Procedure descriptions
Apply for a Community licence or certificate of authorisation for the carriage of goods by road for hire or reward
Do you intend to transport goods in Germany by motor vehicle on a commercial basis or for a fee?
And do you use vehicles with a gross vehicle weight including trailer of more than 3.5 tonnes?
Then you need a licence from the local transport authority (company headquarters).
Cross-border road haulage
For cross-border goods transport, a permit is already required for motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 2.5 tonnes, the so-called "Community licence". You can also use them for domestic German transport, but the permit requirement only applies from a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 tonnes. In addition, it authorises national transport in other EU/EEA states (cabotage transport).
A CEMT authorisation may also be required for transport. With this authorisation, you may transport goods in international commercial road haulage between 43 CEMT member states; the place of loading and unloading must be in two of the European states party to the agreement. These are the EU/EEA states and a large number of Eastern and South-Eastern European states. The Federal Office for Goods Transport is responsible for CEMT authorisations.
Transport with third countries (non-EU/EEA countries)
For transport to third countries that do not belong to the EU/EEA economic area, you require a licence for commercial road haulage for the domestic German part of the route. You can obtain "bilateral authorisations" for the route sections to third countries. The Federal Office for Goods Transport is responsible for this.
Please note: If you drive into or through Switzerland as part of commercial road haulage, you need a valid Community licence.
Note: Commercial road haulage does not include own-account transport. The transport of goods for own purposes falls under own account transport. The transport or delivery of goods that you consume, produce or process yourself may only be an ancillary activity.
You do not require a licence for own-account transport, but you must register this with the Federal Office of Logistics and Mobility.
Responsible authority
- for a city district: the city administration
- for a district: the district administration
Details
Prerequisite
As an entrepreneur based in Germany, you will receive the licence subject to the following conditions:
- You and the person appointed as transport manager are reliable. Both the company and the transport manager must prove their reliability to the licensing authority.
- The financial capacity of your company must be guaranteed. 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 of more than 3.5 tonnes, the company requires equity capital of EUR 9,000, and EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle of more than 3.5 tonnes. This also applies to the use of hire vehicles. If only vehicles with a maximum permissible mass of more than 2.5 tonnes and up to 3.5 tonnes are used with a joint licence, EUR 1,800 must be provided for the first vehicle. Proof of EUR 900.00 must be provided for each additional vehicle used that has a maximum permissible mass of more than 2.5 tonnes and up to 3.5 tonnes.
- You or the person appointed as transport manager are professionally qualified.
You are professionally qualified if you have passed a professional qualification examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK)
All examinations previously recognised as equivalent continue to be considered equivalent if they were started or completed before 4 December 2011.
Note: Further information on this option can be obtained from your local Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
You are also professionally qualified if you have worked in a road haulage company:- at least ten years,
- without interruption between 4 December 1999 and 4 December 2009,
- in a managerial position.
The Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for you will check whether these requirements are met.
If you wish to operate a road haulage company that exclusively uses vehicles of 2.5 to a maximum of 3.5 tonnes in international transport, you are also professionally qualified if you meet the following requirements:
- You have worked in a road haulage company for ten years;
- for ten years without interruption before 20 August 2020 and
- You have managed the company.
The district office or municipal district in which your company is based is responsible for checking these requirements.
Procedure
You must apply for a Community licence or a national road haulage permit from the competent authority. The content of the application for a permit or Community licence must comply with Annex 1 of the General Administrative Regulation on Road Haulage Law (GüKVwV).
The competent body shall give the following organisations the opportunity to comment:
- the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility,
- the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK),
- the relevant trade union and
- the transport industry association.
The competent body makes the final decision on the application.
Deadlines
The time limit for the processing of an application for authorisation by the competent authority shall be as short as possible and shall not exceed three months from the date on which the competent authority has received all the documents necessary for the examination of the application. The competent authority may extend this period by a further month in duly justified cases.
Required documents
- For proof of reliability: as a rule, an extract from the
- Federal Central Criminal Register(certificate of good conduct)
- Driving aptitude register (formerly: central traffic register)
- Central trade register
- For proof of financial capacity: Annex 2 and, if necessary, Annex 3 of the General Administrative Regulation on Road Haulage Law (GüKVwV)
The competent authority may request further documents. You can obtain information from the office responsible for your place of business.
Tip: Apply for the certificates of good conduct and extracts from the central trade register first and in good time, naming the responsible office. It usually takes some time before you receive the documents. You can submit the other documents later. Here too, it may take some time before you receive them. For a final decision to be made, all the supporting documents must be available.
Costs
- Community licence: EUR 120.00 - 700.00
- Authorisation for commercial road haulage: EUR 120.00 - 700.00
Note: Additional costs are incurred for information from the registers and for the preparation of other evidence. This also applies to the certified copies of the Community licence or copies of the permit that you must carry in the vehicles.
Processing time
Within three months of the date on which the competent body receives all the necessary documents.
The competent body may extend this period by one month in duly justified cases.
Miscellaneous
Period of validity
The authorisation for commercial road haulage and the Community licence can be issued for a period of validity of up to ten years.
Legal basis
Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschrift zum Güterverkehrsrecht (GüKVwV)
Güterkraftverkehrsgesetz (GüKG)
- § 3 Erlaubnispflicht
- § 5 Erlaubnispflicht und Gemeinschaftslizenz
Berufszugangsverordnung für den Güterkraftverkehr (GBZugV):
- § 10 Erlaubnisverfahren
Verordnung (EG) Nr.1071/2009 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 21. Oktober 2009 zur Festlegung gemeinsamer Regeln für die Zulassung zum Beruf des Kraftverkehrsunternehmers und zur Aufhebung der Richtlinie 96/26/EG des Rates
Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1072/2009 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 21. Oktober 2009 über gemeinsame Regeln für den Zugang zum Markt des grenzüberschreitenden Güterkraftverkehrs
Verordnung über den grenzüberschreitenden Güterkraftverkehr und den Kabotageverkehr (GüKGrKabotageV)
Release note
Machine generated, based on the German release by: Verkehrsministerium Baden-Württemberg, 09.09.2025