Haulage Act (GüKVwV))
  • Proof of professional aptitude:
    • Certificate of having passed the IHK professional qualification examination or an equivalent recognized final examination or
    • Proof of at least 10 years of managerial activity in a road haulage company (the Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for you will check whether the requirements are met)
• Documents for persons appointed to manage the road haulage business (transport manager):
  • Proof of reliability:
    • Certificate of good conduct (not older than three months)
    • Information from the central trade register (not older than three months)
    • Information from the driving aptitude register (not older than three months)
  • Proof of professional aptitude:
    • Certificate of having passed the IHK professional qualification examination or an equivalent recognized final examination or
    • Proof of at least 10 years of managerial activity in a road haulage company (the Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for you will check whether the requirements are met)
  • Proof of financial capacity:
    • Clearance certificate from the health insurance company (not older than three months)
  • Proof of employment

The national permit is issued to an operator whose company is actually and permanently based in Germany if

• the operator and the person appointed to manage the road haulage business (transport manager) are reliable,
• the financial capacity of the company is guaranteed and
• the entrepreneur or the person appointed to manage the road haulage business is professionally qualified.

The company requires equity capital plus reserves. The amount of capital is determined by the number of vehicles intended for use. For the first vehicle, the entrepreneur requires equity capital of EUR 9,000, for each additional vehicle EUR 5,000. This also applies to the use of rental vehicles.

A person is professionally qualified if he or she has passed a professional qualification test. All examinations previously recognized as equivalent will continue to be considered equivalent if they were started or completed before 4 December 2011.

Persons who have worked continuously (for at least ten years) in a managerial position in a road haulage company between December 4, 1999 and December 4, 2009 are also qualified.

A Community license for international road haulage is issued if

• the operator and the transport manager are reliable
• the financial capacity of the company is guaranteed and
• the operator or the transport manager is professionally qualified.

The entrepreneur must also provide proof of capital and reserves for international road haulage with motor vehicles over 2.5 tons.

The following applies:

• EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle used
• EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle over 3.5 tons used
• EUR 900 for each additional vehicle used over 2.5 tons (up to 3.5 tons)

However, if you only intend to transport goods across borders with vehicles of 2.5 tons to 3.5 tons, you must provide proof of EUR 1,800 for the first vehicle used and EUR 900 for each additional vehicle used.

Proof of professional suitability must also be provided for cross-border road haulage. This also applies if you only want to use vehicles with 2.5 tons. Here, too, professional aptitude may be given if it can be proven that you or the transport manager have worked in a managerial position in a road haulage company without interruption for a period of ten years prior to August 20, 2020.

Further costs are incurred for information from the registers and for the preparation of other evidence.

You must apply for the national road haulage permit or the Community license (EU license) from the transport authority responsible for your place of business.

You can obtain the application form from the competent transport authority. Online forms are also available, depending on what the authority offers.

Complete the application in full and submit it with the required documents.

The competent transport authority will give the following institutions the opportunity to comment:

• the Federal Office for Goods Transport,
• the Chamber of Industry and Commerce
• the relevant trade union and
• the transport industry association.

After the deadline for comments has expired, the competent transport authority will decide on your application. You will receive a decision.

Road haulage for the company's own purposes does not require a permit if the following conditions are met:

• the transported goods must be owned by the company or sold, purchased, leased, rented, manufactured, produced, extracted, processed or repaired by the company.
• the purpose of the transportation must be to deliver the goods to the company, to dispatch them from the company, to transport them within the company or for the company's own use outside the company.
• the motor vehicles used for the transportation must always be driven by the company's own staff.
• The transportation may only be an ancillary activity within the scope of the company's overall activity.

If road haulage for the company's own purposes does not require a permit, the company operating road haulage is obliged to register its business with the Federal Office for Goods Transport before the first transport operation begins.

The Federal Office for Goods Transport is responsible for issuing a so-called CEMT permit for cross-border commercial road haulage and removal traffic in the community of CEMT member states (over 30 states in Europe).

A bilateral permit is required for cross-border road haulage with third countries. The Federal Office for Goods Transport or the government of the Upper Palatinate is responsible.

• Permit for commercial road haulage Creation
• Within Germany, a permit is required for the transport of goods with motor vehicles > 3.5 tons
• Area of use of the vehicles in Germany: national permit
• Cross-border journeys with motor vehicles over 2.5 tons within the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland: Community license (EU license) and, if applicable, a driver's certificate for nationals of a third country.
• Proof of reliability, professional suitability and financial capacity must be provided
• Responsible: the transport authority responsible for the place of business

• Written form required: yes