Apply for a licence for commercial road haulage

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

You can obtain the application form from the relevant transport authority. Depending on the services offered by the authority, online forms may also be available.

Please complete the application form in full and submit it together with the required documents.

The relevant transport authority is inviting the following organisations to submit their comments:

• the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility,
• the Chamber of Industry and Commerce,
• the relevant trade union and
• the Transport Industry Association.

Once the deadline for submitting comments has passed, the relevant transport authority will decide on your application. You will receive a decision. Once the decision has become final, you will be issued with the permit or the collective licence, together with the copies or certified copies, as applicable.

Please contact the Public Order Office or Road Traffic Authority (district or independent city) responsible for your company’s registered office.

The authorisation or collective licence will be granted to you, as an entrepreneur with your actual and permanent place of business in Germany, if

• that you and the person appointed to manage the road haulage operations (transport manager) are reliable,
• the company’s financial viability is ensured,
• you or the person appointed to manage the road haulage business are professionally competent, and
• the conditions for a permanent establishment are met.

For each motor vehicle you operate, the relevant transport authority will issue a copy of the permit or a certified copy of the Community licence, which must be carried in the vehicle.

Your business requires equity capital. The amount of capital required is based on the number of vehicles intended for use. For the first vehicle, you will need equity capital of 9,000 euros; for each additional vehicle, 5,000 euros. As a company carrying out the business of road haulage exclusively with motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles whose authorised maximum mass does not exceed 2.5 t, but not exceeding 3.5 t, you require €1,800 for the first vehicle and €900 for each additional vehicle used as verifiable equity capital. This also applies when using hire vehicles.

A person is deemed to be professionally qualified if they have passed a professional competence examination set by a Chamber of Industry and Commerce. All final examinations previously recognised as equivalent shall continue to be regarded as equivalent if they were commenced or completed before 4 December 2011.

Persons who worked continuously (for at least ten years) in a managerial role within a road haulage company between 4 December 1999 and 4 December 2009 are also deemed to be professionally qualified.

• Documents for the applicant company:
  • An extract from the Commercial Register, Partnership Register, Co-operative Register or Register of Associations, provided that a relevant entry exists
  • for GbR partnerships: Extract from the GbR partnership agreement
  • Proof of authorisation to act on behalf of the applicant where a person other than the applicant possesses the necessary professional competence
  • Proof of reliability:
    • Certificate of good conduct for the authorised representative (issued within the last three months)
    • Extract from the Central Trade Register for the person authorised to act on behalf of the company (not more than three months old)
    • Information from the Driver Suitability Register for the person authorised to act on behalf of the company (not more than three months old)
  • Proof of financial capacity:
    • Certificate of good standing from the tax office (not more than three months old)
    • Certificate of no objection from the local authority (issued within the last three months)
    • Certificate of no objection from the health insurance fund (not more than three months old)
    • Certificate of no objection issued by the German Social Accident Insurance Association for the Transport, Postal and Logistics Sectors and Telecommunications (BG Verkehr) (not more than three months old)
    • Certificate of equity capital to demonstrate financial standing in the commercial road haulage sector (Annex 2 to the General Administrative Regulation on Road Haulage Law (GüKVwV)) and
    • where necessary, a supplementary certificate proving financial standing in the commercial road haulage sector (Annex 3 to the General Administrative Regulation on Road Haulage Law (GüKVwV))
  • Proof of professional competence:
    • Certificate confirming that the candidate has passed the IHK vocational competence examination or an equivalent recognised final examination, or
    • Proof of at least 10 years’ experience in a managerial role within a road haulage company (the Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for your area will check whether the requirements are met)
• Documents for persons appointed to manage road haulage operations (transport managers):
  • Proof of reliability:
    • Certificate of Good Conduct (issued within the last three months)
    • Certificate from the Central Trade Register (not more than three months old)
    • Information from the Driver Fitness Register (not more than three months old)
  • Proof of professional competence:
    • Certificate confirming that the candidate has passed the IHK vocational competence examination or an equivalent recognised final examination, or
    • Proof of at least 10 years’ experience in a managerial role within a road haulage company (the Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for your area will check whether the requirements are met)
  • Proof of financial capacity:
    • Certificate of no objection from the health insurance fund (not more than three months old)
  • Proof of employment

• Section 10 of the Regulation on Access to the Road Haulage Sector (GBZugV)
• Section 3 of the Road Haulage Act (GüKG)
• No. 26 General Administrative Regulation on Road Haulage Legislation (GüKVwV)
• Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the market in international road haulage (recast)
• Appendix 3: Regulation on Access to the Road Haulage Trade (GBZugV)
• Regulation (EU) 2020/1055

Own-account transport, defined as the carriage of goods by road for your company’s own purposes, is exempt from the requirement for a licence under the following conditions:

• The goods carried must be the property of the company or must have been sold, purchased, let, hired, manufactured, produced, extracted, processed or repaired by it.
• The transport must be for the purpose of delivering the goods to the company, dispatching them from the company, or moving them within the company or – for the company’s own use – outside the company.
• The motor vehicles used for transport must be driven by the company’s own staff or by staff made available to the company under a contractual obligation.
• Transport must constitute only an ancillary activity within the context of the company’s overall operations.

Any business owner carrying out own-account transport is obliged to register their business with the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility before undertaking their first journey.

The Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility is responsible for issuing bilateral authorisations or so-called CEMT authorisations for cross-border commercial road haulage and removal services within the Community of CEMT member states (over 30 countries in Europe).